HN 3553 - Joy and the Good Life (3) F, SP

Where does true happiness lie, and how might one’s life be rightly ordered toward such true happiness? “Doctor of the Church” Thomas Aquinas, like Aristotle before him, maintained that the goal of human life was happiness. For Aquinas, we shall know consummate happiness in the “beatific vision” of God, and yet we can know measures of such happiness in this life, in the practice of virtue and friendship. Setting itself within this tradition, this course will examine theological, biblical, literary and scientific studies on happiness, asking what constitutes true happiness. The course will especially look for areas of shared consensus across these disciplines, and articulate practices and habits that foster joy, focus, productivity, and human flourishing.

This course is cross-listed with BI 4S9V for Honors credit.