Living A True, Good And Happy Life

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

Epicureanism is a philosophy developed the teachings and ideals of a man named Epicurus. Epicureanism is defined by Epicurus as the pleasure for the end of all morality and that real pleasure is attained through a life of prudence, honor, and justice. Epicurus introduced this philosophy around 322 B.C, and two schools established in Athens. Epicurus taught the ethics of his philosophy in his school, that a person should live by "the art of making life happy", and that "prudence is the noblest part of philosophy"(newadvent.org). Epicurus ideals for life intrigued people and they began to think that perhaps the ethics of Epicureanism had some truth behind it; a person should live his/her life to the fullest in order to become happy. Epicurus

Born of different backgrounds, upbringings, and experiences, Epictetus and Seneca are Roman philosophers who outwardly appear very different. Epictetus spent most of his youth as a slave while Seneca was born into money and became a tutor of Nero. Although these two men seem to be very dissimilar, they each shared a common purpose in studying philosophy and teaching people on how to live well. Each suggested different paths for how to do so. Epictetus suggests in his book, The Discourses and The Enchiridion, that living a life in accordance with nature could be achieved by living moderately. Seneca suggests in his work, Letters from a Stoic, that a happy man is self-sufficient and realizes that happiness depends only on interior perfection. Despite the differences, both Epictetus and Seneca are considered Stoics because of their shared belief in the idea that character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness. The world outside ourselves will never give us happiness, nor will it be responsible for our unhappiness. It doesn’t matter what’s happening outside ourselves, Epictetus and Seneca claim that the only thing that matters is how we interpret those events. Further evaluating Seneca’s, Letters from a Stoic and Epictetus’s, The Discourses and The Enchiridion, we will clearly be able to differentiate the two in their ideas and opinions regarding stoicism and the keys to living a well, happy 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).

The Handbook vs. 90210 Finding happiness in life is the ultimate goal for many people; this task, however, is not easy. In a world surrounded by temptation, it is often extremely difficult to distinguish the difference between what leads to true happiness and what only temporarily gratifies. Innumerable philosophers have tried to tackle this challenge, and each has left behind various theories on how to achieve happiness. One of the most famous philosophers, Epictetus, came to the conclusion that Stoicism is the best way to find happiness in the mortal world. Epictetus lived from approximately 50-130 A.D. and the stoic movement began to catch on even earlier, around 300 B.C. (Epictetus 1).

The philosophy of Epicurus sought virtue as a condition of serenity in the soul. According to his thought, Epicureanism is centered in the achievement of happiness through the elimination of one’s desires, and on pleasure and virtue claiming that “It is impossible to live pleasantly without living wisely and honorably and justly” (Epicurus, Doctrines, 1). This signifies that pleasure and virtue are interdependent and both sustain the concept of this ideology. To achieve happiness, one must do its best to live as virtuously as possible if they are to live a pleasant life. Pleasure is declared as the “beginning and end of the happy life” and by nature “the greatest good” (Epicurus, Doctrines, 13). This is so because living a life of pleasure means pain is absent and therefore makes life meaningful. Reason and virtue play an important role in the Epicurean notion of pleasure, leading the wise man to choose a simple life and rational action above

According to Stoicism, the only way that happiness can be achieved is through “self-control, detachment from all externals, and the acceptance of one’s fate as identified by the objective use of reason.” Stoics follow the thought that nothing can make you happy or unhappy without your consent. The manner in which we deal with a situation and the attitude we choose to have toward it needs to be of the upmost importance since anything outside of self-control and self-discipline can result in “avoidable unhappiness.” With the use of reason, we must learn to control what we can and accept the things in which we are completely powerless. Stoicism offers the thought that in some unknown way the Logos guides our lives, which is the Stoic concept of World Reason and Fate. Since there are things that are painfully out of our control, the

On the other hand, in the Epictetus’ Enchiridion, they barely talk about love. Rather than talk about love, in Enchiridion, Epictetus mentions the idea of the dignity of life in a rational way, but not an emotional way like Christianity. Being rational seems to become the core of Stoicism. “So far, there is nothing to value myself upon. And when I find an interpreter, what remains is to make use of his instructions. This alone is the valuable thing” (Epictetus par. 49). “Never say of anything, ‘I have l lost it’; but, ‘I have returned it’"(Epictetus par.11). Even though death is the saddest thing in the life, people can overcome it by this teaching. Such matters as birth, old age, illness, and death are the inevitable routes that every human being has to across. The universal laws show that the life is an eternal thing. People should not be sad when their family members die. Epictetus seems to avoid the grieve by rationality. After learning how to accept, people will not feel fear or pain anymore. This rational optimist’s thinking leads countless followers to attain happiness.

In current society, people question the true essence of a happy life: is it money, power love, sex, or religion? In retrospect, however, this is a contemplation that also wondered the minds of people from ancient times. Ever since the emergence of early civilizations, human beings have attempted to identify the elements that can allow them to live happier lives. For the early thinkers of these civilizations, this quest for a more meaningful and satisfying life could be acquired only through the application of philosophical thought. According to them, philosophical thinking, which strictly focuses on the use of reason and logic (Pojman and Vaughn 2), offered the only tools that would allow them find the true sources of happiness. A prime example of a civilization that used critical thinking and reason to identify these seemingly complex elements were the ancient Greeks. Essentially, Greek philosophy attempted to find rational answers to basic questions about man and the universe (Owens). These questions included the quest for happiness. The intellectual movement of ancient Greece nurtured many different kinds of philosophies, and in particular, there were two different kinds of philosophies that attempted to guide people towards the quest of a fulfilled and happy life: the philosophies of Epicureanism and Hedonism.

-I said “Similar to Stoicism, the aim of Epicureanism was the attainment of dispassionate inner peace and tranquility, which they called Ataraxia, invulnerability to all circumstances and changes of fortune. Ataraxia is attained by the control of the passions and the elimination of fear”

“Happiness in particular is believed to be complete without qualification, since we always choose it for itself and never for the sake of anything else. Honour, pleasure, intellect, and every virtue we do indeed choose for themselves (since we would choose each of them even if they had no good effects), but we choose them also for the sake of happiness, on the assumption that through them we shall live a life of happiness; whereas happiness no one chooses for the sake of any of these nor indeed for the sake of anything else.” ( Aristotle 10-11) Aristotle is the other view of happiness that will be discussed. With him and the Stoics, they are both kind of similar due to both believe in virtue for happiness, Aristotle says virtue a different way and other ways about happiness. Aristotle along with the Stoic’s believe that virtues is the same, but Aristotle says this about virtue “and if we take this kind of life to be activity of the soul and actions in accordance with reason, and the characteristic activity of the good person to be to carry this out well and nobly, and a characteristic activity to be accomplished well when it is accomplished in accordance with the appropriate virtue; then if this is so, the human good turns out to be

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.