In "George's Failed Quest for Happiness: An Aristotelian Analysis", Daniel Barwick identifies George as the loser of the four main characters in Seinfeld. George's misfortunes aren't because of his bad luck, but because of his "pathetic personality". He is an angry man (usually against people who attack him), he is obsessed ("perhaps with his weith, baldness, a woman, or a new pastime such as parking cars for a living"), and he is filled with lust ("usually satisfied...through Jerry or Kramer"). The few times he is happy is a moment that seems "forced and hollow".
Aristotle says that every person's soul has a rational aspect. This has two parts: theoretical wisdom and practical wisdom. Barwick proposes that George has neither. His decisions come from "a lunatic, driven mad by decades of hair loss, obesity, sexual dysfunction..., and the relentless din of his screaming parents". George is what Aristotle would refer to as "the many", which Aristotle compares to the wise. George is an example of "how not to live one's life".
Here is an example of when George considers his decision making:
Aristotle writes of "the many":
But the many disagree about what happiness is, and the many do not give the same answer as the wise. For the many think it is something obvious and evident, such as pleasure, wealth or honor, some thinking one thing, others another; and indeed the same person keeps changing his mind, since in sickness he thinks it is health, in poverty wealth. And when they are conscious of their own ignorance, they admire anyone who speaks of something grand and beyond them.
"This is virtually a primer of George's life." His reasoning is awful and his emotions affect his life as Aristotle predicts.
Aristotle also says that "a good life is one in which all the facets of man achieve a certain harmony...The good man is one whose actions fall somewhere between two extremes". This means that George will never reach full happiness. For example, George hates himself. In "The Outing," He explains to a girl: "You can do better than me. You could throw a dart out the window and hit someone better than me. I'm no good!" He hates his body, personality, his inability to interact with women, his boring life, and he hates that his faults are obvious, especially to the opposite sex.
George's Brushes with Happiness
Occasionally, George does come close to happiness. His moments of happiness are when he achieves some sort of victory over others. When he makes others losers, he believes that he has become a winner. "He...measures himself by measuring himself against others."
George and Virtue
Aristotle describes three ways to encourage virtuous action:
1. Avoid the more opposed extreme. From the video above where George decides to "adopt an irresponsible, devil-may-care attitued toward every facet of his life", it's easy to see that George is willing to take on the more extreme of the two extremes of conduct. 2. Avoid the easier extreme. This is also very easy to see in George. He spends most of the time unemployed and of the few times he is employed, he never does actual work. 3. Be Careful with pleasures. This is a common problem with everyone, not just George. George has some extra difficulty being careful with pleasures because the people around him are inclined to seek pleasure. Therefore, it is of "our nature" to do the same as the people around us.
George's life might improve if he tries to act virtuously. But the chances of this happening are very slim and the result of which being George's "miserable existence" continuing.
