Aristotle and Plato are both well known for their attention to defining the purpose of the human being. For them, human beings have a special characteristic that no other living being possesses. This characteristic is that human beings strive to reach a level of goodness. Although they agree with each other that there is a supreme good that must be achieved in order to live a fulfilling life, they have different ideas about what that good is. In Aristotle's quest to find the highest good of a human being, he first asked what the ergon, or task, of the human being is. His main focus was primarily on what the purpose or goal of human existence should be. Aristotle said that everyone seeks to achieve happiness, whether through money, love or being honored. However, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he believes that the good we are trying to achieve is an ultimate level of experience and that it is “desirable in itself and never for the sake of anything else.” All the rest of the good we experience throughout our lives simply pushes us towards the one thing that will ultimately make us happy. While we may think of happiness as a state of mind, Aristotle thought of it as the way you lived your life. In other words, happiness won't come and go in a matter of a couple of minutes or hours. It is a goal that is achieved “at the end of one's life and is a measure of how well one has expressed one's full potential as a human being” (Shields). To find out where this happiness comes from, Aristotle explored nature through biology. Based on the Stanford Encyclopedia for Philosophy and a website called The Pursuit of Happiness that talks about Aristotle's story, he knew that what would ultimately make human beings happy would have to... middle of paper... ristotle/>. Bowen, Tom. "Reading Questions for Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics". Oakton. Oakton Community College, January 16, 2014. Web. May 3, 2014."Comparison of the Political Theories of Plato and Aristotle." Guide to the novel. Guide to Novels and Web. May 4, 2014. .González, Pedro. "Human Nature, Allegory, and Truth in Plato's Republic." Barry University. The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, 2013. Web. 3 May 2014. Ross, W.D. "Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics." The Internet Classics Archive. Web Atomics, 2009. Web. 4 May 2014. .Scudi, Christopher. "Aristotle." Stanford University. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 25 September 2008. Web. 3 May 2014. .