Tuesday, April 14, 2015
True Happiness
On page 42 of St. Thomas Aquinas on Politics and Ethics, Qu. 3 and Qu. 5 talk about happiness and how happiness can be achieved. In Qu. 3 this is said, "First, man is not perfectly happy as long as something more remains to be desired or sought." He is saying that no one can be perfectly happy if there is something else they want to achieve. In Qu. 5, this is said, "Some partial happiness can be achieved in this life, but true perfect happiness cannot." So what is true perfect happiness? This question is also answered in Qu. 5, "Full and sufficient happiness excludes every evil and fulfills every desire." Based on this, is anyone truly happy? I believe this is being taken a little too far because someone can be truly happy without everything he wants. Everyone has a different idea of what true happiness is. What do you guys think?
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I think that if you look for happiness outside of yourself, you'll always be lacking. Physical desires are sated on an asymptotic line - you will never have enough money, luxury, sex, or whatever you might be dependent on. I think there is a certain peace that comes from NOT needing those things; I think that peace is what a Stoic would call happiness. My question is this: Aquinas believes human happiness is only achieved through being with God, presumably in the afterlife. Should this requirement be considered a need outside of yourself, in the same way money is, or is it an internal, spiritual thing? If it's internal (and I'd guess it would be, seeing as Jesus tells his followers not to chase after "pleasures of the flesh"), then why can't we achieve it while we're alive?
ReplyDeleteThis was a difficult concept to wrap my mind around when we discussed it in class. Because while I believe it is possible to have brief periods where you are "satisfied," meaning you want for nothing, it will always be short lived because we will always want more, so I believe it is this nature that prevents us from having "complete happiness" in this lifetime.
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