Search for Happiness in Sexuality...

 

In a culture where mass media surrounds all individuals, it is easy to notice others “enjoying" themselves.  The effect of such can be to drive individuals to search for happiness in a number of places.  Celebrities in television shows and other forms of mass media are shown living in enormous houses with lavish lifestyles and are usually portrayed as smiling and having a great time. This is what permeates the culture.  There are other individuals who are driven to pick out colleges and college programs to suit these needs or to match what they see, read, or hear about as the end all to life’s issues. Mass media shows individuals smiling and “happy,” while they are doing a certain activity, own a certain product, or look a certain way.  In all of these mass media products, smiles and joy are filled with each. The culture is driven to attain happiness at all costs and this newest product or lifestyle will suit that need.   Questions that all persons in the culture should ask are, “Is this true?”  What will ultimately make me happy?  Will these things really provide for the happiness that I see and hear of these other individuals?

These kinds of answers have been asked throughout the centuries. One of the chief philosophers and theologians who helped answer such questions is Thomas Aquinas.

Aquinas

St. Thomas sets forth a principle that will be helpful, “It is impossible for natural desire to be unfulfilled, since ‘nature does nothing in vain.’  Now, natural desire would be in vain if it could never be fulfilled.  Therefore, man’s natural desire is capable of fulfillment…”

 

See, a pecan seed “moves” toward its goal, which is a pecan tree.  The apple’s seed becomes an apple tree.  Things act for their desired “end” or “goal.” The revolving world moves toward an end which is visible to each.  In the case of the human person, one would expect nothing less than the meaningfulness of a person’s desires.

In Thomistic thought, a person has an intellect and will, it is embedded that “All men by nature stretch themselves out toward knowing.” In other words: what is the purpose of all actions in the intellect, especially for the person?  The intellect strives for truth and the will towards goodness.Aquinas, uncover the true final cause of the motion of human will ordered to happiness (much like Aristotle does in Nichomachean Ethics).



Sexual activity is one of the keys of our culture.  It sells products and is promoted in all shapes and forms, regularly.  The Center for Disease Control stated that as many as 63% of teenagers are involved in sexual activity.Men are reported to have some 15 partners between the ages of 15-44, women as many as 6 on the average. This may come from the result that the sexual culture is promoted in every form of mass media. An average commercial has an enormous amount of sexually explicit tones in approval of the act in our culture. 


Food is sometimes also promoted in our society as the goal of human happiness. There are an immense amount of food chains and restaurants provided throughout the culture.  Commercials and ads always show food and happiness together.  The culture even “biggie sizes” the more than required food amount that is already offered. The results of such are obesity.  More than one-third of American adults are reported as obese or overweight.17% of children are reported as obese. 
 
See,  it is impossible for sexual intercourse and food to be the goal of all happiness and the will.  The fulfillment of these bodily desires is not entirely human acts or desires.  Animals, such as dogs, cats, gorillas, etc. have similar needs.  The fulfillments of these acts are then animalistic, when solely reducing it to this level.  These bodily desires are just means to other ends: “…eating, for instance, [is] to the preservation of the body, and sexual intercourse to the generation of offspring.

In other words, eating is ordered towards sustaining and strengthening the body.  Eating is not an end in itself.  The individual eats for a goal.  It is not that Aquinas does away with the pleasure of eating, such as it “tasting good” or the fellowship it allows for.  These are secondary ends as a result of eating.  These are not the primary ends in themselves. 

This is something that the culture should manage to acknowledge, as it pertains to the recognition of what is taking place in ads.  The advertiser’s recognize that these places should be welcoming and a certain ambience should be the “selling point.”  Aquinas recognizes that food itself is not the end. 

This is why the virtues must be applied to such, especially the virtue of temperance. Temperance can easily be defined as the virtue of moderation.Temperance should be applied to avoid problems such as obesity, or anorexia (i.e. disorders). 



 

 So then, what is the end?  What is the goal of human happiness?  Happiness, to Aquinas, is contentment of the soul.  It is eudemonia.   It is a state of harmony.  Happiness is the end in itself.  It is desired not for another’s sake, but for its own sake. 

 Aquinas concludes that nothing in the material world can bring perfect harmony or perfect happiness.The desire of the person can only be satisfied with boundless or infinite good.  The human person tends to progress towards infinite being by the search for happiness in the will. But, if there is nothing that exists that will allow for the human person to attain perfect happiness, then the words of Albert Camus would hold true:  one might as well commit suicide from the despair. 

However, all humans do not fall into despair. Mankind lives in a way as if happiness is achievable.  An analysis of the will’s search for happiness suggests an entity that will give it rest.  The present culture searches for happiness in a variety of things, but these fleeting and leaves the person desiring more.  These things are good, but lower goods.  Even with the accomplishment of attaining these objects, desires are still unquenched.  The will quests for goodness in all these, but it is all thwarted.  The culture’s answering to the quest for happiness is insatiable.  Aquinas has an answer that goes beyond Aristotle, which is the true meaning for all human willing, knowing and the answer to all desires. 

Final and perfect happiness can consist in nothing else than the vision of the Divine Essence.  

Aquinas underlines that one is never complete, in that humans are oriented towards lower objects (happiness in sex and food in this case) and cannot stare at the “First cause”, then individuals are left searching for it.  This is the answer to the cultures voracious quest in materialism. Mankind’s final end is the beatific vision.  Beatific, from beatus (Latin for “happy” or blessed), speaks of the final status of blessedness or happiness that result from the vision of God, thus constituting the essence of heaven. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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