The great Greek maxim “Know thyself” surely has two distinct but related aspects. Both are very challenging and call for intentional, regular reflection. The first is to know what it is to be human; the second is to know myself as an individual. For the first the key is to try to discern the completion or fulfillment of human life. Put otherwise, in doing what will I be full alive?

I think this question receives far less regular attention than it demands—whether because we don’t have confidence there is an answer, or (perhaps more dangerously) we assume we already know the answer well enough. Aristotle can be a real help in this. Like Socrates and Plato before him, he is relentless in his effort to understand what he calls the ‘end’ of man: what is the truly good life that our human nature calls for.

Aristotle’s approach is very nuanced. While there is a certain universality or sameness in the end of all human persons, there are also real differences in how it is enacted. He articulates an understanding of human nature wherein what he calls contemplation (a loving, intellectual gaze upon reality) is the highest expression of our flourishing. Yet he also recognizes that given the demands of human life, contemplation will figure differently in lives of various persons. Only some, for instance, will be able to give themselves to it in a more total manner, consistently arranging their days around it.

In a remarkable text reflecting upon such a life, Aristotle exclaims, “But such a life would be too high for man!” It is as though having pointed to such a life, he balks at whether it can actually be done. Then, having composed himself, he goes on, “for it is not in so far as he is man that he will live so, but in so far as something divine is present in him.”

Something divine is present in him. The man that Thomas Aquinas calls ‘The Philosopher’ does not say such words lightly. Human wisdom going about its natural course bumps up against the divine. It is always so. Always.

Aristotle proceeds to consider that the ability to contemplate is both beyond man, but also at the very center of his identity. This stretches our comprehension. Human life is by nature lived in border lands. To act beyond and look beyond an apparent boundary is the only way to discover where we are. Who we are. Again, it is always so. We could never have designed it. It stretches us to our very limit just to try to understand; and also to live it—by receiving the gift of our own human being, which has something of the divine it.

No wonder it can seem beyond us to contemplate. But that which is beyond us is being given to us. Today. And it becomes our own—if only we will persevere in seeking it, according to our state in life. ~ ~ ~

ANNOUNCING an ALL-NEW COURSE on WORK starting in Lent! This will be a four session, live online free course open to all men and women. It will give principles and concrete direction for renewing our home life by how we work in our homes every day. Information and Registration HERE.

LATEST PODCAST! NEW YEAR’S GOALS: A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH. It is fitting for us to mark certain times for new beginnings–such as January. Join Sofia and me in a principled and practical approach to making the new year an occasion for such intentionality. Perhaps we can being by re-examining our approach to WORK! Please check out and share our podcasts HERE, on youtube and wherever you get your podcasts.

John Cuddeback

Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.