International Journal of School and Cognitive Psychology
Open Access

Experimental Psychology Articles

For Aristotle, happiness entails experiencing the right emotions (Nicomachean Ethics, 1105b25– 6). In Book 2 of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that “to have these feelings at the right times on the right grounds towards the right people for the right motive and in the right way is (. . .) the mark of virtue” (1106b9 – 1107a1; Thomson, 1955, p. 101). Anger, fear, as well as pleasure are right, for some people, for some reasons. For example, for a minority group member who seeks justice because people in the majority mistreat him, feeling anger may just be the right emotion. Whether an emotion is right, therefore, depends on the goals and needs of each individual. Whereas anger may feel right to some, it may feel wrong to others. Happiness, according to Aristotle, should involve feeling emotions that people deem to be appropriate given their needs and motives. Building on Aristotle’s account, therefore, we define “feeling right” as feeling emotions that one considers to be desirable. Which emotions people consider desirable differs systematically across situations, individuals, and cultures. Individuals differ in the extent to which they desire pleasant states. For instance, whereas some individuals desire high arousal pleasant emotions, such as excitement, others desire low activation pleasant emotions.