Thomas Aquinas on Imperfect and Perfect Happiness and Seeing God

Abstract

Happiness according to Thomas Aquinas is the perfect good which is obtained upon seeing God in after life. The happiness which Aquinas refers to is the perfect happiness against imperfect happiness. Imperfect happiness is obtained by depending on intellectual and moral virtues and is the pre-requisite to perfect happiness which flourishes by the mercy of God, theological virtues, charity, hope and faith. In order to explain the subject of happiness, he rejects other possible subjects of happiness such as wealth, fame, glory, power, mundane good and proceeds by pointing that happiness is a perfect good whose path is implanted in the soul of human being. He believes that delight and rectitude of the will are the necessary means of happiness; yet human body is necessary for reaching happiness both in the corporeal life and the afterlife. External good and the companionship of the friends are not required for perfect happiness; nevertheless, they are needed to achieve imperfect happiness which is a per-requisite to the perfect happiness.

Keywords

• thomas aquinas
• perfect happiness
• imperfect happiness