Plato and Augustine’s Conceptions of Happiness Essay -- Philosophy Essa

Both Plato and Augustine offer unusual conceptions of what one must acquire to live a truly happy life. While the conventional view of happiness normally pertains to wealth, financial stability, and material possessions, Plato and Augustine suggest that true happiness is rooted in something independent of objects or people. Though dissimilar in their notions of that actual root, each respective philosophy views the attaining of that happiness as a path, a direction. Plato’s philosophy revolves around the attainment of eternal knowledge and achieving a metaphysical balance. Augustine also emphasizes one’s knowing the eternal, though his focus is upon living in humility before God. Both assert that human beings possess a natural desire for true happiness, and it is only through a path to something interminable that they will satisfy this desire. In his several dialogues, Plato contends the importance of the four virtues: wisdom, courage, self-control, and justice. In The Republic, he describes a top-down hierarchy that correlates to the aspects of one’s soul. Wisdom, courage, and temperance preside control over the rational, spirited, and appetitive aspects of the soul. It is when one maintains a balance between these aspects of his soul that he attains peace within himself: â€Å"...And when he has bound together the three principles within him...he proceeds to act...always thinking and calling that which preserves and cooperates with this harmonious condition (Plato 443c).† Wisdom and knowledge consistently remain at the top of his view of happiness. During the apology, Plato is asked what punishment is best suited for him. He sarcastically answers, â€Å"to be fed...(It is) much more suitable than for any one who has won a v... ...ath is led by humility, directing one toward a better understanding of God. Perhaps it is not important, however, which source, if either, is the correct root of happiness, but merely that one’s source stretches beyond the margins of what is temporal. Works Cited: Augustine, Aurelius. Confessions. 400. Trans. Henry Chadwick Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Kant, Immanuel. An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? Online Essays Appropriate to Foucoult. 1997. 3 April 2001. Available URL: http://www.csun/edu/~hfspc002/ fouc.essay.html Plato. Five Dialogues. Trans. G.M.A. Grube Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1981. Plato. The Republic. Exploring Plato’s dialogues 28 March 2001. Available URL: http://trill.cis.fordham.edu /~gsas/philosophy/quotedpassage.htm