A Virtuous Cycle: The Relationship between Happiness and Virtue

What constitutes a good, worthwhile, fulfilling life? How should one live? What kind of a person should one be? From Lao Tzu to Aristotle, from Dostoyevsky to Bertrand Russell, philosophers ancient and modern attempted their own answers to these oldest and most enduring of philosophical questions. Frequently figuring in the discussions on the highest, best possible life were the concepts of ‘happiness’ and ‘virtue.’ Notwithstanding inevitable differences in terminology, many great minds posited that the road to a happy, thriving, worth-of-living life is paved with virtues. Aristotle, for instance, believed that happiness ( eudaemonia ) is within the reach of anyone willing to lead a virtuous life. 1 To Roman Stoic Cicero, the affinity between happiness and virtue was so strong that a man in possession of virtue could be happy even while being tortured. 2 More recently, Rosalind Hursthouse argued that possessing virtue does not necessarily result in happiness, as luck plays an undeniable role in human affairs, yet it is the only reliable bet for a happy, flourishing life-just as adopting a healthy lifestyle is the best bet for being healthy, even though it does not guarantee perfect health or longevity. 3 Is there any merit to these claims? Does possessing and exercising virtue indeed lead to happiness? The current chapter endeavors to shed light on these questions by reviewing the burgeoning empirical literature on the relationship between virtues and happiness. In line with the philosophical thinking on the topic, our review reveals virtue and happiness to be closely associated. It furthermore appears that happiness and virtue are bidirectionally related-with virtue leading to happiness and happiness leading to virtue, in a ‘virtuous cycle.’ Before delving into the nuances of this relationship, let us clarify what we understand from happiness and from virtue.