What does it actually mean to live a happy life? More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle tried to answer exactly that question in the Nicomachean Ethics, named for his son Nicomachus. His answer was surprisingly different from our modern idea of happiness as simply feeling good. For Aristotle, the highest human goal was eudaimonia — often translated as happiness or flourishing — a life built through character, meaningful activity, relationships, good judgment and becoming the kind of person you are capable of being. But does that idea still work today? Can you be happy while going through difficult times? Is pleasure part of happiness, a distraction from it, or both? And if happiness is something we practise rather than simply feel, what would that change about the way we live?

Chris, your host for this journey, has answered the call for deeper topics. Although anyone who knows his clubs knows “deep” certainly doesn’t mean “serious for two hours.” Expect the usual laughter, interaction and unexpected conversations as everyone gets a chance to share what happiness means to them and test their ideas against Aristotle’s. We’ll talk about pleasure, friendship, ambition, money, purpose, virtue and the choices that slowly shape a life, without needing to know a single thing about ancient philosophy beforehand. Aristotle gives us the starting point, but you provide the philosophy: What makes your life worth living? And if happiness isn’t something we find waiting for us, what kind of life do we need to build to create it?

“过幸福的生活”到底意味着什么？两千多年前，亚里士多德在《尼各马可伦理学》（以他儿子尼各马可命名）中试图回答这个问题。他的答案跟我们现代“幸福就是感觉好”的想法出人意料地不同。对亚里士多德来说，人类的最高目标是eudaimonia——常被译为“幸福”或“繁荣”——一种通过品格、有意义的活动、关系、良好判断力，以及成为你本有能力成为的那种人所建立起来的生活。但这个理念今天还站得住脚吗？你在经历困难时期还能幸福吗？快乐是幸福的一部分，还是对幸福的干扰，又或者两者兼有？如果幸福是我们要去练习而非仅仅是感受的东西，那会怎样改变我们的生活方式？

Chris，你这趟旅程的主持人，响应了大家对更深话题的呼声。虽然认识他俱乐部的人都知道，“深”绝对不等于“正经两小时”。期待一如既往的笑声、互动和意想不到的对话——每个人都会有机会分享幸福对自己意味着什么，并用亚里士多德的思想来检验自己的看法。我们会聊快乐、友情、野心、金钱、目的、美德，以及那些慢慢塑造人生的选择，而你完全不需要事先了解任何古代哲学。亚里士多德给了我们起点，但哲学由你提供：什么让你的生活值得过？如果幸福不是某件在那里等着我们找到的东西，那我们需要建立什么样的生活来创造它？