Abstract

One of the recent questions about happiness is that whether happiness is due to one thing or there is more than one item which leads to happiness and also the other items mentioned as causes of happiness could be considered as introduction to actualize the main cause or not. The first idea which assumes such an end to which all other ends are subordinated is known as "dominant end" and the latter is described as "inclusive end". Scholars attempt to analyze the causes providing happiness based on the extent of their affection on actualizing happiness. In this research we try to review Avicenna’s view about the question. We see that Avicenna identifies the notion of happiness in terms of obtaining perfection in psychic faculty of human and holds that soul has got a two-aspect perfection: intellectual perception is the essential aspect and the other aspect referring to the natural body and dominating it in order to reach the ethical virtues. Avicenna, however, considers the action of ethical virtue as an introduction to intellectual perception and introduces the connection to the Active Intelligence and this very intellectual perception as the real happiness. As a result, he believes that feeling complete pleasure of real perfection is depend on the departure of soul from body and would occur in hereafter. Thus, we can conclude that Avicenna interprets happiness as dominant end.