In society today there is a common understanding that true happiness can never be achieved. Moreover, that the purpose of life is to suffer and to work until death. This thought raises many questions about the steps to take in order to achieve true happiness. The struggle to answer these questions goes above and beyond minds because humans are made so distinctly that the definition varies from person to person. But if true happiness is in fact achievable, it will be attained only when we are one with ourselves, with what we produce, and with the people that surround us.
Stoicism was established in approximately 300 B.C.E by Greek philosopher, and mathematician, Zeno, and included philosophers such as Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. (Soccio 196) The Stoic school of philosophy taught of the soul and how to become enriched with inner peace. The Stoics, and specifically Epictetus, believed only attempting to control what was personally controllable, while accepting fate to be the controller of what was personally uncontrollable, could bring peace to the soul and mind.(Soccio 196) Further belief included that what happened, did so for a reason, and the control of one’s fate belonged to God. Stoic theories on human nature additionally included the struggle of good versus evil, and how it related to human interactions. Stoics concluded that “nothing that happens can be wrong or bad, since everything that happens is part of God’s rational plan”. (Soccio 201) Therefore; it cannot be said that a person is evil based on his or her actions since, according to the Stoic philosophy, a person’s actions are uncontrollable, but instead fated, and being they are fated by God, they cannot be evil. It is accepting of this evil as being fated, that ...
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... growth, and death. It is necessary to understand the course of nature and the cycle of life and why they are unstoppable. Birth, growth, and death are part of the cycle of any human life and we must become one with ourselves, with what we do and create. It is also important to understand that suffering will always be an essential part of the human soul, but if true happiness is achievable, it would be when we are one with ourselves, what we produce, and the acceptance that suffering is an essential part of true happiness.
Works Cited
Delbanco, Nicholas, and Alan Cheuse. Literature : craft and voice. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
Soccio, Douglas J. Archetypes of wisdom : an introduction to philosophy. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
Xenophon. The Memorabilia; Recollections of Socrates. n.p., n.d. Classic Reader. Web. 12 November, 2013
Humans, throughout recorded history, have searched for a proper way of living which would lead them to ultimate happiness; the Nicomachean Ethics, a compilation of lecture notes on the subject written by Greek philosopher Aristotle, is one of the most celebrated philosophical works dedicated to this study of the way. As he describes it, happiness can only be achieved by acting in conformity with virtues, virtues being established by a particular culture’s ideal person operating at their top capacity. In our current society the duplicity of standards in relation to virtue makes it difficult for anyone to attain. To discover true happiness, man must first discover himself.
It is a common thought that happiness is key to a successful life, and many try to find out how to achieve the
to state suffering as the entirety of the first noble truth, is not enough because the expression of
Epicurus in a way was an atheist but still believe the gods could exist but not in the way we believed. They were simply beings far away that were ultimately happy. This tired into his metaphysical beliefs, he didn’t believe in a after life and that everything was made of atoms and nothing more. This believe in atomism is explained as nothing really existing just atoms bouncing off of one another. That everything is atoms in a empty void. This is why he didn’t fear death, once we die out atoms would slowly disperse and nothing more would happen. Epicurus believed that the gods were made of atoms just like humans; this made them the same as humans. So we should forget about our worries with the gods and life a fulfilling life.
When an average person seeks happiness, most often they search in the wrong place: "If only I could have that I would be happy." For ages, man has been seeking happiness from outside, not within. People have the misconception that material things and materialistic goals will bring them ultimate happiness, but in truth those only bring transient happiness. True and lasting happiness can be reached from within when one realizes the ultimate truth. This ultimate truth, the main focus of transcendentalism, can be reached through self-reliance, nature, and oversoul, the main principals of the philosophy. By meditation, by communing with nature, through work and art, man could transcend his senses and attain an understanding of beauty, goodness, and truth.
As a worldview, Stoicism is a philosophical approach to help people to cope with times of great stress and troubles. In order to give comfort to humanity, the Stoics agree with the Pantheistic view that God and nature are not separate. Instead, the two forces are one. By believing that God is nature, humans have a sense of security because nature, like God, is recognized as rational and perfect. The perfection of nature is explained through the Divine, or natural, Law. This law gives everything in nature a predetermined plan that defines the future based on past evens (cause and effect). Because the goal for everything in nature is to fulfill its plan, the reason for all that happens in nature is because it is a part of the plan. It is apparent that, because this law is of God, it must be good. The Divine Law is also universal. Everything on the planet has a plan that has already been determined. There are no exceptions or limitations to the natural law. The world in the Stoics’ eyes is flawless, equal, and rational.
Furthermore, even the happiest and carefree of people will eventually experience some kind of suffering. The Buddha taught people to recognize that suffering is part of life and that it cannot be avoided. However, this suffering does not only come from the body—it also comes from within. Those who experience loneliness, depression, anxiety, or cannot satisfy their needs and wants are suffering. Despite the negative aspects of suffering, Siddhartha also spoke of happiness through friendships, family life, or health. Though, the downfall to this is that happiness is impermanent—or annica—and will not end all suffering. Buddhists believe that the way to end suffering is to first accept the fact that suffering is a fact of life. The next aspect to recognize is what causes such suffering?
But in this debate, one question still raises its head - What is happiness? Happiness is not actually leading a luxurious life, but the luxury of living a life. Happiness is not actually about expanding your business, but it lies in expanding the horizons of life. Happiness is not having a meal in the most famous restaurant, but having it with your most beloved family. It does not lie in attending honorable parties, but to attend a party with honor.
“The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living” is a collaboration by His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV and Howard C. Cutler, M.D., who identify many possible components that could lead to a happy and satisfying life. Their approach combines and integrates the thoughts of East and West; Buddhist principles and practices on one hand and Western science and psychology on the other. Many everyday difficulties are highlighted in this book, and Dalai Lama and Dr. Cutler attempts to help the readers find appropriate solutions in order to find a balanced and lasting happiness. Dalai Lama’s understanding of the factors that ultimately lead to happiness is based on a lifetime of methodically observing his own mind, exploring the nature of the human condition, and investigating these things within a framework first established by The
Stoicism was popularized by the Roman elite of the Late Republic, and it appealed to the elites especially because it provided teachings on how to deal with strife. During the civil war between Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar and the resulting power vacuum after Caesar's assassination, the chaos and violence caused a desire for an...
Happiness is not easy to define. A good life has one characteristic – happiness. Happiness can be defined as pleasure, joy, contentment and satisfaction. Understandings of how to be happy were changing throughout the history. Aristotle who lived in 4th century BC in Athens and Schopenhauer who is19th century philosopher from Germany have contrasting understanding of happiness. In this essay I will argue that Aristotle and Schopenhauer provide accounts of happiness that are useful to contemporary society. The reason for this is that happiness is universal and people’s ways to achieve it did not changed tremendously over times.
Suffering can be defined as an experience of discomfort suffered by a person during his life. The New York Times published an article entitled what suffering does, by David Brooks (2014). In this article, Brooks explains how suffering plays an important role in our pursuit of happiness. He explains firstly that happiness is found through experiences and then, suffering can also be a motivation in our pursuit of happiness. In other words, suffering is a fearful but necessary gift to acquire happiness. This paper is related to motivation and emotion, two keys words to the pursuit of happiness (King, 2010).
Happiness is a feeling that everyone aims to accomplish, yet some people seem to only catch a sight of it. Gratifying atonement, a state of well-being, and serenity are the more eminent elements of happiness. David G. Myers and Ed Diener propose the article “Who Is Happy?” which present aspects of happiness, a theory that recognizes adaptation, cultural world view, and personal goals. I believe through word of mouth and through those whom we look up to, we are told many myths about happiness, especially the biggest myth that money can buy happiness. In Daniel Gilbert’s “Reporting Live from Tomorrow”, he argues that the definition of happiness is not defined by wealth and that we rely on super-replicators and surrogates to make decisions that we feel will enhance our happiness. Our economic history has proven the idea of declining marginal utility. If we pursue life and liberty without happiness, our lives, quality, and value will slowly vanish, but the absence of wealth has nothing to do with one’s happiness.
Happiness is a feeling that humans naturally desire. Without it, one feels incomplete. In this generation, happiness has taken on a definition by how we are presented to one another. It is measured by how much money we have, how famous we are, or the things we possess. When in reality, none of these things guarantee a happy life. Happiness is something that cannot be bought with money, but rather, it must be found, earned, sought after. Each and every one of us has our own list of things that we consider to make us happy. However, happiness shines brightest through the relationships we create, and the goals we make for ourselves to strive after. Along with these two essential sources, we then can mix and match those things in life that we enjoy to create our own unique formula for happiness.
Throughout my life, I have learned to see that happiness is not such an inaccessible dream. Although its notion varies from one person to another, happiness is often times only one inch away. Some people will experience happiness in the pursuit of it. Some will find it in sacrificing themselves for greater goals. Others will find it in people’s company, in lust or in drugs. There is no recipe for success or happiness, and it is only up to us to define what we want from life, and how we want to get it. The only certain thing is that it is never too late for anybody to achieve their dreams, to make peace with their feelings, and ultimately, to be happy.