Can We Attain Happiness Without God - Essay Example

They perceive that the attainment of the happiness is dependent on the attainment of the presence of God in our lives in certain manner. The religious teachings and the normal points of the view differ in achievement of the happiness. A majority of the religions speak of the importance of God as the primal force behind the attainment of the happiness. There are a number of prominent philosophers, like Aristotle; who have propagated that happiness is a state of mind. This forms the base of the contradictory nature of the definition of happiness.

The Christian teachings place a lot of importance on the seeking of God as a means of happiness (Milton 179). This can be attributed to the basic view of God as a driving force of this universe. This also emanates from the fact that God as seen as an omnipotent being who does well to all. This essential property qualifies him as a quintessential source of happiness. The contemporary philosophers like Voltaire have pointed to the material nature of happiness (Olson 201). They also argue that happiness is a state of the mind.

Some have an external locus of happiness, as for example, the material possessions, money, clothes and wife. For some others, it is internal in nature. After a thorough analysis of all the points, I concur with the view of the faith, that God gives us happiness. It is of likelihood to me as it puts the onus of happiness to a greater power. This rests the grail of happiness in a power that is bigger than us, better than us, more intelligent than us and ultimately makes happiness seem more attainable.

VIRTUES Virtue is a kind of moral excellence. The denomination of virtue is positive and renders a sense of inherent goodness in any human being. They serve as the cornerstone of the development of any person. They are inherent to the development of the greatness of any individual. This can also be termed as the pattern of the thought in all the individuals. The virtues can be considered as a subset of the values. The values are the base of the system of the operations of a person. If the values are maintained in the proper way, that leads to an all-round development of the individual.

There is a classification of the virtues, which tend to divide the virtues into a number of tangible patterns. The established literature talks about two kinds of virtues, one is the Kantian virtue; the other is the Aristotle kind of the virtue. Aristotle values mention a list of values. They are temperance, the practice of justice, the practice of liberality, magnificence, the pride (being aware of the achievements of self and not being pompous), gentleness and a few other qualities. These are the general list of the virtues that are common to the literature.

Aristotle has suggested the practice of the moderation in all the virtues. This shall help in the attainment of the needs of all the humans. Everything must be practiced in the right kind of the moderation for the attainment of the goals. This helps in the development of the fundamental nature of humans at any point of time. One of the examples is the use of the moderation over the thinking. There is the need to practice middle path by not getting too anxious about anything, while maintaining the seriousness of any situation.

I believe in the practice of the virtues, as they would help us in becoming better humans. It would also allow us to gain a