Is Man Capable of Attaining Happiness by Himself?

           There are many things on this Earth that we can not do by ourselves and that we need help doing. All throughout life, you need help doing things. As a baby, you need help eating and just about doing anything and as you grow older you need help with bigger things like making decisions. There are many thing things that you can not do by yourself and attaining perfect happiness is one of them. In Thomas Aquinas’, Summa of the Summa, they question whether man can attain happiness by his natural powers. Aquinas goes through the objections that people could have on the topic and refute it and explain why the objections are wrong. He then goes through what he believes and explains his beliefs. There are two different kinds of happiness in the book: imperfect happiness and perfect happiness. Aquinas states that you can attain imperfect happiness through man’s natural powers but man can not attain perfect happiness through their natural powers.

            In objection 1, Aquinas talks about how nature does not fail in giving us the necessary things. It says, “For nature does not fail in necessary things. But nothing is so necessary to man as that by which he attains the last end” (398). Nature does not fail to supply you with the things to live but it does not supply the way to the last end. Later in the article, Aquinas is replying to the objection and says that since nature does not fail necessary things, nature gives you free will. Aquinas states, “Just as nature does not fail man in necessaries, although it has not provided him with weapons and clothing, as it provided with animals, because it gave reason and hands, with which he is able to get these things for himself” (398). This passage is saying that nature does not always give us exactly what we need but nature gives us the tools and the reason that are required for what you need. Aquinas states, “But it did not give him free-will, with which he can turn to God, that He may make him happy…” (398). Free-will does not give us our last end but it does allow us to choose God and attain the last end through him and not through our own power.  

            In the I answer that section, Aquinas states about what he believes on if man can attain happiness by his natural powers. Aquinas does not believe that man can attain perfect happiness in this world because you can not have perfect happiness with all of the imperfections in the natural world. Aquinas states, “Imperfect happiness that can be had in this life, can be acquired by man by his natural powers.” (398). There is a difference between having imperfect happiness and a perfect happiness. Imperfect happiness does not last longer than your time on Earth, but perfect happiness is what you have when you let God be in control and when you are in Heaven. Aquinas also states that, “But man’s perfect happiness, as stated above, consists in the division of the Divine Essence.” (398). Whenever he talks about perfect happiness, he is speaking about happiness that you get through God. We are able to attain perfect happiness through the divine essence because the vision of the divine essence is so great. Aquinas states, “Now the vision of God’s Essence surpasses the nature not only of man, but also of every creature” (398). God’s vision is so great that it is greater than all of the creatures and man. This allows God to be able to give us perfect happiness in Heaven. Aquinas thoroughly explains his thoughts about whether you can attain happiness by man’s natural powers.

            In Summa of the Summa, Aquinas is answering the question of whether you can attain happiness can attain by his natural powers. He came to the conclusion that you can not attain perfect happiness by yourself but you can attain imperfect happiness by man’s powers. The feeling of happiness that people feel while on Earth is imperfect happiness because the happiness is being caused things of the earth and things that are imperfect. Perfect happiness can only be caused by God because He has no imperfections. He finds that nature could not fail on necessities and that’s why we have free-will and can choose to turn to God and be happy through Him.