The Attainability of Happiness

2075 Words9 Pages
Philosophy 1
October 30, 2013
The Attainability of Happiness Can one attain happiness in this life? St. Thomas Aquinas is very opinionated on this subject. To know if one can attain happiness in this life, Aquinas first analyzes different possible sources of happiness to determine whether or not man’s happiness consists in these sources. Aquinas asks if any created good could consist of man’s happiness. St. Thomas says it could seem as if happiness consists of created goods because “man is made happy by that which lulls his natural desire”(1). Created goods satisfy us because they are what we crave, so when we attain them we could achieve happiness. Aquinas argues that while this is so, created goods cannot possibly be the source of man’s happiness. This is mainly due to the fact that created goods are “less than the goods of which he is capable, as of an object, and which is infinite. And the participated good which is in an angel, and in the whole universe, is a finite and restricted good” (2). What this means is that it does not make sense for man to solely derive his happiness from created goods because they are finite; there is only a set amount of these things in existence. Man would always have to worry about whatever good that is fueling his happiness from running out, because it is not eternal. For Aquinas, this means that our happiness cannot possibly consist of created goods because by definition, happiness is that state in which nothing is left to be desired. One is completely satisfied and at peace in a true state of happiness, yet with created goods one is always stressed and worried about them running out. Aquinas then goes on to question whether or not man’s happiness consists of honors. The argument that Aquinas goes against is that “It would seem that man's happiness consists in honors. For happiness or bliss is "the reward of virtue," as the
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