Formal Paper (GB 2)

 Kailey Franklin                                                                                

Dr. Taten Shirley

GB 1302 Great Books (Honors)

3 March 2024

Men in the Pursuit of Happiness

Every man is in the pursuit of the highest good, which happens to be happiness. Man pursues this desired object in various ways but neglects to recognize happiness cannot be reached in material assets. According to The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius and Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, genuine happiness is revealed to be found within a concept more divine than the materialism of humanity by demonstrating that men who chase happiness through wealth, glory, power, and pleasure fail in their ultimate goal.

Man tries to attain happiness by accumulating wealth, but his desire for increased riches leaves him empty and distressed. Man believes that if he relieves his appetite for wealth, then he will be cured of this void and, therefore, fulfill his innate desire for happiness. Boethius writes: “Wealth was supposed to make a man self-sufficient, but it actually makes him more dependent on the help of others” (67). Man hopes that gaining wealth cures dependency on others and establishes reliability upon oneself. However, dependency increases as wealth is accumulated not only from the security needed to protect it, but also dependency upon the way of living a person has become accustomed to since acquiring a massive fortune. Every time the next step of wealth is achieved, man is left wanting for the next level of funds. Boethius reveals wealth does not satisfy: “Riches, then, don’t remove need, but rather they produce a need of their own, for more and more” (68). Many people believe wealth obliterates any need, and one becomes completely independent through mass funds. However, removing one need only leads to a multitude of separate demands because man’s discontented nature is never satisfied. Men in the pursuit of riches seek to achieve their greater desire for happiness, but they grow restless as all the wealth in the world could never quench their desire for the greater good. Man seeks to find happiness in high ranks when he realizes that he cannot find it within all his riches.

Man in the pursuit for happiness attempts to fulfill himself by gaining power and glory within high offices and honorable ranks, but his flaws are only more highlighted because he stands on a pedestal for the entire world to observe. Man’s faults are often fully displayed when he chases after power, and those underneath him are more prone to dissecting even the smallest of his imperfections. Boethius confirms this idea by explaining, “High office focuses attention on the defects of bad men that might otherwise have gone unnoticed” (69). Man cannot be perfectly happy if he is under the constant scrutiny of his most basic character. Highly influential figures gain much honor and glory, but they carry the burden of their faults being more exposed. Kings, presidents, and the most powerful political leaders may muster all the glory, but their dissatisfaction still reigns supreme: “And wherever his rule ends, which is where his dissatisfaction begins as he realizes his limitation” (Boethius 71). Such leaders might have power and glory for a short season, but such trifles do not last. Happiness itself cannot be found within these materials for long. Man chases the power and glory of high ranks, but he still does not satisfy the ultimate desire that all men seek. Then man tries to satisfy this desire by seeking a form of happiness within pleasure instead of power and glory, but even this concept eventually fails.

When man has tired of pursuing wealth, power, and glory in the name of happiness, he defaults to seeking pleasurable activities and experiences. Nothing could bring happiness more easily than pleasure. Regardless, this type of happiness is fleeting and not the perfect happiness each man seeks to attain. Pleasure is the easiest to achieve of all of the previously mentioned articles, and most men choose to pursue it first: “But most men think of the good as their allotment of joy and good spirits, and they abandon themselves to the pursuit of pleasure” (Boethius 62). Eventually, pleasurable activities become tiresome, and no enjoyment is left for the sloth who simply revels every day away. These alluring activities seem innocent for a time, but the glitter fades and their true, ugly faces are shown. Boethius says, “If bodily pleasure were the door to happiness, then beasts would be happy because they spend all their time and energy fulfilling their bodies’ needs” (76). Man cannot find happiness in only the physical and material, for it does not last. Happiness is found in something more substantial and more ethereal than the concept of pleasure.

True happiness is divine, reaching beyond material things. Even Aristotle who comes from a pagan viewpoint, agrees that happiness must be found in an idea far more than simply materialistic: “[Y]et it appears that even if happiness is not god sent but comes to be present through virtue and a certain learning or practice, it is among the most divine things. For the prize of virtue or its end appears to be and to be something divine and blessed” (1099b14-18). Aristotle realizes that a form of happiness can be found within certain material objects, but he also realizes true happiness must be divine because it is an end of certain virtuous actions. Aristotle states, “[N]one praise happiness the way they praise justice; rather, people deem happiness a blessed thing, on the grounds that it is something more divine and better” (1101b25-27). Man praises justice on the account that a just society brings each person closer to ultimate happiness. For instance, justice is praised on the grounds that it is an action which suffices a debt, while happiness is a gift from the heavens.. Aristotle is correct in assuming that happiness is a divine gift, for genuine happiness is the end goal of every individual.

Happiness is not found in wealth, power, glory, honor, or pleasure. Man pursues many objects in the name of happiness, failing to realize that happiness is not found simply in the physical realm. For lasting happiness is only found within God and can never be found in such trifling material objects. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by Robert C. Bartlett and Susan D. Collins, University of Chicago Press, Reprint edition, 2012. 

Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy. Translated by David R. Slavitt, Harvard University Press, 2008.