--- title: What an Ancient Philosopher Can Teach You About Being Happy description: Want to be happier? British classicist Edith Hall mapped out an ancient philosopher's guide to happiness in "Aristotle's Way." canonical: https://time.com/5492021/how-to-be-happy-ancient-philosopher/ author: Annabel Gutterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-03T20:44:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:58:07.578Z og:title: What an Ancient Philosopher Can Teach You About Being Happy og:description: Perhaps it’s time to say out with the new and in with the old og:url: https://time.com/5492021/how-to-be-happy-ancient-philosopher/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt345ea67bc21cb57d/6989428486f68e87396eb141/happiness-aristotle.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: happiness-aristotle og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What an Ancient Philosopher Can Teach You About Being Happy twitter:description: Perhaps it’s time to say out with the new and in with the old twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt345ea67bc21cb57d/6989428486f68e87396eb141/happiness-aristotle.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What an Ancient Philosopher Can Teach You About Being Happy  by [Annabel Gutterman](https://time.com/author/annabel-gutterman/)  ## Annabel Gutterman Senior Editor Jan 3, 2019 8:44 PM UTC  Happy Woman Enjoying Nature on grass meadow on top of mountain cliff with sunrise. Beauty Girl Outdoor. Freedom concept. Len flare effect. Sunbeams. Enjoyment. Happy Woman Enjoying Nature on grass meadow on top of mountain cliff with sunrise. Beauty Girl Outdoor. Freedom concept. Len flare effect. Sunbeams. Enjoyment.oatawa—Getty Images/iStockphoto  by [Annabel Gutterman](https://time.com/author/annabel-gutterman/)  ## Annabel Gutterman Senior Editor Jan 3, 2019 8:44 PM UTC When it comes to [happiness](http://time.com/collection/guide-to-happiness/4070299/secret-to-happiness/), perhaps it’s actually time to say out with the new and in with the old. In the 4th century B.C., the Greek philosopher Aristotle developed a framework for inner contentment around an idea that feels entirely relevant in the 21st century: that the foundation of being happy comes from doing what is right. “If you believe that the goal of human life is to maximize happiness, then you are a budding Aristotelian,” writes the British classicist Edith Hall, author of [_Aristotle’s Way_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735220808/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time037-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0735220808&linkId=7b3e1d7a44307f475afa8370aeb60eee), who shares how infusing Aristotle’s lessons into her own life has provided her comfort in difficult times — applying his musings on mortality to help her [make grief more manageable](http://time.com/5118994/advice-for-helping-grieving-friend/). In her book, Hall explains some of the philosopher’s most complex ideas in an approachable way, covering his notes on everything from the power of community to understanding your goals and why you should always consult a third party when making a decision. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5492021/how-to-be-happy-ancient-philosopher/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5492021/how-to-be-happy-ancient-philosopher/"},"headline":"What an Ancient Philosopher Can Teach You About Being Happy","datePublished":"2019-01-03T20:44:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:58:07.578Z","description":"Perhaps it’s time to say out with the new and in with the old","url":"https://time.com/5492021/how-to-be-happy-ancient-philosopher/","keywords":["Living","Books","Happiness","Philosophy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt345ea67bc21cb57d/6989428486f68e87396eb141/happiness-aristotle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Annabel Gutterman","jobTitle":"Senior Editor","url":"https://time.com/author/annabel-gutterman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt345ea67bc21cb57d/6989428486f68e87396eb141/happiness-aristotle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"happiness-aristotle","caption":"Happy woman enjoying nature","creditText":"oatawa—Getty Images/iStockphoto","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5492021/how-to-be-happy-ancient-philosopher/","name":"What an Ancient Philosopher Can Teach You About Being Happy"}}]}] ```