The Test of Happiness: Oprah Winfrey on the Hot Seat - Essay Example

She has friends whom she considers faithful to her for many years now, no matter what her circumstances may be. According to Aristotle’s first requirement, Winfrey is a happy person. Secondly, Aristotle requires virtue to be a part of happiness. Having been molested as a child, Winfrey empathizes with innocent victims who have nothing else to do but take their share of the world’s cruelty.

She supports and empowers them; funding their education through her “Angels”, an organization she put up to fund scholarships and, brings them justice by running after their abusers. She also gives huge amounts to charities, feeding thousands of less fortunate children and supporting organizations having the same objectives as hers. Moreover, Winfrey is known to give away surprises to her viewers such as scholarships in well-known universities, luxurious get-away trips, and other simple treats to make her viewers enjoy a part of her successes.

Accordingly, Winfrey could be said to be a virtuous person and therefore, a happy one. Aristotle considers that “Happiness requires completeness in virtue as well as a complete lifetime” (23). Priam, in Greek mythology is, by Aristotle’s standard, not a happy man. Although he was successful in his endeavors as a king, his life ended in misery (26). In connection to Winfrey, one could not yet judge her happiness by this standard because she is still, one might consider, going through the process of making herself happy or miserable.

She is then considered blissful but not completely happy. Lastly, a family that would enjoy the fruits of one’s happy life is to be considered. Given her familial background, Winfrey fears having a child of her own because she thinks she cannot be a good mother like her own mother. Therefore, she has no biological child who could inherit her good fortune and virtues. By this standard, Winfrey then is not completely happy. Nevertheless, it could be regarded that the many people Winfrey is helping through her charities and other means of empowering people, is a legacy she is leaving not only to a single family but to the entire world.

What could be nobler than to leave wonderful marks in the lives of various people to whom someone is not biologically related? Thus, to this writer, Winfrey is still considered a happy person. In conclusion, Winfrey passed most of Aristotle’s tests of happiness. What only needs to be done to finally rank Winfrey as a happy person is the way she ends her life. Based on her current circumstances, if she continues to engage in her virtuous activities and maintain her good fortune, Winfrey could be remembered by future generations as a happy person.