Happiness and Epicurus Essay examples

Epicurus was a Greek philosopher born in 341 B.C., and he lived until 240 B.C. According to The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, “He [Epicurus] claimed to be self-taught, although tradition states that he was schooled in the systems of Plato and Democritus by his father and various philosophers” (Columbia). These prior philosophers heavily influenced the ideals that Epicurus would popularize later on in life. The ideals of Epicurus went on to be known as Epicureanism, which essentially was a school of thought that recognized pleasure as the greatest virtue (James).

The Leading Doctrines of Epicurean philosophy state that ‘it is impossible to live the pleasant life without also living sensibly, nobly and justly, and conversely it is impossible to live sensibly, nobly and justly without living pleasantly’ (Epicurus, 1998b, p.53). Therefore, the good Epicurean believes in order to live virtuously, one must adhere to a pleasurable life. For Epicureans it is impossible to live virtuously and unpleasantly or vice-versa. In addition, Epicurus describes pleasure as our ‘primary native good’ (Epicurus 1998a, p. 51), implying that all human actions are driven by pleasures and by the avoidance of pains. Another imperative concept to Epicurean philosophy is Epicurus’ idea of the three fundamental aspects in attaining pleasure, those of friendship, freedom and an analysed life

25. Epicurean teachings and politics were based on individual pleasure. The highest of all pleasures is the serenity of the soul, in complete absence of mental and physical pain. This can be achieved by eliminating fear.

The principal Doctrines, are written by Epicurus who lived from 341B.C. to 270 B.C. His theory is hedonism, which is rooted in pleasure. The book speaks of pain as being only temporary, and that it is only a pleasure over pain (V). This is a way of life to see the pleasures that life offers are what Epicurus is saying. And although, “no Pleasure is a bad thing in itself,” The results of obtaining the pleasure can bring greater displeasures (VIII). He is looking for the most pleasures one can get, and I suppose if he was not happy with his job, that he would quit. I can see Epicurus, avoiding a lot of things within his life because they would bring pain and frustration, like driving in rush hour. The idea sounds like he is living the simple life, or a hermit’s life.

In evaluating the philosopher’s goal of determining how to live a good life, Epicurean philosophers argue that pleasure is the greatest good and pain is the greatest bad. Foremost, for the purpose of this analysis, I must define the pleasure and pain described. Pleasure is seen as the state of being pleased or gratified. This term is defined more specifically by the subject to which the pleasure applies, depending on what he likes. Pain is the opposite of pleasure, which is a type of emotional or physical un-pleasure that results in something that the person dislikes. “Everything in which we rejoice is pleasure, just as everything that distresses us is pain,” (Cicero 1). Through this hedonistic assessment of pleasure and pain, epicurean philosophers come to the conclusion that, “the greatest pleasure [is that] which is perceived once all pain has been removed,” (Epicurus 1).

In David Suits' article, An Epicurean Idea Suits addresses in detail the theory of Epicureanism. Suit begins by introducing the major fear humanity faces and explains to us how Epicurus would refute each fear. Suit then goes one step further to explain the different aspects of life that allow humans to achieve the ultimate goal in Epicurus’s mind ataraxia, which is peace of mind.

Epicurus believes pleasure is the greatest good because it is the only way to completely fulfill ones life on this earth. Epicurus is inclined to philosophize in this way as he believed that there was no after life or immortal soul, leading pleasure full self-fulfillment to be the only rational conclusion for the greatest good on earth. To comprehend Epicurus’ pursuit of pleasure one needs to understand that his version of hedonism is not full of lavish indulgences that have

The notion of morality involves a life in accordance with nature and controlled by virtue. It is as ascetic system, which teaches perfect indifference to everything external. Nothing external can be either good or evil (Stanford). To Stoics, both pain and pleasure, poverty and wealth, and sickness and health, are supposed to be equally unimportant. Stoic Ethical teaching is based on two principles: first, that the universe is governed by absolute law, which admits of no exceptions; and second, that the essential nature of humans is reason.

Accounting to the text Epicurus Philosophy is to live the good life which means live a life with peace of mind and cheerfulness. That being said in chapter 3 of crimes and misdemeanours many characters live a life that pays the price. If Epicurus View the Woody Allen film crimes and misdemeanours you'd probably say a whole lot about it. He would say many things about the characters that are featured in the film because of what they have gone through, and where there destiny has led them too. According to Epicurus friendship was a big deal for him. He said friendship is one of the most important things in this world. The reason he would look at the characters in crimes in with misdemeanours really odd it's because many of the characters let

In this essay, I will dissect the positions and beliefs of Epicurus from a letter he wrote to Menoeceus, and argue why I believe they are correct or incorrect. I will also elaborate on the ultimate goal for Epicurus and differentiate between the types of pleasures and why it is important to focus on particular types. Lastly I will analyze the principal things that give people anxiety, the method Epicurus recommend for applying his philosophy, and why I agree or disagree with particular positions Epicurus has. Epicurus uses several different instances about what he believes constitutes the good life and I found many of them to be right on target with my beliefs.

According to Epicurus, the purpose of life is attaining happiness “since, if [happiness] be present, we have everything, and, if [happiness] be absent, all our actions are directed towards attaining it.” Although that statement is undoubtedly true, people use different ways for finding happiness. Epicurus believes that the best guideline towards happiness is pursuing pleasure, which is “the alpha and omega of a blessed life”, and avoiding pain. That is why many people describe his approach as very hedonistic. However, he makes it clear that by pleasure he means the “absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul”, and not the “pleasures of the prodigal or the pleasures of sensuality”, which sets him apart from hedonism. What is more,

Hellenistic and Roman Ethics can be divided into two theories. The first theory is Epicureanism. This theory is the belief that humans seek a pleasant life, and that the best way to a pleasant life is by moderate satisfaction. Epicureanism believes there are three kinds of human desires, natural, natural but not necessary, and empty desires caused by society. Natural desires are those a human cannot live without, such as food, water, shelter, friendship, and happiness. Natural but unnecessary desires are those that humans can live without, one example being love, not in the sense of intercourse. Empty desires are ones caused by society and are superficial desires that are self-defeating, including religious superstition and glorifying wealth

Aristotle was a particularly influential Grecian philosopher and student of Plato who lived from 384BC- 322BC (ADD CITATION). Within Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle outlines the thoughts of the general population along with his regards and rationales in explaining many philosophical premises. But to concentrate on how Aristotle feels about the role of pleasure in morality, Aristotle introduces the idea that “most people think happiness involves pleasure.” He goes on to interpret the roles of different pleasures and their virtues and vices, giving examples such as as bodily pleasures and soul pleasures.

In the opening lines of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states, “Every craft and every line of inquiry, and likewise every action and decision, seems to seek some good; and that is why some people were right to describe the good at what everything seeks.” Aristotle often wrote about happiness, but so did Epicurus. In a broad sense, Aristotle and Epicurus touched on similar points when discussing happiness. They both believed that happiness is the ultimate goal in life, and that all human measures are taken to reach that goal. While Aristotle and Epicurus’ theories are similar in notion, a closer look proves they are different in many ways. In this paper, we will discuss the differences between Epicurus and Aristotle in their theories on happiness, and expand on some drawbacks of both arguments. Through discussing the drawbacks with both theories, we will also be determining which theory is more logical when determining how to live a happy life.

To Epicurus happiness was the same as pleasure. And pleasure was freedom from bodily pain and mental anguish. He lived a simple life, owning only two cloaks and only eating bread and olives. With the occasional slice of cheese for a treat. He believed desire was a form of pain and therefore should be eliminated, and thus one should be satisfied with the bare minimum of what is needed to be happy. Therefore, while it was not a life of many desires, it was filled with the only pleasures you would need to be happy. There was a certain joy he found, in pure existence. Today’s society could learn a thing or two from this philosophy, most of which being living simply. It was better to take pleasure in simple things, rather than to chase pleasure.