RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
A1 Cajthaml, Martin
T1 The Role of Happiness in Moral Motivation. A Discussion in Contemporary Ethics
JF Aither
YR 2025
VO 17
IS 2
SP 24
OP 35
DO 10.5507/aither.2025.005
UL https://aither.upol.cz/artkey/ath-202502-0002.php
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.