. . . “It is plain that the others have
some relation to the good. It is for that reason, namely because it is held to
be good, that this satisfaction is sought, and power likewise, and the others
too; we may suppose the same of veneration, renown, and pleasure.
“The good then is the cause of the
desire for all of these, and their consummation also. Such a thing as has in
itself no real or even pretended good, cannot ever be sought.
“On the other hand, such things as are
not by nature good, but seem to be so, are sought as though they were truly
good. Wherefore we may justly believe that their good quality is the cause of
the desire for them, the very hinge on which they turn, and their consummation.
“The really important object of a
desire, is that for the sake of which anything is sought, as a means. For
instance, if a man wishes to ride for the sake of his health, he does not so
much desire the motion of riding, as the effect, namely health. As, therefore, each
of these things is desired for the sake of the good, the absolute good is the
aim, rather than themselves.
“But we have agreed that the other
things are desired for the sake of happiness, wherefore in this case too, it is
happiness alone which is the object of the desire. Wherefore it is plain that
the essence of the good and of happiness is one and the same.”
“I cannot see how anyone can think
otherwise.”
''But we have shown that God and true happiness
are one and the same?”
“Yes.”
“Therefore,” said she, “we may safely
conclude that the essence of God also lies in the absolute good and nowhere
else.”
—from
Book 3, Prose 10
So when
it comes to happiness, I need to stop thinking of it as collecting a whole
bunch of different pieces from here and there. I should rather recognize that
there is only one complete and perfect whole, leaving nothing more to be
desired.
Once
again, I think back to the shopping list of happiness, and I can admit more and
more how truly ridiculous that all sounds. Give me as much money as I may need,
and then also a secure position, and then add a healthy pinch of influence, and
then mix in a fine reputation with others. Oh, and I almost forgot, sprinkle it
with plenty of pleasure, because nothing tastes any good if there isn’t lots of
fun to go along with it!
I may
believe all of these things to be desirable, yet the whole time I am only
looking at them individually. Note also how I may worry that I have left out
some important ingredient, which actually reveals that I don’t really
understand what makes the recipe. I am failing to ask myself what the common
quality really is, the single good
that I mysteriously attribute to all of the components, even as I am clueless
as to what really defines it.
A shared
term refers to something held in common, not many things that have nothing in
common. A dog, a cat, a cow, and a horse are all mammals, types of animals that
possess certain properties. When we similarly say that wealth, and power, and
honor, and pleasure are good things, what is really the same about all of them?
That we
consider them all to be good is, after all, precisely why we say we want them. In
this sense, the fact that they are good is the very cause of their
desirability, and if we no longer perceived anything good in them, they would
cease to entice us. But don’t we sometimes pursue bad things? Yes, but only
because we mistakenly see some benefit in them.
All actions
are directed to this good, that happiness for the sake of which we do anything
we do. The different means all point to the common end. I want a job so I can
make money, and I want money so I can buy things, and I want to buy things so.
. . I can be happy? Notice how I may not be thinking through the progression
from the means to the end as carefully as I should.
Why ride
a horse? Some people may do so, as Boethius suggests, for their health, though
others may do so because they are herding cattle, or because they are trying to
win a race, or simply because they love animals. Whatever the particular reason,
they have a higher goal in mind, that it will somehow make them happy.
I may
still only be taking baby steps here, but if I recognize that the highest good
is happiness, I can also identify these two terms with another term. God is the
highest good, and God is happiness. Here again is that one common thing, which
nothing greater can be conceived, and even as we may give it all sorts of
names, it still ends up being the same thing.
I may
not always be aware that I am really seeking God as my final end, and I may
even vehemently deny it; I may insist I’m quite content with all these far more
practical things, like a career, or getting the kids into a fancy college, or a
relaxing fishing trip. Yet I still want them for their goodness, which is
simply a finite expression of an infinite cause.
I once
had a very romantic and poetic friend, who was sipping a glass of fine whiskey,
and smoking a fat cigar. As he wallowed in the glow of it all, he went off on a
rambling monologue. It was quite amusing to listen to him, but also quite
profound:
“. . .
So I am only now realizing that I always wanted love in my life, but I didn’t
know I wanted it, so I tried all other sorts of things to take its place, but
they weren’t really love, now were they? After all, love is all we need, and
they say God is love!”
He
paused for a moment, his mouth hung open, and he almost dropped his cigar.
“Wait,
have I been wanting God this whole time? Oh crap!”
Written in 9/2015
No comments:
Post a Comment