À sombra das videiras e das figueiras : sabedoria e felicidade nos Provérbios de Salomão em comparação à Ética de Aristóteles

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the concept of happiness in the prologue of the biblical book of Proverbs (chapters 1–9), which belongs to what is conventionally called Hebrew wisdom literature. The analysis develops around three central questions related to the theme, exploring how happiness is linked to a specific metaphysics and pedagogy articulated by the Hebrew sages. In a second step, the results of this reading are compared with the concept of happiness presented in Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, considered the first systematic philosophical work on the subject. Since the study of Proverbs remains the central focus of this work, the dialogue with the Aristotelian tradition is not an end in itself but serves as a methodological resource to highlight, by contrast, the unique features of the biblical view of happiness. This approach brings into sharper relief the ethical and pedagogical project of the Hebrew sages, offering an expanded understanding of their moral insights and their influence on Western thought.