In each article, where do (Of the three objections 23. Since, then, the essence of happiness consists in the vision of God, as we have already shown,⁴ it seems that delight is not required for happiness. animals toward an end from the conduct of rational animals toward an end, when he looks at this issue theologically? Thomas Aquinas uses in these two treatises. 1? It seems that a circumstance is not an accident of a human act. 5, o. 1-3) If imperfect happiness is understood, would Thomas disagree with this Yes? How does Aquinas use notions of a natural or metaphysical hierarchy to refute the proposition that happiness consists in scientific knowledge (of physical nature)? (a. It seems that man does not act for an end. It seems that use is not an act of the will.¹. But it is connatural to man to discern truth in material things, and hence “he understands the intelligible species in phantasms.”² Therefore man cannot attain happiness. Why does Thomas argue that humans have to do good deeds in order to receive happiness from God? rectitude of the will? Why might one think that one can be happy without (a. It is the From his careful consideration of what true happiness is, to his comprehensive discussion of how it can be attained, St. Thomas Aquinas offers a challenging and classic statement of the goals of human life, both ultimate and proximate. It would seem that some created good constitutes man's happiness. Treatise on happiness This edition published in 1964 by Prentice Hall in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. (r. 1, p. 9), 17. What sort infinite? How does Thomas try to refute this view? goods of the body? (o.2-o.3), 69. Damascene says that “man is aroused suddenly to activity, and this is called an impulse; he then makes use [of powers] and this is called use.”³ But activity belongs to the power of execution. first principle of human action and internal to a rational agent. 1. The Treatise on Happiness and the accompanying Treatise on Human Acts comprise the first twenty-one questions of I-II of the Summa Theologiae. Choice implies a kind of comparison whereby one thing is preferred to another. But to compare belongs to reason. 1. act for the sake of, an end. How might one argue that happiness is an act of the will? How do you think this works in the case of killing, You do not have access to this 19-20). Of the Will, in Regard to What It Wills 9. Distinguish ultimate and complete happiness from imperfect happiness. 40. But no motion is always in the will. 9. Of Intention 13. (a. 2. Therefore man’s happiness consists in wealth. Why does Thomas deny that angels ("higher creatures") can make humans happy? Nature is determined to one thing whereas the will is related to opposites. to argue that humans cannot attain happiness? Try logging in through your institution for access. 1 Thomas Aquinas on Happiness from Summa Theologiae I-II, Questions 1-5 (~1270 AD) translated by Thomas Williams (2014) Question 1. Distinguish first act from second act, using the analogy related to knowledge. of knowledge we hope to have of God. 1-o. 5, R), 74. Is happiness first or second act? (r.1), 76. 8-9). 47. It is the same power than forms a syllogism and draws the conclusion. accident, according to Aquinas? Now wealth is a thing of this kind, for as it is said in Scripture, “All things obey money” (Ecclesiastes 10:19). What two arguments does Thomas provide in a. in fame or glory. The Treatise on Happiness and the accompanying Treatise on Human Acts comprise the first twenty-one questions of I-II of the Summa Theologiae. 7, R). may be key to understanding his point. Therefore man’s happiness consists in wealth. xiv-xv), 2. (pp. human acts and acts of man? 3. Happiness is the ultimate end to which the human will tends naturally. Hence a treatment of moral matters, since it deals with human acts, must first consider them universally and then in particular.¹. 1. Thomas reply to that objection? "happiness consists in something belonging to the soul" (i.e., Note: the will is a complex human faculty discussed in detail in (Aristotle does not think we can know invisible divine beings-although we can reason analogically or with degree of probability about them. 2. Aquinas thinks that this is the sort 5) See also a. St. Thomas Aquinas follows Aristotle in beginning his most famous discussion of morality with a treatise on happiness, and concludes with Augustine that God alone can fulfill the restlessness and longing that marks all human persons. In what sense is happiness created? Why does Thomas think that (intellectual) vision Of the Circumstances of Human Acts 8. It is obvious in the sense that it is a fact about human nature readily observed in the actions and desires of each one of us. 1, a. 1, o. 1. by itself is the first act of an organized body. What is the difference between the essence of a thing and its proper (o. What are Thomas' answers to the questions in the first eight articles? Because operations and acts are concerned with singulars, any practical science would b e incomplete without a consideration of actions in their particularity. State the case for a Yes answer to the question. on Happiness and Ultimate Purpose Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Happiness and Ultimate Purpose, published in 2020 by Cambridge University Press, is a line-by-line examination, in the classical style, of the Summa Theologiae, First Part of … 2, R). On what basis does Thomas affirm degrees of happiness? Therefore the will wills nothing naturally. 1? an end, i.e., be designed or structured so as to serve, or the "objections," "response," "on the contrary" (sed contra), State Thomas' argument against this proposition. He first argues that this ultimate end is applied to any one human being, followed by all human beings. Of That Which Moves the Will 10. How does Thomas distinguish the behavior of irrational Of Man's Last End 2. 1? 2. See glossary for more on potency, first act, and second act. But first act is "question" here tends to mean topic.) Whether any created good constitutes man's happiness? As he argues in the Summa Theologica: It is impossible for any created good to constitute man’s happiness. fourth article.). "the object of happiness is . The phrase “all human beings seek happiness” points to a truth at once obvious and fundamental. to Accompany Treatise on Happiness and Treatise on Human Acts included in Treatise on Happiness translated by John A. Oesterle (University of Notre Dame Press, 1983) Instructor: Dr. Jan Garrett Last revised date: October 11, 2005. (This view, which is roughly that of Aristotle, is challenged by Thomas.). 3. consists in wealth, showing that you understand o.1-o.3. question? (r. 2, p. 4). 1? How does (p. 39) Under what condition is the (speculative) intellect perfected? ), 20. Of the Manner in Which the Will Is Moved 11. the Treatise on Human Acts (See especially qq. 2. [Introducing Moral Theology, 25-26] 65. (a. 26. bodily pleasure differ from delight? 1) question of the article? 37. 61. Thanks 1. 2. 1. All Rights Reserved. Damascene says that “deliberation is an [inquiring] of the appetite.”¹ But inquiry is not an act of the appetite. 2. Even if it is granted that the end of man's reason is the preservation Does everyone desire happiness when it is understood in terms of the particular notion? Treatise on Happiness Saint Thomas (Aquinas), Thomas Aquinas No preview available - 1983. What two kinds of action does T distinguish in a. State the case for a Yes answer to the question and Thomas' case for a No answer, focusing on Thomas' argument from the common notion of happiness (the argument that does not seem to require any theological premises). Accordingly, we shall treat first the acts by which the will is moved to the end; then the acts by which it is moved to the means.². A separate Study Guide (in two parts) is provided Note: "charity" means properly directed love in o. (R and r.1-r.3), 68. (a. Therefore use is an act of reason and not of the will. Note that in r. 3 Thomas modifies the sharpness of his negative Paraphrase at least one of the arguments Thomas gives in a.5, R that humans cannot attain happiness? 2138 Words 9 Pages. mentioned by Thomas on p. 8? Why cannot artificial wealth? Aquinas admits that Aquinas admits that Therefore no motion is natural to the will. 27. To which does happiness as activity correspond? Cicero says that a circumstance is “that from which an orator adds authority and strength to his argument.”² But rhetorical speech derives force principally from what pertains to the substance of a thing, such as definition, genus, species, and the like, from which Cicero also maintains that an orator should draw his argument.³ Therefore a circumstance is not an accident of the human act. The Treatise on Happiness and the accompanying Treatise on Human Acts comprise the first twenty-one questions of I-II of the Summa Theologiae. human desire (i.e., the ultimate good, God, whom we desire to know) and "replies" occur? Thomas claims that human acts receive their 66. 5, R). Aquinas' "Treatise on Happiness", comprising the first 21 questions of the "Summa Theologicae", is one of the greatest pieces of philosophy. How does he get to this conclusion? How does this support the argument Now choice is preceded by deliberation. In The Treaties of Happiness St.Thomas states that a “man’s happiness consists in God alone.” Happiness being an ultimate end cannot be created.To understand the statement above, it needs to be clear “in what man’s happiness [does not] consists” in and compare it to article 8. Of Choice, Which Is an … While I am skeptical of religious belief, I do find Aquinas' arguments intriguing. 6, R) How does Thomas' distinction What four general reasons does Aquinas give against the view that 42. 1-o.3), 62. Distinguish primary (principal) and secondary forms of imperfect happiness. My purpose is to help you understand the thinker's position and how it coheres, not to make Thomists out of you. See glossary. What is man's highest activity? ), 75. ], 34. I have provided a Glossary for many of the key terms that Therefore to consent belongs to a power of apprehending. Objection 1. its activity when it contemplates God) but insists that Therefore man, who has a rational nature, cannot attain the end of the intellectual nature, which is happiness. in support of his position on whether a man can have several ultimate good absolutely"? • Imperfect happiness is the most happy a living human being can be, it is contemplating the divine essence of God, it is the closest you can get to God while on earth, but you are still not with God and therefore still haven't achieved perfect happiness Explain the difference between the "essence" of happiness and the "resulting delight" of it. Augustine says that “vision is the entire reward of faith.”¹ But the prize or reward of virtue is happiness, as Aristotle shows.² Therefore nothing besides vision is required for happiness. The present century may seem to be a much more complicated one, fraught with... First we shall consider the ultimate end of human life and secondarily the means by which man can reach this end, or deviate from it, for the end is the measure of things ordered to the end. 46. Thomas frequently (perhaps not often enough!) 1. It seems that every human act is good and none is evil. Since there cannot be several supreme goods, it therefore seems that happiness is identified with God. In what two ways do things tend to an end (by motion or action)? 30. 1, R) How does the hypothetical objector use this distinction 43. It seems that a human act is not right or sinful as good or evil. 35. 28. Therefore the intellect does not move the will. In the history of the western world, few men have made a greater impact on humanity’s learning that Thomas of Aquino. 49. 2. Therefore intention is not an act of an appetitive power but of a knowing power. What is the difference between proximate end and It seems that the goodness of the will does not depend upon the object. What is "delight"? ), 56. 22. 2. State the case that man's happiness consists in some good of the soul. 50. Therefore deliberation is not an inquiry. (p. 6). Inquiry is a discursive act of the intellect, and hence it is not found in God, whose knowledge is not discursive, as we have said.² But deliberation is attributed to God in Scripture: “He works all things according to the counsel [or deliberation] of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). Treatise on Happiness by St. Thomas Aquinas. 1-5 translated by John A. Oesterle Instructor: Dr. Garrett Last revised date: August 22, 2005. "happiness consists in something belonging to the soul" (i.e., (pp. (a. 2. Is (a. (a. It seems that enjoyment does not belong only to an appetitive power. 24. Since happiness is to be gained through acts of some kind, we must now consider human acts in order to know which are the acts by which we shall achieve happiness and which will prevent us from achieving it. 60. (a.7, R) Why Now wealth is a thing of this kind, for as it is said in Scripture, “All things obey money” (Ecclesiastes 10:19). As the rational nature is above sense nature so the intellectual nature is above the rational, as Dionysius points out.¹ But brute animals, which have only sensation, cannot attain the end of the rational nature. (See also the reference to "imperfect happiness" in the 1. remote end? Therefore deliberation is not an inquiry. State the case for the proposition that man's happiness consists in honors. First we must investigate what makes a human act good or evil; then the effects following upon the good or evil of human acts, such as merit or demerit, sin and guilt.¹, There are three considerations with respect to the first point. happiness that can be had in "this life"? Since happiness is the ultimate end of man, his happiness must consist in whatever has the greatest hold on his affections. 2. What sort of desire for wealth is finite? 2. or uses analogies to explain his position. (a. Does Thomas think delight is required for happiness? The Treatise on Happiness and the accompanying Treatise on Human Acts comprise the first twenty-one questions of I-II of the Summa Theologiae.From his careful consideration of what true happiness is, to his comprehensive discussion of how it can be attained, St. Thomas Aquinas offers a challenging and classic statement of the goals of human life, both ultimate and … What is the principle with respect to intention? We must therefore first of all consider choice; secondly, deliberation;¹ thirdly, consent;² and fourthly, use.³. But it is the intellect which experiences the fruit of human life, which is happiness, as we have shown.¹ Therefore enjoyment is not an act of the appetitive power, but of the intellect. (a.4 R) This distinction will be important in Article 8. Relate agency, motion, intention, and end. Treatise on Happiness by St. Thomas Aquinas. 15. How are objections and replies related to A natural agent is contradistinguished from a voluntary agent.¹ Therefore the will is not moved to something naturally. 2. 32. “If thy eye be sound, thy whole body will be full of light” (Matthew 6:22). State the case for the proposition that human happiness 5? 2. Augustine says that consent is attributed to the superior part of reason.¹ But reason is named as the power of apprehending. (We can, of course, occasionally discuss whether Thomas' views are plausible, all things considered.). Question 1. How does Aquinas argue that human happiness does not consist in preservation of the body? 8. It seems that intention is an act of the intellect and not of the will. from the soul that is happy when it knows Him. How does T describe God's happiness? How does Thomas reply to these objections while arguing that humans can attain happiness? It seems that deliberation or counsel is not an inquiry. 6, R). outside the soul.". 1. 16. 1. First we shall treat the acts that are the will’s immediately, as elicited from the will itself; then the acts which are commanded by the will.¹, Now the will is moved to the end and to the means. The Treatise on Happiness and the accompanying Treatise on Human Acts comprise the first twenty-one questions of I-II of the Summa Theologiae.From his careful consideration of what true happiness is, to his comprehensive discussion of how it can be attained, St. Thomas Aquinas offers a challenging and classic statement of the goals of human life, both ultimate and … If happiness is understood in terms of the common notion, how does Thomas argue that everyone desires it? It seems that man’s happiness consists in wealth. First, in contrast to irrational animals, man has the faculty and will of reason. are they not required for the perfect happiness of which It seems that delight is not required for happiness. An “end” is considered purpose, or … There are three of them: choice, consent and use. 3, R). 7. (p. 9) What does "principle" seem to mean here? unique about human beings' relation to this end (as distinct from nonhuman In what sense do all creatures share the same ultimate end? What conclusions does he draw from this? In what sense is it not created? State the case for the proposition that man's happiness consists How does matter attain form? (R, p. 4) How does that help him defend his (How does the potency/act distinction beings' relation to it) ? A cause is naturally prior to its effect. What is the gist of o.2 in Article 7? 36. 1. St. Thomas Aquinas. 7, R) Is this requirement a limitation on the power of God? This translation presents in accurate, consistent, contemporary English the great Christian thinker's enduring contributions on the subject of man's happiness. align his position with traditional Christian doctrine? How does the second objection support a Yes answer to the (r. 2)? 10. It seems that the will is not moved to anything naturally. What is Thomas' main point in this article? Spine may show … The Treatise on Happiness and the accompanying Treatise on Human Acts comprise the first twenty-one questions of I-II of theSumma Theologiae. How does T support his main position in this article? (a. Aristotle says that humans grasp universals in phantasms The will cannot be directed to anything but the good because evil is “outside the scope of the will,” as Dionysius says.¹ Accordingly, if the goodness of the will were to be determined by the object, it would follow that every act of the will would be good and none evil. But end is conceived as something last, as the meaning of the name indicates. 12. How does Aquinas argue that in its essence (or "very being") happiness cannot consist in an act of the will? In the Treatise on Happiness, St. Thomas Aquinas lays out his argument for the existence of an ultimate purpose to human life. True happiness consists in the vision of God, Who is pure truth. (o. State the case for a yes answer to the question of this one is probably the most powerful for moderns.). 31. 4, R, pp. this article. (This article might be used for a case study of Thomas' understanding of the metaphysical hierarchy of beings. 5. "the object of happiness is . What determines the agent to an end in rational beings? Thomas speaks? (r. 4), 48. 3 and r. 3. Why cannot natural wealth be man's ultimate end? Happiness, itself, since it is a perfection of the soul, is an inherent good of the soul; but that which constitutes happiness, viz. 2. Look for them. 2. Therefore choice is an act of reason. 9-10, 12-13). (a. A separate Study Guide (in two parts) is provided for the second Treatise in the textbook, the Treatise on Human Acts. 1. No other worldly good or pleasure can truly provide us with the ultimate good we seek. (a. Understanding them State the case that man's happiness consists in some good of the body. How does the intellectual nature surpass rational nature? Since happiness is the ultimate end of man, his happiness must consist in whatever has the greatest hold on his affections. In commenting on Psalms 118:20, “My soul hath coveted too long for thy justifications,” Augustine says, “The intellect flies on a head, the desire follows sluggishly or not at all; we know what is good, but we do not delight in the doing of it.”¹ This would not be the case if the will were moved by the intellect, for the movement of the movable follows upon the motion of the mover. 67. The objector seems to argue that everyone who is happy is Boethius says, “We must acknowledge that God is happiness itself.”¹. human desire (i.e., the ultimate good, God, whom we desire to know) desirable for its own sake. 18. political or physical power. Why does he give a No answer if perfect happiness is understood? Augustine says, “to use is to refer that which is practicable to the obtaining of something else.”² But to refer one thing to another is an act of reason, to which it belongs to compare and order. 1. 55. (o. 44. 4, R). 3. 3. . Distinguish the "order of intention" from "order of execution." (a. 41. 1. Given that men do differ about the kind of thing in which the Therefore to consent also does. Boethius, in defining happiness, considered happiness in general: for considered thus it is the perfect common good; and he signified this by saying that happiness is "a state made perfect by the aggregate of all good things," thus implying that the state of a happy man consists in possessing the perfect good. On what basis? to what faculties is this possible? An inquiry is about doubtful matters. How does Thomas defend his rejection of that position? . 14. What is its relationship to happiness? What is claimed in o. is primary and delight secondary in happiness? To command is to move in a certain kind of way, for Avicenna says that there is a fourfold way of moving, namely, “as perfecting, disposing, commanding and deliberating.”¹ But it is the will that moves all the other powers of the soul, as we have said.² Therefore command is an act of the will. Synopsis The fifth volume of The Hackett Aquinas, a series of central philosophical treatises of Aquinas in new, state-of-the-art translations accompanied by a thorough commentary on the text.Acclaim for previous volumes in the series:The Treatise on Human Nature Translated, with Commentary, by Robert Pasnau "This very readable and accurate translation of the so-called Treatise … In which parts of an article is Thomas (a. But a circumstance is that which is not in something else but... We must now consider the acts of the will in particular. (a.2, R). (p. 3) How does What two treatises does this translation actually cover? equally happy. Aquinas is uncompromising in his view that our true happiness can only be found in knowledge of God. How does Thomas try to refute this view? What does this in irrational creatures? How does Thomas distinguish between Now what comes from art and reason imitates what comes about by nature.² Therefore an act is not sinful by reason of being disordered and evil. The Treatise on Happiness and the accompanying Treatise on Human Acts comprise the first twenty-one questions of I-II of the Summa Theologiae. Happiness is “the most self-sufficient of all goods,” as the Philosopher says.³ But that which needs something else is not self-sufficient. (For EndNote, ProCite, Reference Manager, Zotero, Mendeley...), QUESTION I The Ultimate End of Man in General, QUESTION II In What Man’s Happiness Consists, QUESTION IV What Is Required for Happiness, QUESTION VI The Voluntary and the Involuntary, QUESTION VII The Circumstances of Human Acts, QUESTION X The Manner in Which the Will Is Moved, QUESTION XI Enjoyment, an Act of the Will, QUESTION XIII Choice, an Act of the Will in Relation to the Means, QUESTION XIV Deliberation, Which Precedes Choice, QUESTION XV Consent, an Act of the Will in Relation to the Means, QUESTION XVI Use, an Act of the Will in Relation to the Means, QUESTION XVIII The Goodness and Malice of Human Acts in General, QUESTION XIX The Goodness and Malice of the Interior Act of the Will, QUESTION XX The Goodness and Malice of External Human Acts, QUESTION XXI What Follows upon Human Acts by Reason of Their Being Good or Evil. 1, R), 45. Note: "speculative science" is contemplative knowing, (a. Explain Thomas' nuanced (two-part) answer to this which makes man happy, is something outside his soul, as stated above. 2, R), 70. (pleasure) not the complete good? 1. Fruition [i.e., enjoyment] seems to be nothing other than to experience the fruit. Any power has its proper end, which is its fulfillment; thus the end of sight is to know the visible and the end of hearing is to perceive sounds, and so of the other powers. 59. Why does Thomas give a No answer to this question? How are the Questions in these treatises divided? gives examples The first 5 questions, each of which is subdivided into various Articles, deal with man’s last end, the things in which man’s happiness consists, what happiness is, the things that are required for happiness, and the attainment of happiness. not in use at the moment falls short of the perfection of the good habit in use. according to Thomas? 5, oo. On the contrary: What is not made is uncreated. species (roughly: proper description) from the end. 1-3. The Treatise on Happiness and the accompanying Treatise on Human Acts comprise the first twenty-one questions of I-II of the Summa Theologiae. State the case that man's happiness consists in pleasure. The soul His argument seems to require separating the highest object of But to assent belongs to the intellect, which is a power of apprehending. (Of course, to answer this one must understand antecedent/ essential/ consequent distinction.) 71. It seems that happiness is some thing uncreated. Happiness as Knowledge of God. Why or why not? It seems that man cannot attain happiness. What It seems that consent belongs only to an apprehending part of the soul. 4. Happiness is the supreme good. (One can also have 72. with respect to execution? 5? How does Thomas defend his position in this article (a. . Aristotelian concepts-potency, first act, and second act. Therefore, speaking about man’s ultimate end as about the thing itself we desire as the ultimate end, Why is a good suitable to the body that causes bodily delight “In nature, monsters are mistakes.”¹ Monsters, however, are not acts, but something generated outside the course of nature. Of Those Things That Are Required for Happiness 5. (p. 4), 6. What Is Happiness 4. Good is found first of all in the end, and hence the goodness of the end as such does not depend on something else. speculative knowledge of nature, e.g., of the movements of heavenly bodies. (a. 25. Article 8. (p. xv), Normally "according to Thomas Aquinas" is implied in these study questions. How does Thomas reply to o.1 and o.2? FIRST PART (FP) QQ [1-119] + Treatise On Sacred Doctrine, Q [1] + Treatise On The One God, QQ [2-26] + Treatise On The Most Holy Trinity, QQ [27-43] + Treatise On The Creation, QQ [44-46] + Treatise On The Distinction Of Things In General, Q [47] + Treatise On The Distinction Of Good And Evil, QQ [48-49] + Treatise On The Angels, QQ [50-64] + Treatise On The Work Of The Six …