PT Journal
AU Cajthaml, M
TI The Role of Happiness in Moral Motivation. A Discussion in Contemporary Ethics
SO Aither
PY 2025
BP 24
EP 35
VL 17
IS 2
DI 10.5507/aither.2025.005
AB This paper analyses the role of happiness in moral motivation within the eudaimonistic tradition. It addresses the Aristotelian-Thomistic tension between choosing virtuous action for its own sake and for the sake of eudaimonia. Through a critical examination of Josef Seifert's two-motive theory, Jeff D'Souza's altruistic eudaimonism, and Chris Toner's excellence-prior eudaimonism, I argue that Seifert's phenomenological framework provides the most coherent account. It distinguishes between a primary, value-responsive motive directed toward morally relevant goods and a secondary, subordinate desire for true happiness. This dual structure retains the legitimacy of eudaimonistic motivation while avoiding both the self-referentiality characteristic of traditional eudaimonism and the excessive other-centredness of its modern revisions.
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