12. Beatitude and False Happiness: Riches and Honor

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Question 2: On Beatitude - Thomas systematically examines eight candidates for beatitude: riches, honors, fame/glory, power, bodily goods, pleasure, goods of the soul, and created goods
• The Boethian Method - Following Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, false happiness is examined first because it is more known to us than true happiness
• Article 1: Riches as Beatitude - Natural vs. artificial riches; why neither can constitute the ultimate end
• Article 2: Honor as Beatitude - Honor as extrinsic sign vs. substance; why honor follows beatitude rather than constituting it
• Gradual Unfolding (paulatim) - Thomas moves from general and confused notions to precise understanding

Key Arguments #

Against Riches as Beatitude #

• Natural Riches: Food, drink, clothing, shelter, vehicles serve natural needs and are therefore ordered to sustaining human life; they cannot be the last end because they are means to an end
• Artificial Riches: Money/currency are invented by human art merely for facilitating exchange and are valued only instrumentally; they possess even less claim to be the ultimate end
• The Insufficiency Argument: When temporal goods are obtained, their insufficiency becomes more apparent, and new desires arise. Unlike true beatitude which satisfies completely, the avaricious man is never filled by money (Ecclesiastes 5:9)
• The Infinite Desire Test: True beatitude, the more perfectly it is possessed, is loved more and known more completely. But with riches and temporal goods, the opposite occurs: having them reveals their inadequacy
• Scriptural Evidence: “Whoever drinks from this water will thirst again” (John 4)—temporal things cannot satisfy the infinite desire of the human heart
• Judgment by the Wise: One cannot judge human goods by “the stupid” who know only bodily goods that can be bought with money; judgment must come from the wise

Against Honor as Beatitude #

• Honor is Extrinsic: Honor exists not in the one honored but in the one honoring; it is something shown to a person on account of their excellence
• Honor is a Sign, Not the Reality: Honor is a sign and testimony of excellence in another, but the excellence itself (what one is honored for) is what constitutes beatitude
• Honor Follows Beatitude: Honor can follow upon beatitude as a consequence, but it cannot constitute what beatitude chiefly consists in
• True Reward of Virtue: The true reward of virtue is beatitude itself, not honor. If one acts for honor rather than beatitude, one pursues ambition, not virtue
• The Problem of Insufficiency: As with riches, honor is insufficient. One desires to be honored by the wise whose judgment confirms true excellence—but this confirmation is not the excellence itself

Important Definitions #

• Beatitude (felicitas) - The perfect, complete good of man; the ultimate end of human action; comes from felix meaning fruitful, implying both perfection and sweetness
• Natural Riches - Goods that directly serve natural human needs: food, drink, clothing, shelter, vehicles (vestimenta, vehicula, habitacula)
• Artificial Riches - Goods invented by human art for facilitating exchange, such as money (denarius, dollar bill); valuable only instrumentally
• Honor - A sign and testimony of excellence in another person; the external recognition or reverence shown to someone on account of their excellence
• Ambition - Disordered pursuit of honor for its own sake, as distinguished from virtue pursued for beatitude

Examples & Illustrations #

• Sam Walton: When asked what he wanted after accumulating billions of dollars, replied “I want more”—illustrating the infinite and never-satisfied desire for artificial riches
• The Taste Analogy: Just as judgment about flavors must be made by those with a well-disposed tongue (not by those who eat only soda pop), judgment about human goods must be made by the wise, not by the stupid who know only material wealth
• The Orange and Candy Example: Eating candy before oranges prevents one from tasting fruit properly; similarly, disordered pursuits dull one’s capacity to perceive higher goods
• German Hyperinflation: During inflation, money became worthless as wallpaper—demonstrating that artificial riches have no inherent value
• Hotspur in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I: The character is more pained by losing honor to Prince Hal than by his own approaching death, illustrating the disordered pursuit of honor as a false ultimate end
• The Medal of Honor: Given to soldiers’ parents after their death, it is not equivalent to what was lost but represents the best honor can offer—showing honor is a sign, not a substance
• Heraclitus’s Observation: “Most men are like beasts pursuing pleasures, but the best of men seek honor”—showing honor as higher than base pleasure but still an incomplete good

Notable Quotes #

“All things obey money” (Ecclesiasticus) — yet this is true only for the stupid who know only bodily goods; the wise judge otherwise

“Who drinks from this water will thirst again” (John 4) — temporal goods cannot satisfy the infinite desire of the human heart

“The desire of natural riches is not infinite, because according to a certain measure of nature they suffice; but the desire of artificial riches is infinite, because it serves disordered concupiscence”

“It is impossible that the beatitude of man consists in riches, for natural riches are sought on account of something other, to sustaining the nature of man”

“Honor is not the reward of virtue on account of which the virtuous act, but they take honor from men in place of a reward, as it were, they having nothing better to give them”

“If for an account of honor one acted, it would not be virtue, but more ambition”

Questions Addressed #

Article 1: Does Beatitude Consist in Riches? #

Objections: (1) “All things obey money” (Ecclesiasticus); (2) Beatitude is a state made perfect by the bringing together of all goods, and money can purchase all things; (3) The desire for the highest good is infinite, and the avaricious man is most filled with infinite desire.

Resolution: No. Natural riches serve natural needs and are ordered to sustaining life; therefore they cannot be the last end. Artificial riches exist only to facilitate acquiring natural riches and have even less claim to be the ultimate end. The infinite desire for wealth proves its insufficiency—when obtained, temporal goods reveal their inadequacy and new desires arise, unlike true beatitude which, when possessed, satisfies completely.

Article 2: Does Beatitude Consist in Honor? #

Objections: (1) Beatitude is the reward of virtue, and honor is the reward of virtue (Nicomachean Ethics); (2) Honor belongs to God and the most excellent, which seems fitting for perfect good; (3) Nothing is more desired by men than honor, as men will suffer detriment of their honor rather than other losses.

Resolution: No. Honor is extrinsic to the one honored—it exists in the one honoring. Honor is a sign and testimony of excellence in another, not the excellence itself. It follows upon beatitude but cannot constitute beatitude. The true reward of virtue is beatitude itself; if one acts for honor rather than beatitude, one pursues ambition, not virtue.