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Recipes and rules for happiness—from Aristotle and Aquinas

Contemporary society seems undaunted in its efforts to outline and author a recipe for human happiness––whether it be by avant garde meditative means, diet and exercise, psycho and psychiatric intervention or a dizzying array of pharmacological inventions. Indeed, most analysts of modern life and modern culture would be hard pressed to deny the clamor for happiness and contentment in a complex, relative and technologically alienating world. Happiness books and recipes are all the rage at bookstores while seminar programs and other self-improvement and self-awareness initiatives find their way into counselling and public television venues. And those plans for the happy life can and are often the product of celebrity, entertainment gurus and other public personality whose background and depth of understanding cannot possibly deliver the goods necessary for a happy life. In other words, Oprah or Dr. Oz lack any true understanding of what human happiness truly is and benignly engage in a sort of snake oil charming to convince their readers and adherents that they actually understand the nature of real happiness. This lack of substantiality shows up at every corner of a beleaguered modern society where human interaction and human intimacy appear to be faltering, where distressing levels of suicide and depression trap both the young and old, where teenagers end their lives in alarming numbers and where drugs and other unnatural substances, like the opioid supply, are swallowed in staggering numbers. Today’s legions of drug-addicted citizens tell us much about our crumbling concept of true happiness and contentment.

By contrast, the perennial philosophical system of Aristotle and Aquinas delivers a most meaningful path to human happiness in all aspects of moral, ethical and social operations. In this way, “Living in Happiness in a Complex World,” offers a choice between our contemporary approach to happiness and that posed by Aristotle and Aquinas and does so in both a general and a specific sense. The choice of these two philosophical figures is completely intentional since both are bound together by a virtue theory that is fully connected to human happiness; both are perpetually concerned with the aim and end for human existence and both are driven by identifying the “good” for human life and at the same time discovering the “ultimate good” that is life’s real purpose. Despite their obvious difference in theological outlooks, both thinkers are astoundingly entwined––so much so that the claim that Aquinas simply “Christianizes” Aristotle is well founded.

List of Figures; List of Tables; Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Aristotle and Aquinas: Backgrounds and Relevance; 2. Defining Happiness; 3. Happiness: Wealth, Money and Material Possessions; 4. Happiness: Fame, Power and Honor; 5. Is Happiness Derived from the Body and Pleasure?; 6. Happiness: Family, Relationships, Marriage and Children; 7. Happiness, Spiritual Belief and Religion; 8. The Rules and Recipe for a Happy Life; Index.

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Sociologie, société et politique

PHILOSOPHY

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Publié par	Anthem Press
Date de parution	29 février 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781785272585
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0075€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Living in Happiness in a Complex World
Living in Happiness in a Complex World
Rules from Aristotle and Aquinas
Charles P. Nemeth
Anthem Press
An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company
www.anthempress.com
This edition first published in UK and USA 2020
by ANTHEM PRESS
75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK
or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK
and
244 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA
Copyright © Charles P. Nemeth 2020
The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN-13: 978-1-78527-256-1 (Pbk)
ISBN-10: 1-78527-256-X (Pbk)
This title is also available as an e-book. Book cover design by Mary Claire Nemeth
To Eleanor, vocalist and a Royal Academy voice in Sacred Music; Stephen, Marine Officer and Gentleman; Anne Marie, exceptional Teacher and Coach; Joseph, Officer from West Point and future Lawyer; John, Teacher and extraordinary Coach; Michael Augustine, Coast Guard and Historian and Mary Claire, artist and Teacher. Because of these sons and daughters, I have experienced true Happiness.
To St. Thomas Aquinas who remarked:
It is impossible for any created good to constitute man’s happiness. For happiness is the perfect good, which lulls the appetite altogether; else it would not be the last end, if something yet remained to be desired. Now the object of the will, i.e. of man’s appetite, is the universal good; just as the object of the intellect is the universal true. Hence it is evident that naught can lull man's will, save the universal good. This is to be found, not in any creature, but in God alone; because every creature has goodness by participation.
Summa Theologiae, I-II, Q.2, art. 8 at Respondeo
CONTENTS
List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Aristotle and Aquinas: Backgrounds and Relevance to the Modern World
Introduction
Aristotle (384–322 BC)
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)
Rules for a Happy Life
2. Defining Happiness
Parameters and Limitations on Happiness
Happiness as Boundless Exhilaration or Contentment
Happiness: Virtue and Vice
Happiness: The Goods and the Ends of a Self-Sufficient Life
Summary
Rules for a Happy Life
3. Happiness: Wealth, Money and Material Possessions
Introduction: Wealth and Human Activity
Happiness, Wealth and the Virtuous Life
Happiness, Levels of Wealth and Justice
Conclusion: The Balance of Wealth and Virtue Leads to Happiness
Rules for a Happy Life
4. Happiness: Fame, Power and Honor
Introduction: Do Fame and Honor Bring True Happiness?
Fame, Glory, Honor and the Concept of Happiness
Power and the Concept of Happiness
Conclusion
Rules for a Happy Life
5. Is Happiness Derived from the Body and Pleasure?
Introduction
The Incapacity of the Body and Sensory Pleasure in the Pursuit of Happiness
Happiness, the Body and Sexuality
Happiness: Pornography and the Body
Happiness: The Body and Sexual Promiscuity
Happiness: The Body and Drugs/Alcohol
Conclusion
Rules for a Happy Life
6. Happiness: Family, Relationships, Marriage and Children
Introduction
Happiness, Marriage and Family
Happiness, Family and Children
Conclusion
Rules for a Happy Life
7. Happiness, Spiritual Belief and Religion
Introduction
Happiness, Physical Well-Being, Health and the Spiritual Life
Happiness, Emotional Well-Being and Mental Health
Conclusion
Rules for a Happy Life
8. The Rules and Recipe for a Happy Life
Chapter 1: Rules for a Happy Life
Testing the rules
Chapter 2: Rules for a Happy Life
Testing the rules
Chapter 3: Rules for a Happy Life
Testing the rules
Chapter 4: Rules for a Happy Life
Testing the rules
Chapter 5: Rules for a Happy Life
Testing the rules
Chapter 6: Rules for a Happy Life
Testing the rules
Chapter 7: Rules for a Happy Life
Testing the rules
Index
FIGURES
P.1 National Drug Overdose Deaths, Number among All Ages, 1999–2017
1.1 Bust of Aristotle
1.2 Excavation of the Lyceum
1.3 Aristotle, Holding His Ethics , Raphael 1510–11
1.4 Saint Thomas Aquinas, Carlo Crivelli, 1476
1.5 Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas, Francisco de Zurbaran, 1631
1.6 Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas over Averroes, Benozzo Gozzoli, 1471
2.1 Increase in Opioid Overdoses since 1999
2.2 Opioid Statistics Are Mind-Numbing and Increasingly on the Rise
3.1 President Ronald Reagan Presents Mother Teresa with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House Ceremony as First Lady Nancy Reagan Looks on, June 20, 1985
3.2 Effect of Annual Income on Happiness
3.3 Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York: Advocate for Single-Payer Health System and a Democratic Socialist
3.4 Senator Bernie Sanders: Avowed Democratic Socialist
4.1 Life Expectancy of Pop Musicians
4.2 Charities Overpaying for Fundraisers
4.3 The Honorable Speaker of the House: Nancy Pelosi
4.4 Last Picture of Adolf Hitler in the Crumbling Reichstag
4.5 Joseph Stalin: Ruler of the Soviet World
4.6 Department of Defense: US Howitzer Attacks on ISIS positions
4.7 Amy Winehouse singing at the Virgin Festival, Pimlico, Baltimore, Maryland, United States on August 4, 2007
5.1 Relationship of Mind, Body and Soul
5.2 Sexual Activity Delay versus Happiness
5.3 Plastic Surgeon Expenditures
5.4 STD Rates
5.5 Delay in Sexual Activity Cuts the Odds of Contracting STDs
5.6 Drug Use Increase 1970–2014
5.7 Women, Depression and Sexual Activity
5.8 Attempted Suicide and Sexual Activity in Teenage Girls
5.9 Attempted Suicide and Sexual Activity in Teenage Boys
5.10 Find easy to understand drug facts at easyread.drugabuse.gov
5.11 Use of Drugs, Individuals Age 12 and Over
5.12 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Impacts Marked in Yellow from Marijuana Use
5.13 Center County PA Drug Use
5.14 Effects of Drugs
6.1 The Unabomber: Courtesy of the FBI
6.2 The Unabomber’s Montana Home: Courtesy of the FBI
6.3 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
6.4 Marriage Rates 2004–14
6.5 Percent of US Births out of Wedlock
6.6 Active Shooter Incidents Statistics
6.7 Teenage Depression Rates
6.8 Single-Parent Households
6.9 Fertility Rates
7.1 Relationship between Religion and Health Outcomes
7.2 Religion and Well-Being
7.3 Sisters of Notre Dame
7.4 Lourdes, France, where Many Seek Miraculous Intervention
7.5 The Incorruptible Body of St. John Southworth in Westminster Cathedral, London
7.6 Essentials of Christian Identity, Part One
7.7 Essentials of Christian Identity, Part Two
7.8 Property Defaced and Minks Released at This Site in Protest
7.9 Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
TABLES
2.1 Aristotle’s Virtues and Vices
3.1 Population Growth Rates
5.1 Love versus Lust
5.2 Risk of STD by Gender
5.3 Depression and Sexual Activity
PREFACE
The quest for human happiness is a universal hope and ambition. Everyone seeks happiness over other negative states of being; in fact, it is an inherent quality, a yearning natural to our human constitution. While some have argued that human beings are by nature inclined to all that is good in life, there are those who speak of the battle between good and evil that gives rise to inner turmoil and conflict, while others observe that our fallen nature, due to sin and corruption, makes happiness an elusive endgame. Whatever vision one might adopt, all would agree that our goal is to be happy rather than distressed or sad—to be content and peaceful with every aspect of life whether in family or community, love and friendship, marriage and commitment. Everywhere, everyone prefers happiness to distress; joy to despondency; optimism to pessimism; and a positive outlook from a life well-lived over depression that results from personal failure. Nothing stated here need be corroborated or empirically, scientifically proven. Simple human observation can reach these conclusions.
If happiness is so universally sought after, why are so many people miserably unhappy? In contemporary culture, the evidence for unhappiness rages like torrents and wild waves in a tsunami in all corners of the globe. The opioid crisis manifests more than a mere addiction but a craving for artificial happiness (see Figure P.1). 1

Figure P.1 National Drug Overdose Deaths, Number among All Ages, 1999–2017.
Alcoholism and drug abuse have reached staggering levels where millions of American citizens labor under their addictive influence, almost all of it driven by a desire to be happy or to escape what may be too difficult to bear. The general population seeks out psychiatric and psychological help in escalating numbers—all pining for solutions to emotional and behavioral problems, all hoping for some soluti