How and How Not to Be Happy | Prof. J. Budziszewski

[@davidtomasi]

THIS is what current neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry needs. I find the lack of profound philosophical understanding in our training very troublesome. And yet, whenever I hear someone like J. Budziszewski speak, I know that there's always hope!

[@luluq01]

I love most of The Thomistic Institute videos and podcasts, but I have to say, this one is BRILLIANT. Professor Budziszewski is becoming one of my favorites. Well done!

[@ThomisticInstitute]

That's great to hear! Thanks for listening.

[@patri1689]

I'm reading, for a second time, his What We Can't Not Know book. Very lucid. Just amazing stuff.

[@anthonyw2931]

After listening to this, I think I am going to get that too

[@haydongonzalez-dyer2727]

great talk

[@ThomisticInstitute]

We're glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. May the Lord bless you!

[@j.c.8944]

Thank you. Great topic.

[@tonybamber1137]

Thank-you.

[@billc3114]

Nice channel. I would like to learn too, about Albertus's teaching to Aquinas. I consider faith and morals to be Aquinas's ideas for those in the church.

[@acbeach]

Audio quality is a bit frustrating (fades in and out). Makes it hard to focus. Too bad because the content is so good.

[@KR-rj7vf]

Hi Thomistic Institute, I have some philosophical questions that have been troubling me and I was hoping maybe for a suggestion on materials to help me out. The questions, which admittedly are long, are this: Let's say that I have a red chair. If I turn out the lights, the chair is no longer red because there is no light to reflect off the chair into my eyes and tell my brain to interpret those particular wavelengths as the color red. The now-unlit chair may still possess the particular features to reflect light in a particular way should the light return, but we know that it is my viewing tools that result in "red"--that's why, for example, a dog might see the chair (with the lights on, of course) as a different color due to different viewing tools (dogs have different numbers of rods and cones in their eyes than humans, for example). So I reason that this means that color is an assignation by a brain, not something inherent to the object itself--the object itself exists in a world in which there is no such thing as "color". But let's take a different object and a different animal--say, a beaver and a tree branch. I might look at a tree branch and think "ahh, that is suitable for my fireplace." But a beaver might look at that same tree branch and think "ahh, that is suitable for building a dam." In this case, the purpose of the tree branch also seems to be an assignation by a brain, not something inherent in the object itself--if it was inherent in the object itself, then the beaver and I would identify the same purpose (in contrast to something like the location or size of the branch, which the beaver and I would have to see the same way due to location and size being inherent to the branch itself). So here are my questions: 1) if we can say that the purpose of a natural physical object is an assignation, then can we also say that the purpose of a man-made object is an assignation as well? (A statue of George Washington might be meaningful to me, but at the same time a bird might view it as merely a toilet!) And 2) why shouldn't I think that all judgements of meaning by me are not mere assignations? For example, can we say that an action is in itself virtuous or just that our brain's interpretation of the action is that it is virtuous? A baby deer that I've saved from a river does not seem to view me as particularly brave--it will probably just run away as if it escaped of its own accord. Am I assigning value to an event that in itself exists in a world in which there is no such thing as "value"?

[@umapessoa5343]

Hi! I'm no phylosopher but maybe I can help a bit? The answer is Thomas Aquinas' Summa on 'de Deus Uno' part, where he explains how God thinks and things like that 1) In the chair case its red with light on or off (even by the color vibration if you wanna use physics), but you perceive different with your eyes bc of ambiental conditions 2)What we think/perceive is not what it IS, as in reality, different from God as what He thinks is reality itself so your perception of what things can be is not what it is or can be, just what you perceive of it. Sometimes you perceive it right 3) As for virtues, that's why we cannot judge others, bc we cannot see what is in one's heart Also sorry if what was written was confusing, english is not my forte

[@KR-rj7vf]

@@umapessoa5343 Thank you for your response, I'll have to check out that part of the Summa.

[@diannerussell4849]

Relationships bring grief. Friendship with the world bring grief. Jesus said leave everything and follow me. I've been alone for much of my life now and I am very happy. I love one off encounters with strangers. I really listen to them, respect what they are saying and being patient and kind and treating them like they are precious . We may never meet again. I may not have a solution to their problems however just being in their company is special. However there are some people who's intentions aren't good, the devil has them in he's grip and you need to be cautious. And so do I. There is a saying . Test the spirits. I get bad vibes from certain people and my intuition tells me to move away for my own protection. Pride in a person is so unsettling to my spirit. The opposite to that is humility, kindness, meekness, patience and stillness. People who boast and gossip through jealousy and hate are spiritually sick and only Christ can heal them. Leave it to Him to work in them. All we can do is be a light that shines through manifesting the virtues within us through respect and stillness through love. And above all hope.😇

[@JohnR.T.B.]

Our human nature naturally acknowledges and desires happiness which is essentially cannot be obtained nor contained by our very limited power of attaining - what are practically - temporary material things and actions which never last, that we perceive as giving us joy and prosperity. Trying to attain as much security by heaping up material things of the world naturally results in further spreading of misery as we struggle with others to assert power and control over limited material resources and human works. As long as we measure happiness by what and how much we have, we will never be satisfied and the end result will be ultimately unhappiness. Even if we think that we have everything, more than others, it's because of our own perceptions of success due to the images made by the constructed materials and human attendees around us which create an image of achievements, or grandeur; simply because of our limitations that we cannot know much nor live beyond our span of life. How will things make us happy when we know that in a few years' time disasters will come and wash away half or all of our wealth? How is it happiness when we can realize that the people whom we trust and exalt are actually disloyal or dishonest? And so happiness is actually, nakedly, an immaterial action from within, naturally requiring a kind of external agent. The only happiness there is, is by doing happiness, giving love, acting in love in the ways of Christ, that is to be a servant in helping others in needs, because we have now known Christ the Son of God, who was not known before and now is with us for eternity. The immaterial action of happiness is the eternal action of love for God and for others, and the "external agent" is God Himself who shows us that only He can cause us to be happy, to know true happiness, to have eternal life, through total self-giving to help and save others. In this way, "rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." True happiness is the joy of Christ, the joy of the Father, the joy of the Spirit, the joy of the holy Angels, the joy of the Saints, that is the joy of helping others find the true happiness as we have encountered Christ Himself, just as Jesus says, "Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Please pray for us Holy Mother Mary, Mother of God. Amen.

[@charlescrockett6410]

your word salad tells me you don't know living in Gods will truly results in joy..........which is better than happiness