Felicidade e o sujeito contemporâneo: uma análise a partir de Plotino e Santo Agostinho.

Abstract

The problem of happiness has always been a question of philosophical doubts for human beings, as subjects of relationships with themselves, with others and with the universe. For, from the ancient Greeks to the current social context, we realize that this issue is still present in our daily lives. However, when we address the issue of the happiness of the contemporary subject, we are faced with situations that imply more elaborate and more detailed reflections, as it is a theme that extends over time and has been demonstrating structural changes in society, consequently in the daily life of contemporary subjects. For the question of happiness as a happy way of life, it is necessary to understand the context in which this contemporary subject is found. Because, in our analyses, he sees himself in a universe of experiences of seduction and desires that make him understand that he is happy, however, these experiences do not satisfy him and he continues to seek an illusory happiness. And for that, in the era of emptiness, where seduction and the ego are increasingly valued, this contentment does not account for the desire for a happy life, even because it is seductive, charming, but the existential emptiness remains in this subject of relationships fluid and temporary. However, we seek from the philosophy of Plotinus and Saint Augustine to build bridges with regard to happiness. Well, these theories come to demonstrate that the human subject in his transit through earthly existence can reflect on the material values lived and elect questions of a transcendental nature, such as the relationship with the Sacred, allowing to reach happiness. In this way, the theoretical supports in Plotinus and Santo Agostinho allow us subsidies to think about the search for happiness in the relationship with the Sacred and from this understanding the contemporary subject can resignify for a new beginning, as a happy way of life.