Throughout the centuries, one of the greatest questions humankind has had is how to achieve happiness. There have been many philosophers, yet there is only a handful so influential as Aristotle and Augustine of Hippo in this domain. The former believed that people should develop all of their potential in order to be in tune with what humans were created for, which would include the optimal use of their cognitive functions. Similarly, St. Aquinas thought that one should be in accordance with God, and that only through loving Him would one truly be happy, yet only after death. Even though both theories are centered on God, Aristotle believes that happiness is achievable in present life, while Augustine postulates that this is only possible in the afterlife.
The two main convergence points for Aristotle and Augustine are the centrality of God and His role in completing humans. For both of them, people reach happiness when they are in tune with Him, as they were created by and for God. In this sense, men would only be complete through Him, as He would give humans the extra quality that they would need in order to really be happy.
Nevertheless, these philosophers differ as to whether this is actually possible in Earthly life. For Aristotle, it is, and one should cultivate virtues in order to be in tune with human nature, which would be in tune to God. For Aristotle, “the Good of man is the active exercise of his soul's faculties in conformity with excellence or virtue, or if there be several human excellences or virtues, in conformity with the best and most perfect among them” (1098a). If one were to act according to the virtuous middle, then one would become a virtual God. Even though he believes that it takes the whole of one’s lifetime to actually be happy, he thinks that it is something that one can actually achieve while living.
On the other hand, for Saint Augustine, one should love God in order to act correctly, yet this would not lead to real happiness because it would only be an approximation to what true felicity would be. “The happy life is joy based on the truth. This is joy grounded in you, O God, who are the truth” (Augustine 199). For him, true happiness would only be in the presence of God in the afterlife. He also believes that happiness would be a judgment of one’s whole life, yet that happiness would be something external to this earthly presence. In this sense, happiness would not be during life, but after it, unlike Aristotle.
In conclusion, Aristotle and Augustine of Hippo both center their philosophies around God, yet differ as to whether true happiness is possible on Earth or not. For Aristotle, it is imperative to exploit one’s potential in order to live the good life, which would be according to the nature that God created one for. Nevertheless, Saint Augustine believes that no matter what one does, acquiring true happiness would only be possible in the presence of God, as He is what really completes men. As one can see, even though they part from very similar premises, both of these philosophers have different conceptions about what it means to be happy and if one can actually achieve this state or not.
Works Cited
Augustine of Hippo. Confessions. Trans. Henry Chadwick. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Aristotle. Nichomachean Ethics. Trans. H. Rackahm. Web. 19 Jun. 2016. <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0054>.
