Al-Sahsah 4

A Theological View on Happiness

The world has had as many theories of happiness as there are people that inhabit it with such varying opinions of what it takes to make humans the happiest.   Saint Thomas Aquinas explained his view from a theological perspective as compared to a philosophical perspective.  He compares wealth, honors, fame, power, bodily good, pleasure, good of the soul, and created good to help decipher the essence of happiness.

On wealth, Saint Thomas Aquinas says “It is impossible for man’s happiness to consist in wealth” (Kreeft 132-133).  He goes onto say that natural wealth should serve to replace the natural wants. Peter Kreeft’s analysis of Aquinas’ passages is that greed is a great spiritual danger; that there will never be enough money for the greedy whereas natural wealth can be satiated.  According to Psalms 8:8 which is referred to in “The Shorter Summa”, all things are below man and have been made for him.  The very thought that man is the reason for all life seems very egocentric which it would seem that Aquinas is actually preaching against.  

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Honor is not a way to achieve happiness either according to Aquinas.  Achieving honor for the sake of being honored is not noble.  From the Kreeft interpretation, Aquinas is saying that honor is external whereas happiness is internal.  Aquinas states that honor can come from happiness but not the reverse.  Many cultures feel that honor is the most important part of a man’s integrity.  To live life without seeking honor would be meaningless much in the same line as Objection number 3 (Kreeft 136).


The praise of being well-known, famous, is another example that Aquinas uses to explain ...

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