Catholic Medical Quarterly Volume 72 (4) November 2022
Book Review
Commentary On Thomas Aquinas's Treatise On Happiness and Ultimate
Purpose
by J. Budziszewski
Cambridge University Press
Reviewed by Pravin Thevathasan
In
this book, the great Catholic philosopher Joseph Budziszewski has given us
an easy to understand commentary on what Aquinas has to say on happiness
in his SummaTheologiae. As the author notes, the works of Aquinas are
particularly relevant at a time when moral philosophy has entered a time
of unsolvable conflict between the two big schools: deontology and
utilitarianism. It is surely a good time to explore the Aristotelian
tradition to which Aquinas belongs. The author also notes that some
contemporary philosophers have fallen into the sea of despair, looking
forward to a time when the human race will become extinct! We need to
return to happiness.
What Aquinas achieved was a beautiful synthesis between the Aristotelian and Christian traditions. For Aquinas, there is no conflict between faith and reason.
True happiness can never be fully found in this life, says Aquinas. This is because we are created by God and only God can make us truly happy. Aquinas looks at the various ways we can achieve some degree of happiness in this life: money, power, pleasure and fame. They can all bring us a certain degree of happiness, but they do not make us ultimately happy. They point towards a far greater good, and that is God.
For Aquinas, there is a difference between enjoyment and happiness. We can enjoy worldly goods and we can take pleasure in them. Once we have enjoyed these goods, we still find ourselves unfulfilled. Happiness is more like flourishing as a human person. In order to flourish, we need to live the virtues. Only this will bring us the happiness we long for.
I found this a really helpful commentary on the Treatise On Happiness.