Essay about A Review of Saint Augustine’s Virtue and the...

A Review of Saint Augustine’s Virtue and the Human Soul In Augustine’s article â€Å"Virtue and the Human Soul,† happiness is discussed in great detail. What makes a man happy? How do we obtain this happiness and where does happiness reside? Can this happiness be lost? Augustine answers these questions by the notion of one’s â€Å"chief good.† He explains that a man’s chief good is the reason behind all happiness. If one is not happy, it is because they have not found their chief good, and therefore cannot be happy until they find it (Augustine 264-267). â€Å"Happiness is in the enjoyment of man’s chief good. Two conditions of the chief good: 1st, Nothing is better than it; 2nd, it cannot be lost against the will† (Augustine 264-267). As human†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"For no one can feel confident regarding a good which he knows can be taken from him, although he wishes to keep and cherish it. But if a man feels no confidence regarding the good which he enjoys, how can he be happy while in such fear of losing it?† (Augustine 264-267). For example, when you go to a pet shop and see all the cute puppies. You want to hold them and pet them, and it makes you so happy for that brief period. However, you know that the happiness can be taken away from you, because you don’t own the puppies, you don’t get to take them home. Ultimately, you walk away sad, and wishing you could hold on to that happiness just a little longer. It is hard to be confident in a happiness that you know can be taken away from you at any time, and it’s equally as hard to have no confidence in your happiness because you live in fear of never being happy. Augustine continues his discussion of what makes a man. The question lies in the discussion between man being of the body only, of the soul only, or both. He talks about this to determine where man’s chief good resides, and from where it is disc overed. â€Å"Man’s chief good is not the chief good of the body only, but the chief good of the soul† (Augustine 264-267). Augustine states that a person’s chief good is found in the soul and that the soul gives life to the body. The soul provides bodily pleasure, pain, strength, beauty, swiftness, etc. Without the soul, there would be noShow MoreRelatedontemporary Thinkers: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aguinas Essay6220 Words   |  25 PagesHe invented a method of teaching by asking questions (the Socratic method), pioneered the search for definitions, and turned philosophy away from a study of the way things are toward a consideration of virtue and the health of the human soul. Socrates believed that to do wrong is to damage ones soul, and that this is the worst thing one can do. 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