About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

4 Current Res. J. Soc. Sci. & Human. 1 (2021)

handle is hein.journals/crjssh4 and id is 1 raw text is: Vol. 04, No. (1) 2021, Pg. 01-06 Current Research Journal of Social Sciences journalofsocialsciences.org Happiness - Pre-Modern Answers for Questions Today From Boethius to Fortunatus ALBRECHT CLASSEN Department of German Studies, University of Arizona, Abstract Human existence is really dependent on the quest for happiness. Most people rely on contingent aspects of happiness, whereas all philosophers and poets have already taught us thattrue happiness rests somewhere else. This paper examines recent approaches to this idea of happiness, both in philosophy and in sociology, and related fields, and then turns to the teachings by the late antique philosopher Boethius (in Latin). From there, the article jumps to the anonymous German novel Fo/tunatus (printed in 1509) where some of Boethius's teachings find direct applications, defining happiness with a reference to wisdom. Past notions of happiness promise to illuminate us today in our search for true happiness beyond contingency. One of the universal needs of all people across the world consists of finding and enjoying happiness, as philosophers and others throughout time have consistently (re)confirmed. For many people, happiness consists of gaining material or physical joy, such as through food, objects (possessions), but also honor, fame, or power. Happiness also finds a meaningful expression in love, sexuality, family, friendship. Moreover, very important proves to be the relationship between human beings and the natural environment which can easily create a sense of happiness, even if only so fleetingly. Under the influence of the right music, an artistic environment, or a pleasant read, an individual discovers happiness for him/herself. But all these kinds of happiness have Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. Q Article History Received: 10 February 2021 Accepted: 23 March 2021 Keywords Boethius; Contingency; Fortune; Fortunatus; Happiness. always been temporary, evanescent, or deceptive, so it makes good sense that many different thinkers from antiquity to today have made greatest efforts to come to terms with this elusive notion of happiness. We could, for instance, refer here to such luminaries as PlatoAristotle, PlotinusAvicenna, St.Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, Maimonides, Thomas Aquinas, John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Viktor Frankl, and many others, and yet we would only find ourselves in a theoretical whirlwind of countless arguments, comments, suggestions, ideas, and theories regarding one of the most fundamental and critically important feelings in human life (Horn; Thielen). After some global reflections on the universal efforts to find CONTACT Albrecht Classen aclassen@email.arizona.edu 9 Department of German Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Enviro Research Publishers. This is an @ Open Access article licensed under a Creative Commons license: Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY). Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CRJSSH.4.1.01

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most