Saint Augustine Happiness

What does it mean to be happy? There are so many definitions of the word “Happiness” because it means different things to different people. According to oxford dictionary, happiness means “The state of being happy”. For some other people happiness can be purchasing of things like clothes, shoes, gadgets. Many people feel happy when they go shopping and get new stuffs, but is that truly happiness? From my own point of view to be happy you have to understand that everything near you is good, you have to be happy with the people around you, do things you know that will make you happy and don’t think about others opinion. Like the say everything happens for a reason, don’t let your past bother you, rather think about your present

In Augustine’s Confessions, he confesses many things of which we are all guilty; the greatest of which is his sadness of not having a relationship with God earlier in his life. He expressed to us that to neglect a relationship with God is far worse than the pity he felt for Dido. In reviewing his life, he had come to examine life and how there are temptations in this world that can keep us distracted. He tells to us how he became aware of this fact; everything is negligible except love for God, and his own guilt at not having found this truth sooner.

Confessing his sins Augustine recalls the first sin that he can remember, thievery. As a boy Augustine “and some other wretched youths” had gone and stole pears from trees. Augustine himself having no need to steal out of poverty or hunger, as the boys end up disposing of the pears to pigs in the end (Augustine, 30). Augustine explaining that “I loved my sin - not the thing for which I had committed the sin, but the sin itself” (Augustine, 31). This task of thievery seeming to be trivial, is a significant obstacle as Augustine is not only discovering why he and others sin. As well as the important difference between what Augustine describes are lower and higher goods. Augustine explains that while following worldly law, we also have to keep in mind and not stray from the Lord’s law (Augustine,31). With the aspect of worldly honor and greed, sin was committed for the reason in acting due to the love of something

Happiness is something that all people, no matter what race, gender, or social class, strive for. Based on lifestyle or perspective each person has their independent idea of what happiness is, but everyone shares an end goal to live their definition of a happy life. Many people, though, struggle in finding their way to this goal. They face hardships and challenges that test their happiness every day. Happiness, though somewhat indirectly, does take learning and training to discover and maintain.

In St. Augustine opinion it is not possible to achieve true happiness by focusing solely on the good of your body. According to St. Augustine, the soul is more important that the body. Furthermore, St. Augustine mention in the text that there is nothing more invigorating or grater to the body than the soul. I do agree with St. Augustine train of thought on this matter and he is defiantly my favorite of the philosophers in this book so far. In my opinion, no one could ever be happy if they just focused on the physical aspect of life. Human beings are more than just flesh, so there has to be some sort of nurture of the soul.

To conclude, St. Augustine’s views on the lust for sex and the roles of women are similar. They are both seen as negative, weak and immoral. However, they do align with

Happiness is not a strange term to us. We usually use that word to express our feelings in every day. Additionally, more than a word, “happiness” is what we really need and always seek in life. However, finding and understanding deeply its meaning is not easy. The online dictionary, “vocabulary.com” defines, “Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness.” Thus, we always wonder if we are happy or how could we be happier in our life. Happiness, therefore, becomes a goal for everybody.

In a textbook dictionary, happiness can be defined as “the state of well-being and contentment” (Merriam-Webster) , but the plan is for us to find out what happiness means from a psychological standpoint. A psychological definition of happiness is “a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.” (Wikipedia). Common people's happiness may consist of having a good paying job, a happy family, good friends, the list could go on and on about people's different way of defining happiness. No one would know the struggle behind to people's happiness, a well paying job would of consisted of years of tedious schoolwork while

The beauty of Confessions and Augustine's writing is that it shows us readers that vice is an inevitable part of many people’s lives--his writing is so relatable because many people have been through the sinful experiences that Augustine describes in such detail. As such, people often ponder the weight of their immoral actions on their overall wellbeing and connection to God. As Augustine proves, just because someone may have a past of sin, does not mean they cannot connect with God--if someone is looking for the Lord, he will be able to find the

Even though he knew it was sinful to act out on his lust and erotic desires, all Augustine wanted was to love someone and to be loved himself. “Love must be subjective to reason for it to be truly good.” Pure love was tainted because he was more focused on worldly things and his desires. According to Augustine, sex should only be used to create life, and even then it should only be used when in a relationship based on love, not

Happiness means different things to different people and for this reason, I believe that the definition varies from person to person. As with most things, your personal health and inner thoughts such as your desires play a role in your emotional state. On the other hand, some people falsely believe that things (money, a large house, high paying job, etc.) will bring about happiness. This is when the line between true happiness and temporary bliss blur, which is why many people spend their lives searching for happiness without success.

Happiness is described as different things by different people. Everyone has a different mindset. By definition happiness is the feeling of pleasure or contentment, but a number of people are content with being sad. Some find pleasure in anger and fear.

Augustine was bathed in tears of prayer and teaching from his mother; however, before Augustine’s conversion in his thirties, his teen years were live as a wild man, indulging in momentary pleasures of lust and fame, with lustful attempts to satisfy his empty heart. Augustine’s Confessions are stories of his life, a prayer of sorrow, separated from his heavenly Father, a true healing and reconciliation to God. Augustine may have been carried by the scripture, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16, English Standard

This included stealing of his neighbors fruit for no other reason besides the fact that he wanted to commit the sin. Then he would boost about sleeping around with women even though he hadn’t because he wanted the attention. These experiences are how Augustine believed that humans were inclined towards original sin, and could only be saved from the grace of God. Next, in his work about the Holy Trinity, Augustine wrote about how the Holy Trinity was one substance, including the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and not separate. “This does not, however, make three gods or three creators. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are each one Person, and any person affirms himself for himself”(De Trin, VII, 11). Lastly, in the City of God, Augustine wrote that the fall of the Roman Empire was not at the hands of the Christians. In this, he also emphasized his original position on original sin, and include statements of good versus evil. Furthermore, Augustines work were vital to debating points in the first council that defined the Holy Trinity(First Council of Nicaea), set up by Constantinople.

Augustine is a sixteen year-old boy, like all sixteen year olds he is going through puberty and trying to figure out what love is. Augustine states, "For as I became a youth, I longed to be satisfied with worldly things, and I dared to grow wild in a succession of various and shadowy loves" (24). Any young adult experiences the same things that Augustine is going through. Augustine struggled with knowing the difference between pure affection and unholy desire. He becomes ashamed of himself and goes into a spiral of sorrow. In chapter one Augustine says, "If only there had been someone to regulate my disorder and turn to my profit the fleeting beauties of the things around me" (24). Like all teenagers their parents try and tell them right from wrong but most teenagers have to learn from there own mistakes. Augustine reflects back on a quote from Apostle Paul. He realizes if he had just listened to the words more closely, he would not be in the trouble that he is in. Augustine turns to the Lord and ask what can I do and why did I do this? His parents want him to learn from his mistakes and they tell him he should make a powerful speech and become a persuasive orator. While his studies were interrupted, he had come back from a city to further his education at Carthage. His father supported him in everything even though he did not have a lot of money. Augustine 's parents told him he only had to be good at speaking. Augustine still lived with his parents and one day his father