Both Plato and Augustine offer unusual conceptions of what one must acquire to live a truly happy life. While the conventional view of happiness normally pertains to wealth, financial stability, and material possessions, Plato and Augustine suggest that true happiness is rooted in something independent of objects or people. Though dissimilar in their notions of that actual root, each respective philosophy views the attaining of that happiness as a path, a direction. Plato’s philosophy revolves around the attainment of eternal knowledge and achieving a metaphysical balance. Augustine also emphasizes one’s knowing the eternal, though his focus is upon living in humility before God. Both assert that human beings possess a natural desire for true happiness, and it is only through a path to something interminable that they will satisfy this desire.
In his several dialogues, Plato contends the importance of the four virtues: wisdom, courage, self-control, and justice. In The Republic, he describes a top-down hierarchy that correlates to the aspects of one’s soul. Wisdom, courage, and temperance preside control over the rational, spirited, and appetitive aspects of the soul. It is when one maintains a balance between these aspects of his soul that he attains peace within himself: “...And when he has bound together the three principles within him...he proceeds to act...always thinking and calling that which preserves and cooperates with this harmonious condition (Plato 443c).” Wisdom and knowledge consistently remain at the top of his view of happiness. During the apology, Plato is asked what punishment is best suited for him. He sarcastically answers, “to be fed...(It is) much more suitable than for any one who has won a v...
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...ath is led by humility, directing one toward a better understanding of God. Perhaps it is not important, however, which source, if either, is the correct root of happiness, but merely that one’s source stretches beyond the margins of what is temporal.
Works Cited:
Augustine, Aurelius. Confessions. 400. Trans. Henry Chadwick
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Kant, Immanuel. An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?
Online Essays Appropriate to Foucoult. 1997.
3 April 2001. Available URL: http://www.csun/edu/~hfspc002/ fouc.essay.html
Plato. Five Dialogues. Trans. G.M.A. Grube
Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1981.
Plato. The Republic.
Exploring Plato’s dialogues
28 March 2001. Available URL: http://trill.cis.fordham.edu /~gsas/philosophy/quotedpassage.htm
The 1920s was a decade of rapid expansion, wealth, envy, and greed. This is a time during which life felt as if it was moving in fast forward. Its basis was money and the extravagances that money could buy. America went under a radical change and social reform. America is becoming more industrialized, more Americans lived in cities than in the countryside. The development of technologies like radios, mo...
Simply defined, happiness is the state of being happy. But, what exactly does it mean to “be happy?” Repeatedly, many philosophers and ideologists have proposed ideas about what happiness means and how one attains happiness. In this paper, I will argue that Aristotle’s conception of happiness is driven more in the eye of ethics than John Stuart Mill. First, looking at Mill’s unprincipled version of happiness, I will criticize the imperfections of his definition in relation to ethics. Next, I plan to identify Aristotle’s core values for happiness. According to Aristotle, happiness comes from virtue, whereas Mill believes happiness comes from pleasure and the absence of pain. Ethics are the moral principles that govern a person’s behavior which are driven by virtues - good traits of character. Thus, Aristotle focuses on three things, which I will outline in order to answer the question, “what does it mean to live a good life?” The first of which is the number one good in life is happiness. Secondly, there is a difference between moral virtues and intellectual virtues and lastly, leading a good life is a state of character. Personally and widely accepted, happiness is believed to be a true defining factor on leading a well intentioned, rational, and satisfactory life. However, it is important to note the ways in which one achieves their happiness, through the people and experiences to reach that state of being. In consequence, Aristotle’s focus on happiness presents a more arguable notion of “good character” and “rational.”
From pursuing pleasure to avoiding pain, life seems to ultimately be about achieving happiness. However, how to define and obtain happiness has and continues to be a widely debated issue. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle gives his view on happiness. Aristotle focuses particularly on how reason, our rational capacity, should help us recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life.';(Cooley and Powell, 459) He refers to the soul as a part of the human body and what its role is in pursuing true happiness and reaching a desirable end. Aristotle defines good'; as that which everything aims.(Aristotle, 459) Humans have an insatiable need to achieve goodness and eventual happiness. Sometimes the end that people aim for is the activity they perform, and other times the end is something we attempt to achieve by means of that activity. Aristotle claims that there must be some end since everything cannot be means to something else.(Aristotle, 460) In this case, there would be nothing we would try to ultimately achieve and everything would be pointless. An ultimate end exists so that what we aim to achieve is attainable. Some people believe that the highest end is material and obvious (when a person is sick they seek health, and a poor person searches for wealth).
The Republic is the most important dialogue within Plato's teaching of politics. It deals with the soul, which, as we know from the beginning, at the level where one must make choices and decide what one wants to become in this life, and it describes justice as the ultimate form of human, and the ideal one should strive for both in life and in state. Justice as understood by Plato is not merely a social virtue, having only to do with relationship between people, but virtue that makes it possible for one to build their own regime and reach happiness.
The 1920s in America, known as the "Roaring Twenties", was a time of celebration after a devastating war. It was a period of time in America characterised by prosperity and optimism. There was a general feeling of discontinuity associated with modernity and a break with traditions.
Schizoaffective disorder is a serious mental illness that features of two different conditions. It is a combination of schizophrenia disorder and a mood disorder. Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that distorts how a person thinks, acts, and what they perceive as reality. The mood disorder most commonly associated with schizoaffective is bipolar disorder. This is an illness that is marked by emotional lows and highs as well as problems with concentration and remembering specific details. Patients may experience a deep depression, and then they may turn around and be at an emotional high. Schizoaffective patients, however, live with both the effects of schizophrenia, as well as bipolar disorder, making cooping with everyday life a struggle. Schizoaffective is a life-long illness and impacts all areas of daily life. Work, school, relationships, and common aspects of life are difficult for schizoaffective people. (WebMD, 2013)
In Plato’s Republic, justice and the soul are examined in the views of the multiple characters as well as the Republic’s chief character, Socrates. As the arguments progress through the Republic, the effect of justice on the soul is analyzed, as the question of whether or not the unjust soul is happier than the just soul. Also, Plato’s theories of justice in the man, the state, and the philosopher king are clearly linked to the cardinal virtues, as Plato describes the structure of the ideal society and developing harmony between the social classes. Therefore, the statement “justice is the art which gives to each man what is good for his soul” has to be examined through the definitions of justice given in the Republic and the idea of the good
The novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, intertwines a compassionate message to the people of Great Britain and the world, while also showing the evil nature that all humans have deep down inside. At the time that this book was being written, communism was in full effect, eclipsing the good of the world, creating the illusion that this Earth is being consumed by evil. The worst of this would be the Stalinism in Russia, a complete and utter totalitarian dictatorship where the people had virtually no say in the government, this was along with the evil ways of Hitler. Golding created the novel Lord of the Flies to show that humans will do whatever it takes to persevere through any situation and to send a message of hope to the people of the world.
...rldly desires found within riches, power, physicality and his senses. As man becomes further aware, he looks towards the external world in order seek out happiness through, acts of moral virtue, acts of prudence and the representation and appreciation of art. I think that this represents a valid interpretation of Chapters 27-37 of Book III of the Summa Contra Gentiles and presents a very clear representation of the stages through which man progresses in the pursuit of happiness. Ultimately, if man continues on this journey of self-discovery he will find the ultimate happiness he seeks through the contemplation of those things greater than man himself, and that is the contemplation of God.
Aristotle believes that ethics is about doing the things that make one an excellent and ultimately a happy (fulfilled) person. Kant claims that happiness is irrelevant in ethics and that the right thing to do is to determine what our duty is and to act on it. Both of these philosophies pose their flaws, but the question of what should we follow if we have no basis is raised. Although I strongly disagree with both philosophies, Kant’ s philosophy would work the best in an ideal world, while on the other hand, Aristotle’s philosophy wouldn’t work in an ideal or realistic world.
...ativity or modesty leading to insecurity. This correlates to Plato’s argument because it is a good example of appetites not being controlled by rationality. All of these good traits, left unchecked by rationality become self destructive qualities. If you’re self destructive you are not happy. But using Plato’s guidelines or definition to a just soul or a just person this transformation of seemingly good virtues into vice can be prevented.
While the title “Schizotypal” may send your thoughts to Schizophrenia, the two are quite different. For instance, Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which a patient will experience unreasonable anxieties as well as recurring hallucinations. In some severe cases, this illness can be truly debilitating, and a patient may need daily care. Schizotypal Personality Disorder, on the other hand, deals more with the anxious and suspicious nature of a patient as well as the strange mannerisms they might display. While patients do experience social anxiety and a distaste for maintaining close relationships, the DSM-5 places them under Cluster A, a group formed by the sharing of odd and eccentric behaviours between STPD, Paranoid Personality Disorder
It is said that happiness is a feeling that lies in the clarity of the soul, tranquility of the heart, and peace of the mind. However it is also said that happiness is the actual sense of fulfillment that arises from hard work and self-actualization. It is an intangible state of mind that all humans aim to conquer. Sometimes people tend to associate happiness with something familiar, with what they lack or fail to maintain, for if they fall ill, it would be health and if they were short of money, it would be wealth. If we considered these as particular goods or transitory moments of joy that are subject to change, then what defines the ultimate happiness? With all the different views on happiness, what makes some claim that there can only be one true meaning for man’s ultimate bliss, and all the rest of meanings are fallacious ones? Aristotle says “Our task is to become good men, or to achieve the highest human good. That good is happiness”. This paper aims to examine and evaluate the concept of happiness according to each of Al Farabi & Al Ghazali, whereby it sheds light on the elements of true happiness for each author, their mutual views, road of attaining it as well as their divergence of thought regarding that concept, taking into consideration the influence of Islamic theology.
Schizophrenia is a mental disease that affects the way a person reacts and thinks in a situation. Usually people with schizophrenia appear to fade in and out of reality; seeming a bit “mad” (National Institutes of Health). They have the mindset that everyone is out to get them, or to hurt them. This disorder also lowers the chance at handling a job, or staying employed (Schizophrenia: MedlinePlus). A person with schizophrenia tends to have a hard time concentrating. They could be super attentive and alert at one moment, then the next they are clocked out for the day. Another characteristic of schizophrenia is not being able to cope or express emotions easily (Mental Health America). Even if this disease is quite rare compared to any others,
The pursuit for happiness has been a quest for man throughout the ages. In his ethics, Aristotle argues that happiness is the only thing that the rational man desires for its own sake, thus, making it good and natural. Although he lists three types of life for man, enjoyment, statesman, and contemplative, it is the philosopher whom is happiest of all due to his understanding and appreciation of reason. Aristotle’s version of happiness is not perceived to include wealth, honor, or trivial