Contemplation through the body

Reflections on Aristotle's eudaimonia and the role of the physical world

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he says that flourishing (or the happiness of a life well lived) is the end goal of human life. He believes that true happiness is found in things chosen for their own sake, not as means to something else. Flourishing must also be founded on self-sufficiency. Many virtues are not self-sufficient. One cannot be generous without having something to give. Courage depends on the presence of danger. Even justice requires other people.

So, Aristotle concludes that flourishing is achieved most fully through contemplation, which is the highest human activity.

Contemplation is truly self-sufficient. It can be done purely on its own and is done for its own sake. Contemplation uses the highest human faculty, our reason, to reflect on the highest truths. He says,

“Contemplation is both the highest form of activity, since the intellect is the highest thing in us, and objects that it apprehends are the highest things that can be known.”

Aristotle believes that all things have a telos or function to them, and humans uniquely function as rational beings. Therefore, flourishing must exercise reason.

While Aristotle does not prioritize pleasure over all other things, he still sees pleasure as something positive and says that this is also found in contemplation, saying:

“It stands to reason that those who possess knowledge pass their time more pleasantly than those who are still in pursuit of it.”

In some sense, if one were trapped alone in a room, contemplation is the only thing that they could do that could bring any meaning, pleasure, continual joy, or virtue in such a situation.

I have long felt this sentiment. One reason for my love of theology is how it is endlessly fascinating. Theology dives into the infinite depth of God, so it is truly a subject that is infinitely interesting. It reflects on the highest truths and the most important questions of mankind. Theology seems to fulfill Aristotle’s vision almost perfectly. It is desirable not for what it produces, but for what it is in itself.

But Christianity goes deeper.

Aristotle described contemplation as something found in the intellect. But Christianity shows that truth can be known through all of creation.

Unfortunately, many Christians forget this. We treat knowledge of God as simply inputting the right information into our brains. We read scripture and listen to sermons, trying to grow in intellectual understanding.

However, God created a world and called it good. He made us as embodied creatures: body and soul. We are told that “the sky proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1) and “His invisible attributes…have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20). The Logos, or the reason of God, became physical in Christ (John 1).

In His resurrection, Christ healed the physical order from sin, restoring divine meaning to the world around us. Colossians tells us He is “reconciling to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven.”

This means that knowledge of God is not limited to the activity of the mind, but something that can be seen, touched, tasted, and lived. We better understand divine truths by engaging with nature, building community, and loving our neighbor, as we allow the grace of God’s creation to pour into us.

To encounter the world rightly, then, is already a kind of contemplation. Not because we abstract from it, but because it is a participation in a reality that reveals divine meaning.

Even Aristotle gestures in this direction when he speaks of habit. We become virtuous not merely by thinking rightly, but by continually acting rightly, in a way that develops our desires and perceptions. What we do with our bodies trains us toward virtue.

Christianity takes this insight and deepens it. What we do physically does not merely support contemplation; it becomes contemplation. Kneeling, eating, singing, gathering, speaking, and serving become ways of entering into the divine life.