Lecture 8: Virtue and
The Happy Life
Dr. Ann T. Orlando
30 October 2008
Outline
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Augustine
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The Happy Life
Virtue
Aquinas on virtue
Calvin on Virtue
John Stuart Mill
Spe Salvi
Background: Virtue
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Plato
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Happiness is the perfect state, not sullied by material concerns
The virtues are those qualities which make us excellent and perfected
Human soul is a reflection of the ‘world-soul’
Not clear if virtues can be learned (acquired) or are a gift of God
Aristotle
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Happiness is a self-sufficient active individual
Virtue is mean between two extremes
Emphasis on practical reasoning
Virtues can be learned, but to do so must be practiced as habits
Background: Hellenistic Philosophy
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Stoics
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Epicureans
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Happiness is living according to nature (God is nature; Logos, Providence)
Virtue is conformity to accepting circumstances of nature
Passions are to be suppressed (indifference)
Nature is found in Providential law
Epictitus, Virtue and the Happy Life
Happiness is found in pleasant life of peaceful tranquility
Gods are not concerned with us; no immortality of soul
Virtues as means to a pleasant life
Epicurus’ philosophical starting point, “How can there be evil and a good omnipotent
God”
Neoplatonists
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Happiness is contemplation of the One
Virtues change and improve as one progresses closer to contemplation of the One
Early Christianity and Virtue
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Virtue not Biblical
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Greek philosophical concept of ethics
Biblical ethics is law and the right path
Early Greek theologians, especially Clement of
Alexandria, introduce the idea of ‘virtue’ into
Christian ethics
But Tertullian in “What has Athens to do with
Jerusalem” was specifically targeting the use of
virtue as a basis for ethics in Christianity
Stoicism and Neoplatonism provides philosophical
mechanism for combination of virtue and Christian
ethics
Augustine and Happiness
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How to be happy is the driving force in many
of Augustine’s works
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Arguably Confessions is at root his personal
search for happiness
The City of God arguably is at root the corporate
search for happiness
On The Happy (Blessed) Life
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“The Happiness of Hope”
Written in 386, shortly after his conversion while at
Cassiciacum
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The soul is happy only in the comprehensive
understanding of Truth
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Before Baptism
Truth is found only in the Trinity
Monica plays crucial role,
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As the one who intuitively understands that life in God is the
happy life
As model for Catholic spirituality
On Free Choice of the Will
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Dialog with friend (and future bishop) Evodius
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Book I Outline
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Began Book I in Rome in 387, completed in North Africa in 388
Completed Books II and III around 395
Where does evil come from
Suffering and sin
Civil and eternal law
Book II Outline
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Why did God give us free will if we use it to choose sin?
That we can know there is a God, immutable and eternal truth, who is Good
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Argued by analogy
Free choice is a good
Happy life is to choose the good, highest good for man on earth in virtue
Sin is the turning away from God (opposite of virtue)
Book III Outline
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If God knows all, how can we have free will?
Our free choice guaranteed because it si a gift of God who does know all
Difference between ignorance and sin
Through Adam’s sin, both ignorance and sin entered
Augustine and Virtue
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In Book II, Augustine gives a definition of virtue, “right reason whereby life is
lived rightly”
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In later thought, Augustine begins to shift to love as the primary, indeed only,
virtue
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Focus on cardinal virtues
Especially justice
Love becomes the only measure of morality (right action) “Love and do what you will”
Tractates on Epistle of St. John, Homily VII
“Virtue consists in nothing else but in loving what is worthy of love; it is prudence to
choose this, fortitude to be turned from it by no obstacle, temperance to be enticed by
no allurements, and justice to be diverted by no pride[… “good or bad love makes
good or bad conduct”.
[1] Augustine, Letter 155 to Macedonius
“The best brief description of virtue is the ordering of love” City of God 15.22
City of God XIX.1-8
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Starts with how to be happy
An examination, based on Varro (116-27 BC, friend
of Cicero, wrote extensively on philosophy), of
different philosophical approaches to happiness,
virtue, evil
That the happy life is a social life
The calamity of our ignorance
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How a human judge is different form God the all-knowing
judge
Friendship the highest good on earth
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But can only be imperfectly lived on earth
Aquinas and Happiness
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Ia IIae begins with a discussion of happiness
Q1 a1-8 reconciling Aristotle and Augustine
on human purpose and happiness
Q3 what is happiness
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The role of virtue in human happiness
Happiness as the vision of God
Aquinas on Virtue
ST Ia IIae Q55-67
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Q55 Definition of virtue
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Virtue as a good habit (a1-3)
Augustine’s definition of virtue a4
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Q62 a2 Are cardinal (acquired virtues) different from infused (theological)
virtues?
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Distinguish between virtues associated with our nature (cardinla virtues) and virtues
beyond our nature (theological virtues)
Distinguish between love (amor) and charity (caritas)
Q64 Mean of virtues
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The end of virtue as an operative habit
Theological virtues as infused, different from acquired virtues
Cardinal virtues have a mean
Theological virtues do not have a mean
Q 65 Connection among virtues
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a2 The ways in which the acquired (cardinal) virtues are not connected to charity as
the natural end fo man, and the way in which they are connected to charity as the
eternal end of man
a3 relationship between infused cardinal virtues and charity
Reformation Suspicion of Scholastic
Philosophy
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Return to Scripture without philosophical
intermediaries
Deeply question whether virtues can be
acquired
Fall precludes any sense of happiness on
earth
Calvin and Happiness
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Man without grace does live in a degenerate
and deformed state
In this life, true happiness is not possible and
should not be sought
The Fall precludes man being able to work
toward his own happiness
Calvin
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Institutes 3.6
Reaction against ‘philosophy’
Points to sermons of Fathers
Importance of Bible, especially Decalogue, as way of
morality
The paramount importance of righteousness, not
virtue
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Righteousness as conformity to will of God
Righteousness as rule for conduct
Where is Augustine in this? Why does he seem to
have no significance for Calvin’s arguments?
Modernity: Happiness and Virtue
Without Religion
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Enlightenment belief in human progress
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Ethics based on social contract
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Happiness within man’s grasp on earth
Individuals and society can created their own happiness
Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness
Rational Individuals and Societies can figure out for
themselves what is ‘right’
Voltaire Philosophical Dictionary, Virtue,
http://history.hanover.edu/texts/voltaire/volvirt.html
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
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Father, James Mill, was an historian and student of Jeremy
Bentham
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Elected to House of Commons in 1865 as a liberal
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John raised without any religious instruction
Was instructed in classical Greek and Roman literature
Studied in France and became part of French liberal philosophical
scene
Champion of women’s rights
Philosophical works include
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Logic and language
Scientific method
Psychology
Politics
Moral philosophy of Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
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Based on work by Jeremy Bentham to find a new basis for
morality after the ‘overthrow’ of religion
Utility is equated with Epicurean happiness
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Maximize pleasure for greatest numbers, minimize pain
Actions should be governed by “The Greatest Happiness” as their
ends
Read Chapters 1, 2 of Utilitarianism
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What is the significance of the classical Christian (Augustine)
tradition
Compare structure and arguments with City of God XIX. However
do not assume that Mill read it
Available at
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/mill/john_stuart/m645u/util02.html
Modern Return to Aristotle
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G.E.M. Anscombe, “Modern Moral
Philosophy” 1958 available at
http://www.philosophy.uncc.edu/mleldrid/cmt/
mmp.html
Student of Wittgenstein
Convert to Catholicism
Set the path for MacIntyre
A Return to Augustine
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Spe Salvi (Para 10-34)
Where is the happy life found
Is virtue the end or the way
Can man save himself
What is role of human freedom
Available at
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_x
vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_benxvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html
Bonus: Darrin McMahon
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“From the happiness of virtue to the virtue of
happiness: 400 B.C.-A.D. 1780” Daedelus,
133:2, pp 5 – 13 (Mar 22, 2004)
Traces the change in the relationship
between virtue and happiness in the
Enlightenment
Assignments
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Augustine
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Aquinas
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On Free Choice of the Will Book II
City of God, XIX.1-8
ST Ia IIae Q1, Q3
St Ia IIae Q55, Q62-65
Calvin, Institutes 3.6
Voltaire Philosophical Dictionary, Virtue,
http://history.hanover.edu/texts/voltaire/volvirt.html
John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism, Ch 1, 3,
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/mill/john_stuart/m645u/util02.html
G.E.M. Anscombe, “Modern Moral Philosophy” 1958 available at
http://www.philosophy.uncc.edu/mleldrid/cmt/mmp.html (optional)
Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi Para 10-34 Available at
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/
hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html