Virtue without pleasure? Aristotle and the joy of a noble life

Abstract

How it is possible for Aristotle to say that the virtuous man finds the greatest pleasures ? In this article I try to show a reasonable link between virtue and pleasure, grounded on the notion of perfect activity (ὲνέργεια τελέια), which in the case of human beings is an activity according to virtue. The virtuous person can contemplate his own noble life and find joy in his good actions, and pleasure appears in this contemplation, which is a perfect activity (ὲνέργεια τελέια).