Georges Failed Quest for Happiness: An Aristotelian Analysis 

Matt Hohenberger

 

                       

 

 

I. George Costanza is clearly the loser out of the four characters in Seinfeld  

A.     George’s melancholy and cynicism is punctuated by his random spurts of rage, his obsessions, lust, and deep depression

B.     He is a failure, a flop, a nonstarter, a paradigm of inefficacy,  sloth, and incontinence

 

II. George’s actions are not influenced by virtue or reason

A.     Aristotle teaches that rational aspect of the soul has two parts

a)      One devoted to theoretical wisdom

b)      The other devoted to practical wisdom

c)      George has neither

B.     He is influenced by his lunatic inclinations caused by his hair loss, obesity, sexual dysfunction, and the din of his parents

C.     Aristotle – use George as a how-to-not live life

 

III. Aristotle and George – Complete opposites

A.     Aristotle’s view on the function of man – to have virtue and use reason

B.     George’s life – acted out of emotion

C.     Georges Misguided Plan

a)      In “The Opposite”

i)        He states that his life is the opposite of what he wants it to be

ii)       His conclusion- do everything opposite of what he normally does

b)      This new plan – he doesn’t use reason , but emotion

 

IV. Why is George a Virtueless Man?

A.     Aristotle believes that reason and virtue bring happiness

B.     George – cannot be happy because he hates himself

a)      He tells his girlfriend “I’m no good” (“The Outing”)

b)      He hates his body

c)      He hates his personality

d)      He hates his inability to interact with women

e)      He hates that he is week- willed

f)        He hates that his life is boring

g)      He hates the fact that his faults are obvious

C.     He believes that his happiness is based on fortune

a)      He rarely takes responsibility for what happens to him

b)      He looks to others as faults for why his life is miserable

c)      He looks to others to improve his situation in life

D.     Aristotle – Happiness is a sort of activity of the soul expression virtue (not fortune!)

 

V. George’s Brushes with Happiness

A.     He achieves momentary elation of “victory” over others

a)      His sense of victory- attaining something others have that he doesn’t

b)      Such as getting a free parking space – a victory

c)      He has a scarcity mentality where the is never enough to go around, and there must be a loser

d)      By transforming others into losers, he believes he is a winner

B.     This sense of victory doesn’t last long

a)      Because his personality intervenes- his happiness will be replaced with a negative feeling

C.     He knows his life is lacking

a)      But he just surrenders, he doesn’t try to come up with solutions to his problem

b)      Thinks the best he can get is pity, he is willing to live off of benevolence

 

VI. George and Virtue – Like Oil and Water

A.     He continues to have the same lack of virtue until the end

B.     Aristotle’s Three ways to encourage virtuous action

a)      Avoid the more opposed extreme

                           i.      But George welcomes the more extreme if there are two extremes

b)      Avoid the easier extreme

                           i.      Aristotle – we must try to avoid inclinations

                         ii.      George- doesn’t fight his inclinations – spends whole summers unemployed

c)      Be Careful with pleasures

                           i.      George seeks pleasure at the expense of others

C.     Can George become virtuous?

a)      If he begins to act virtuously and continues to in that it becomes a habit, maybe then his life will improve

b)      But most likely, he won’t change – he is too proud

 

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