Happiness and Contemplation

by Josef Pieper, Richard Winston (Translator), Clara Winston (Translator)

"The ultimate of human happiness is to be found in contemplation". In offering this proposition of Thomas Aquinas to our thought, Josef Pieper uses traditional wisdom in order to throw light on present-day reality and present-day psychological problems. What, in fact, does one pursue in pursuing happiness? What, in the consensus of the wisdom of the early Greeks, of Plato and Aristotle, of the New Testament, of Augustine and Aquinas, is that condition of perfect bliss toward which all life and effort tend by nature? In this profound and illuminating inquiry, Pieper considers the nature of contemplation, and the meaning and goal of life.

Genres: Philosophy, Theology, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Christianity, Religion, Academic

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Josef Pieper was a German Catholic philosopher and an important figure in the resurgence of interest in the thought of Thomas Aquinas in early-to-mid 20th-century philosophy. Among his most notable works are The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance; Leisure, the Basis of Culture; and Guide to Thomas Aquinas (published in England as Introduction to Thomas Aquinas).

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

The catholic view of contemplation is a good challenge to us Protestants and our activist tendencies.

[David Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Leisure: The Basis of Culture, Pieper makes a profound case for the centrality of contemplation to the Christian life. No one makes me more likely to read Thomas Aquinas than Pieper, who presents his insights in a very attractive manner. In a day of what poet Les Murray calls "the high madness... ranging without rest between assertion and unconsciousness," Pieper helps equip us with "resources for solitude" (Jane Austen), and for love in action that is rightly focused on be holding the beloved.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars (= good)

After enjoying Alan Noble’s To Live Well, which features much wisdom from the mind of the German Catholic philosopher Josef Pieper, I figured I could benefit from reading him myself. This book seemed as a good a place to start as any.

Pieper’s thesis is that ultimate happiness can only be achieved by knowing/“seeing” God. In this life, the nearest to ultimate happiness we can reach is through the contemplation of that which is perfectly good (ie, God). He relies fairly heavily on Thomas Aquinas, but he makes a persuasive case. His writing is clear and direct, although at times bordering on dry and pedantic, but this is a philosophy text after all.

I look forward to reading more of Pieper’s work.


Here are a couple quotes:

“We have said that loving knowledge, seeing the beloved object, is the essence of contemplation…Only when love is directed toward the infinite divine appeasement which courses through all reality from the ultimate ground of reality; and when this beloved object shows itself to the soul's gaze in a wholly immediate, effortless, utterly tranquil (yet inwardly troubled) self-revelation, even though for no longer than the duration of a lightning flash—only then do we have contemplation in the full meaning of the word. This might even serve as a definition. And if we agree we cannot at the same time admit that there are nonreligious forms of contemplation.”


“G. K. Chesterton, considering his life in retrospect, said that he had always had the almost mystical conviction of the miracle in all that exists, and of the rapture dwelling essentially within all experience. Within this statement lie three separate assertions: that everything holds and conceals at bottom a mark of its divine origin; that one who catches a glimpse of it "sees" that this and all things are "good" beyond all comprehension; and that, seeing this, he is happy. Here in sum is the whole doctrine of the contemplation of earthly creation.”

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. It is in man’s nature to desire to be happy, and that thirst for happiness is only satiated by partaking of (or contemplating) the ultimate good, God. Pieper’s argument is actually strikingly similar to John Piper’s “Christian hedonism.” It is natural for man to seek his own happiness - this is only properly done by “being satisfied in Him,” or in Pieper’s argument, contemplating Him.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josef Peiper’s works are always a joy to read. Here, he is like a professor, drawing from great philosophers to tease out the meaning of the subject of happiness and contemplation. As a work of its own, it is fabulous. As a piece in his great work on leisure, it is a foundational work. Absolutely recommend it.

[Simona Sanduleac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.
"What else does being happy mean, if not this: knowingly to posses something eternal?"

[Hogan Hurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

We need more solitude, more boredom, more just chillin with some birds at the lake

[Erik]

Recommended by James Schall in Another Sort of Learning, Intro to Part Three, as one of Fourteen Books by Josef Pieper.

[Qui Ton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contemplation is “sight of the beloved object”, achieved by the intellect but still requiring love by the will. This book has similar themes to “Leisure” in distinguishing contemplation as a “use-less” activity that actually attains happiness. All practical things are for the sake of the rest had in contemplation - to grasp R/reality. God, who creates all good and beautiful things here and now, is the happiness of all creatures, among which man is blessed with the power to see Him as He is.

[Danielle Vogt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear and compelling book on the nature and source of happiness. This was a delight to read! It’s really more of a philosophical book than a theological one, but it is a very Christian book all the same. It’s probably even better if you have read Aquinas, but you can still follow his argument without having read Aquinas before. I don’t know if it’s the subject matter or the translation, but I found it much easier to read than his book Leisure: the Basis of Culture.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

[Louis R · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most easily read and profound reflections on human life in God. A must read, especially helpful to understand Thomistic theology in an easy to read format.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this short book, Josef Pieper explains what happiness is and how it is attained. It may seem as an easy task, people have done it with a few sentences before, but as a philosopher Pieper have to complicate the matter. He draws mainly from Aristotle, Plato, Augustine and Aquinas, and it may seem like a limitation in choise as surley more people have written much about it - but it is in this vein of thinking that Pieper further explores the argument, it is the thinking that include God and that goes into the roots of the issue to find the ultimate truths behind the obvious, and then show how those thruths are the obvious conclusions that the arguments leads to. No wonder it ends close to where it began, in truths found with Aristotle and Aquinas, but it is the way there that is the interesting part of the book and that show how rich philosophy can be. After discussing happiness, he dwells on contemplation and kind of makes it more complex as a concept - this one has to bear in mind later something that I find somehat hard in books like this sometimes. In the end he ties it back to happiness again, just so that it feels like a whole.

[Karen Warwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had a stronger background in philosophy before reading this as it was a struggle to follow some of Pieper's arguments, even in a relatively short book, but this was worth the work. Much of the book resolved to clarity in ch. 10-13. True happiness is found in contemplation, which is not opposed to the active life nor invalidated by the presence of evil in the world. Earthly contemplation is sacramental and finds the face of God behind created things; it is imperfect until it transforms into the beatific vision in eternity.

"Such certainties all mean, at bottom, one and the same thing: that the world is plumb and sound; that everything comes to its appointed goal; that in spite of all appearances, underlying all things is - peace, salvation, gloria; that nothing and no one is lost; that 'God holds in his hand the beginning, middle, and end of all that is.'"

"Earthly contemplation means to the Christian, we have said, this above all: that behind all that we directly encounter the Face of the incarnate Logos becomes visible."

[Joe A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sensational book that synthesizes and "updates" the notions of happiness and how one rightly is to understand it and find the true practice thereof, with its roots in Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle. Pieper does an outstanding job of making this material much more readable, while still maintaining an academic quality to it.

This book along with his book, "Leisure: The Basis of Culture", in my opinion, will be the books that will help turn the tide of thought against the modern utilitarian mentality that will eventually show itself to be both untenable and wholly unsatisfying to the human person. Pieper's concise understanding has a tangible value to it that, once it ingrains itself in your mind and soul, is impossible to let go of.

A must read for anyone serious about finding an alternative for what modern society has to offer.

[Chloe Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Such certainties all mean, at bottom, one and the same thing: that the world is plumb and sound; that everything comes to its appointed goal; that in spite of all appearances, underlying all things is-peace, salvation, gloria; that nothing and no one is lost; that "God holds in his hand the beginning, middle, and end of all that is.”Such nonrational, intuitive certainties of the divine base of all that is can be vouchsafed to our gaze even when it is turned toward the most insignificant-looking things, if only it is a gaze inspired by love. That, in the precise sense, is contemplation. And we should have the courage to admit its identity.”

P.84-85

[Matt Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exquisite philosophical account of happiness and why (as Aquinas argues) ultimate happiness (beatitude) is found in contemplation (by which he means an intuitive beholding of the ultimate good). Each sentence moved the thesis relentlessly forward. Chapters were only as long as they needed to be. My copy is full of underlining and stars next to especially important passages.

Pieper is well know for his work on virtue and his book Leisure: the Basis of Culture. I have no idea why this work is not equally well known. It is the best brief book on happiness I have found and easily one of my favorite reads of the year.

[Marcas · Rating 4 out of 5]

For quite a short book, Pieper performs a surprisingly deep, philosophically minded, dive into the Occidental notion of contemplation.
This is lovely book to meditate on and Josef presents a dynamic, embodied and etymologically rich form of contemplation which is directed toward the beloved in a place intimate enough to see, intuit and know.
Pieper understands that we experience this partially now and will further in The Kingdom come. This echoes St Maximos' Logos and Logoi and Lonergan's insight: Seeing God in all creation.

I appreciate Beatitudo as, at least as part of, our experience of God's energies in the way St Gregory Palamas describes the phenomenon.

Never have St Thomas Aquinas or Plato have been as palatable. That is testament to Pieper's rich and lucid prose.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

What cracks me up about Pieper is his reluctance to budge on certain issues. Contemplation can be the pinnacle of human fulfillment and can only be contemplation fully and proper when it is on the ultimate good which is the same thing as God, but it can't be given from God but must be of humans. It is a good idea to have places where you won't budge, but if the place where you stop thought is on something controversial and can only be made certain by a Spaniard, then I'd give a second thought to stopping the thought.
Loved the book. Looking forward to the sequel.

[Ross Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pieper has written a characteristically crisp and compelling defense of the Thomistic conception of happiness as consisting in loving contemplation of God. And though he leaves various questions unanswered (as any good philosopher is wont to do), he effectively explores some of the corollaries of his thesis in his account of “earthly contemplation” in particular. I would strongly recommend this primer.

[Davis Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pieper is perhaps my favorite philosopher of the 20th century; one of the very few who maintains the classical tradition. He is just so incredibly inspiring and cogent. The missing star is due to the almost perfunctory and cursory final chapter, which totally glosses over a very real objection to the contemplative life—that is, the problem of sin and evil.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and accessible unpacking of St. Thomas Aquinas' premise that happiness necessarily proceeds from contemplation. Happily, he concludes that this is perfectly compatible with an active life, as long as it is rooted deeply in prayer, silence, and the sacraments.

[Jeffrey Kahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pieper is a brilliant philosopher with many penetrating insights. In general I liked this book, but its theme was just not as compelling as that in some of his other works. Still worth the read.

[Peter F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

[Brother Gregory Rice, SOLT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erudite, inspiring, soul-filling encouragement. A must-read which will prompt much more reading from me.

[Santiago Iturbide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der Mensch ist im Endlichen nicht zu stillen...

[Kendal]

had to read for ethics

[Nicole Cage · Rating 5 out of 5]

May we see and know! May we be happy and in love! ✨❤️‍🔥

[Aggelos · Rating 5 out of 5]

In spite of all appearances, underlying all things is: peace, salvation, gloria; that nothing and no one is lost, that God holds in his hand the beginning, middle and end of all that is

[Platypus Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4 stars)