Thomas Aquinas Pursuit Of Happiness

Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) is one of the towering figures in Western philosophy and theology, so great that he is even called the “angelic Doctor” by the Roman Catholic Church. Within a twenty year span he wrote over forty books, including his masterpiece The Summa Theologica, in which he constructs a vast system integrating Greek philosophy with the Christian faith. (http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/thomas-aquinas/). Thomas Aquinas believes that happiness is and end goal every person wants, it also comes from the wisdom of how to use things, and happiness must be understood to be truthfully happy. What is happiness? Happiness is something that everyone is aiming for and wanting

Indeed, human behavior, thought-provoking actions (will and intellect), is inevitably done for the purpose. The desire and pursuit of happiness is a human act. Therefore, in order to achieve happiness, one must fulfill one 's purpose, one ultimate goal, one supernatural goal which is both the source and the ultimate goal of human nature. But where is the way to achieve happiness as Thomas advocates? According to Thomas, since man was created to attain the goal of eternal happiness, in addition to worldly happiness, there must be a law that can lead them to this ultimate supernatural end. First of all, Thomas argues that in man, the will and the power of reason control human behavior and human direction toward the fulfillment of good according to the natural law: "to do good is evil. "That is, all human desires are satisfied, and the satisfying process requires choices between different objects." The choice must be made by the will with guidance. If you choose the right one, the person is happy, but not all choices are right, so the will can not always act right. Moreover, the purpose is not entirely intrinsic to behavior because it is partly a principle and partly a goal of behavior. Thus, happiness as the ultimate end of human moral life not only serves as the destination, but also as the principle, the source of the human

Thomas Aquinas also states that the proper relationship between the capacity of the citizen and the rule of law is the basis for the institution of security without the use of violence. Violence is disgusting, and should only be used as a last resort to fight evil, and must be limited to what is necessary. After all, violence is against the nature of nature, rarely with the will of nature. For that reason, in the face of violence, people tend to compromise and relax. However, one needs to be aware of the dangers and, when necessary, enter the fight against evil. So where do we have happiness? If not in our own soul, then where? Thomas does not think so, though, because the soul is made for other things. We attain happiness through our souls, but not because of them (otherwise simply being a human would be perfect happiness, as being human requires having a soul). Thus Thomas concludes that, ‘’happiness is something belonging to the soul; but that which constitutes happiness is something outside the soul.” This life often does not make sense to us. It can seem like a wildly fun ride one moment, and a terrifying roller coaster the next. Undeserving people often seem to have it easy, while “the really good ones” can get thrown to the ground over and over again.