Book contents
- Aquinas and the Ethics of Happiness
- Aquinas and the Ethics of Happiness
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Aquinas on Individual Happiness
- Part II Aquinas, Happiness, and the Unity of Ethics
- Chapter 6 From Individual Happiness to Common Happiness
- Chapter 7 Happiness and Law
- Chapter 8 Happiness and Virtue
- Conclusion
- Bibliography of Works by Thomas Aquinas with Abbreviations
- General Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 6 - From Individual Happiness to Common Happiness
from Part II - Aquinas, Happiness, and the Unity of Ethics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2025
Book contents
- Aquinas and the Ethics of Happiness
- Aquinas and the Ethics of Happiness
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Aquinas on Individual Happiness
- Part II Aquinas, Happiness, and the Unity of Ethics
- Chapter 6 From Individual Happiness to Common Happiness
- Chapter 7 Happiness and Law
- Chapter 8 Happiness and Virtue
- Conclusion
- Bibliography of Works by Thomas Aquinas with Abbreviations
- General Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter starts by arguing that, for Aquinas, common happiness is a fundamental and crucial notion, despite the fact that he very seldom discusses it and it has largely been ignored by commentators. It then sets out Aquinas’s understanding of the nature of common happiness with special attention to two models of common happiness, namely, the community of heaven and true friendship. The chapter then argues for the perhaps unprecedented claim that Aquinas is committed to the idea that common happiness is the true ultimate end of each human being. It thereby establishes the first element of Aquinas’s Holistic Eudaimonism.
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- Aquinas and the Ethics of Happiness , pp. 155 - 181Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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