Augustine and Aristotle in Aquinas’ doctrine of happiness

The ethics of St Thomas Aquinas features two main parts: his famous theory of natural law and his equally famous doctrine on human happiness. !e doctrine on happiness is paradigmatically formulated in the so-called happiness-treatise of Summa theologiae I-II q. 1-5 as well as in Aquinas’ Commentary on the Sentences; and in further detail in his Summa contra gentiles and other writings. Aquinas advocates a eudemonistic ethics and thus situates himself in the classical tradition and its Christian treatment by Augustine. In this paper, I will pursue the role Augustine plays in Aquinas’ ethics of happiness.peer-reviewe