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Professor Hemati
Philosophy 1321
December 5, 2007
The Happy Life
Is it uncertain, then, that all men desire to be happy, seeing that they do not truly
desire the happy life, who do not desire to have joy in you, which is the only
happy life? (The Confessions of St. Augustine, 10.23.1).
As St. Augustine affirms, every person desires to be happy. How one goes about pursuing
a happy life says much about that person and what he or she deems as pleasurable. The Greek
philosophers Aristotle and Augustine are well versed on the subject of happiness. After
examining the Greek view of happiness provided by Aristotle, the Christian perspective provided
by Augustine and the Scriptures adds depth to what it means to live a happy life and uncovers
several similarities and differences between Greek and Christian views on happiness.
Today happiness is as fleeting as beauty: it is here one day and gone the next. Not so for
the Greek philosopher Aristotle. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle uses the word happiness to
mean human flourishing; happiness is being who we were created to be. He called happiness the
"chief good" (1.2.1),1 “something complete and self-sufficient” (1.7.1); it is an end in itself, not a
means by which something else is obtained (10.6.1). Aristotle also states that the contemplative
life or “the life of reflection” is the best way to lead a life of happiness (1.5.1). The goal is to use
the greatest faculty to reflect on the greatest object. The highest human faculty is the ability to
reason, to seek truth and wisdom. Aristotle advocated taking time to stop and reflect on the
1
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, trans. Terence Irwin (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1999), 95.
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highest good because it is good in and of itself. The contemplative life allows for humans to
reflect on what gives them meaning and purpose, which causes them to grow and mature. The
highest good for Aristotle is happiness because “happiness is what is best, and finest, and
pleasantest" (1.8.1).
Aristotle and Augustine differ on what they believe is the greatest good and how one can
be happy. While happiness is the greatest good for Aristotle, Augustine believes that God is the
greatest good. In my opinion, the Christian perspective takes Aristotle’s flourishing a step
further: happiness is more than human flourishing; it is best understood as having "joy in the
Lord" (Neh. 8:10).2 In the Confessions, Augustine says that "joy in the truth is the happy life”
(10.23.33).3 Since the end result of taking joy in the Lord is happiness, how can one have joy in
the Lord or joy in truth? “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). If Jesus is the truth and having “joy in this truth” is
the key to happiness, then knowing Christ is the way to true human flourishing. Paul proclaims to
the church at Philippi, "I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may
gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).4 Notice that Paul did not say that thinking or reflecting on Christ was
worth losing everything; instead, he considered knowing Christ to be of “surpassing worth.”
Therefore, the highest good for the Christian is to pursue, know, and love God supremely,
and to receive life from God, "the fountain of living waters" (Jer. 2:13). A pastor once said that
God is Niagara Falls, and the Christian is a bottomless cup. God does not just fill me up; God’s
2
English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001).
3
Augustine. The Confessions of St. Augustine, trans. John Kenneth Ryan (Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1960), 251.
4
New International Version (Palos Heights, IL: Zondervan, 1973).
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life continues to flow into me as I put myself into His mighty waves. The Christian recognizes
that thinking and reflecting is insufficient for happiness; humans cannot conjure up true
happiness by themselves, and it is impossible to be happy without God. Happiness comes only
from God through knowing Christ: "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3). Not only that, but abundant life comes
through a personal relationship with Christ. Jesus said, "I came that they may have life and have
it abundantly” (John 10:10). The Christian recognizes that mentally reflecting on God is not the
same as knowing God; knowing Christ is the way for humans to receive life from God and to be
who they were created to be.
There are some similarities in the Greek and Christian views on happiness. Both views
agree that happiness allows for human flourishing (see above), and believe that seeking the
greatest truth brings happiness. Aristotle confesses that this happiness is god-given (1.9.1), and
Augustine shows that he believes happiness comes from God when he famously says “our heart
is restless until it rests in you” (1.1.1). Aristotle’s contemplative life requires stopping and is
similar to the command from Scripture to "Be still and know I am God" (Ps. 46:10). Scripture
tells Christians to “be still” (or rest) and acknowledge God’s sovereignty. The Christian needs to
take time to stop and rest in what is most true—God.
The Greek and Christian perspectives on happiness differ on what they believe is the
greatest object and how one can be happy. For Aristotle, happiness is the chief good the reflective
life brings happiness. For the Christian, God is the Greatest Good and reflecting on Him will
never be enough, because happiness comes only from taking joy in God and by knowing (or
having a relationship with) God through the person of Jesus Christ. Knowing God through Christ
brings life and happiness. However, both agree that happiness requires “stopping” and seeking
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the greatest good; that happiness is “god-given;” and that happiness allows for human
flourishing.
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Works Cited
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by Terence Irwin. Indianapolis, IN.: Hackett
Publishing Company,1999. Print.
Augustine. The Confessions of St. Augustine. Translated by John Kenneth Ryan. Garden City,
NY: Doubleday, 1960. Print.