Can True Happiness Be Found in this World Alone?
What is happiness?Aristotle accepts the idea that the greatest human good is happiness. But he immediately points out that it needs refinement. The reason is that the common opinion of mankind is not in agreement about what happiness is. However,the number of competing views are small:
1. Happiness is pleasure.
2. Happiness is honor.
3. Happiness is virtue,or excellence.
4. Happiness is bodily and external goods,such as health and wealth.
Aristotle considers wheather in each one of the four opinions there might be a grain of truth mixed with chaff.
Definition 1: Happiness is pleasure. Grain: No one would call a man happy who never experienced any pleasure at all. Chaff: Still,can we really say pleasure is the same as happiness? Unhappiness in the midst of pleasure is a common experience;it seems that,ultimately mere satisfaction is unsatisfying. Not only that,pleasure comes and goes. By contrast we think of true happiness as something abiding,something that characterizes a whole life. Apparently pleasure is not the essence of happiness but merely it's accompaniment or by-product.
Definition 2: Happiness is honor. Grain: No one would call a man happy who never received any honor for his excellences. Chaff: But even a seeker of honor admits that to be honored by other people for excellences that he knew he did not possess would be a hollow experience. So he does not want honor for it's own sake after all;what he really wants is to merit honor. Besides,honor depends on those who confer it,and what is confered can be taken away. But as we said above,we think true happiness as something abiding,something difficult to take away.
Diffintion 3: Happiness is virtue,or excellence. Grain: Unlike pleasure,virtue is abiding,and unlike honor,it cannot be taken away by others. Not only that,we saw on a closer examination that what the honor-seeker really wants is to merit honor. But one merits honor by possessing the virtues. Chaff: Imagine a man who is perfectly virtuous but who,by some dreadful mistake,is condemed to torture for crimes he did not commit. In the midst of his agony,is he happy? Socrates thought so,but Aristotle thought that view is absurd.
Diffintion 4: Happiness is bodily and external goods,such as health and wealth. Grain: Did we not just admit,in the example of the virtuous man undergoing torture,that happiness depends on outward conditions? Chaff: The example of the virtuous man undergoing torture did not prove that virtue is unnecessary for happiness;it only proved that virtue is insuffient for happiness.
Even when we combine Aristotle's grains of truth,we still end up with some missing element to attaining true happiness because all the diffintions offered above depend on temporal things. In fact,these diffintions of happiness were given in respect to the greatest human good.
However,true happiness and ultimate meaning transcend humanity and are anchored in a higher good-God. Without God we are left with extracting meaning and happiness from seeking and achieving the highest human good in this world. Without God,ultimate happiness and meaning will always be-in the final analsis-elusive concepts.
Yet if people looked inside their own hearts,they would know that this world does not offer what they truly desire.
The Bible says that God has placed eternity in the hearts of all people(Ecclesiastes 3:11). There is a desire within the human heart to be of eternal import,to have value that transcends the temporal world. There is a longing deep within each of us to live the kind of life that,when all is said and done,will somehow have eternal consequences.
However,the craving for eternal significance can never be satisfied within the limitations of a temporal world;only that which is eternal(God)can bestow eternal significance upon which is temporal(humanity).
Unshakable Foundations by Norman Gesiler
God bless everyone!
Comments (22)
No
Maybee
I agree
The Evil Wievil . . . .
LOL.
Thanks for stopping by.
Indeed,there is an element of choice, when it comes to seeking and experiencing true happiness.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the matter.
A willingness to change is certainly important,if one expects to go forward,in embracing true happiness.
Transformed lives are testimony to what God can do in our lives, when we embrace His love.
Thanks for your perspective. It's always nice to see you.
He was always interested in the welfare of the person next to him, his own welfare was of least importance to him, if someone was in deeper trouble than himself .
He always walked with a little happy hop to his walk , either sang or whistled happy tunes. He always had a mouth organ/ harmonica and a tin whistle n his pocket , whenever he saw kids he wanted to see them sing and laugh , his mission was to make others happy ...this brought him happiness , he was happy ...he found happiness here on this earth in his time here simply by always giving something of himself , for no reward at all. Making others happy was his happiness.
Thats one story of someone i knew who found happiness here on earth, .........he was my father.
Saskia ...thanks for reminding me of him serendipity.
A willingness to change is certainly important,if one expects to go forward,in embracing true happiness.
Transformed lives are testimony to what God can do in our lives, when we embrace His love.
Thanks for your perspective. It's always nice to see you.
Indeed,children are a blessing!
My secret to happiness is that I am VERY good at eliminating stress from my life.
I am in control of my life,no one else is. There isn't a single person in the world that tells me what to do or gives me orders.
Even clients because I have more work than I can handle,so if my customers give me a hard time,I simply tell them to go elsewhere.
I've learnt to keep lifes expectations attanable and not shoot for the stars.
I have a good life,better than most. I fear that if I brought in a woman,she might tip over the delicate balance I've built and ruin everything. So for the present,I'm staying solo.
I appreciate your comments. For you always bring a warm presence!
God bless You!
Thanks for sharing your perspective, in regards to happiness. Eliminating the causes of one's stress can certainly help make life alot easier,when focusing on your goals.
In regards,to the fear of someone coming into your life...It's all about having good boundaries, when it comes to guarding your heart. Having well developed boundaries means, that you can keep the good in and keep the bad out.
God bless!
We are the master sof ourselves... We can use our brain, minds, body and soul for either good purposes or bad purposes...
Indeed,for God created everything good(our brain,minds,body and soul). But man with his freedom can misuse that good for evil purposes. However,God has a good purpose in allowing evil. For by permitting evil, He can defeat evil,so that He can bring about a greater good.