Great minds run in the same direction. But in the case of great minds like Epicurus (342 – 270 B.C.E.) and Epictetus (50 – 130 C.E.), the road toward their common goal differed. Both Epicurus and Epictetus believe that it is in human nature to seek out pleasure and that happiness implicates serenity. However, Epicurus differs from Epictetus in that Epicurus does not believe that it is the virtues that bring about happiness, but rather, one’s own pleasure. While both Epicurus and Epictetus confer their opinions on happiness, it is consequently apparent by juxtaposing these two philosophers that their views on how to achieve is different, this can be proved by comparing their individual ethical theories.
Epicurus was a hedonist and believed that pleasure was the end/goal of life. He was born and educated on the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea. He moved to Asia Minor later and taught there for some years until he moved to Athens in 306 B.C.E. and taught in his famous garden, The Garden of Epicurus, until he died (Great Traditions in Ethics, 35). Epicurus lived a life of frugality and simplicity. Epicurus' ethical theory cultivates from his belief that “nothing is created out of nothing” and hence he argues “…that only natural causes operate in the world…” (39). Epictetus, on the other hand, was a firm stoic and hence practiced stoicism in his ethical theory and believed “hedonism is a false doctrine” (56). Epictetus was born in the Greek city of Hierapolis in Phrygia. In his later life, he started (another) school in Nicopolis and taught there until his death (Great Traditions of Ethics, 48). Since Epicurus and Epictetus had different foundations for their theories, their views on ethics and how it relates to happiness varied.
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... and ethical views such that, Epicurus does not deny God’s existence but believes there are no intervention in our lives. Epictetus’ ethical views are influenced by his stoic stance and therefore believe God plays a huge role in our lives. But when it comes to death, Epicurus and Epictetus stand on the same level. They both believe that anxiety is the greatest barrier to happiness and that one should live frugally and obtain pleasure. And therefore, I can conclude that all great minds think alike...sometimes.
Works Cited
Denise, Theodore Cullom, Nicholas P. White, and Sheldon Paul Peterfreund. "The Pleasant Life." Great Traditions in Ethics. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. 35-45. Print.
Denise, Theodore Cullom, Nicholas P. White, and Sheldon Paul Peterfreund. "Self-Discipline." Great Traditions in Ethics. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. 47-57. Print.
Nye, Howard. PHIL 250 B1, Winter Term 2014 Lecture Notes – Ethics. University of Alberta.
As said before, this is an unanswerable question, but to find a few conclusions it would be essential to look back at what Epicurus thought of what was life all about and to look back at what Gramsci meant about be a partisan. Equally important, is to look back at how these two philosophies influenced literature and art, by reading Sartre's thoughts on the engaged writer and by recalling to our minds some i...
Shafer-Landau, R. (2013) Ethical Theory: An Anthology (Second Edition). West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Epicurus was admittedly a Hedonist, and this philosophy has had a huge influence on his work. Especially so on his death argument. Hedonism is, “the doctrine that pleasure is the only thing that is good in itself for a person, pain the only thing that is bad in itself for a person.”
Simply defined, happiness is the state of being happy. But, what exactly does it mean to “be happy?” Repeatedly, many philosophers and ideologists have proposed ideas about what happiness means and how one attains happiness. In this paper, I will argue that Aristotle’s conception of happiness is driven more in the eye of ethics than John Stuart Mill. First, looking at Mill’s unprincipled version of happiness, I will criticize the imperfections of his definition in relation to ethics. Next, I plan to identify Aristotle’s core values for happiness. According to Aristotle, happiness comes from virtue, whereas Mill believes happiness comes from pleasure and the absence of pain. Ethics are the moral principles that govern a person’s behavior which are driven by virtues - good traits of character. Thus, Aristotle focuses on three things, which I will outline in order to answer the question, “what does it mean to live a good life?” The first of which is the number one good in life is happiness. Secondly, there is a difference between moral virtues and intellectual virtues and lastly, leading a good life is a state of character. Personally and widely accepted, happiness is believed to be a true defining factor on leading a well intentioned, rational, and satisfactory life. However, it is important to note the ways in which one achieves their happiness, through the people and experiences to reach that state of being. In consequence, Aristotle’s focus on happiness presents a more arguable notion of “good character” and “rational.”
In the history of ethics there are three principal standards of conduct, each of which has been proposed as the highest good: happiness or pleasure; du...
Epicurus, the founder of Epicureanism, saw death as a total extinction with no afterlife to ensue, he regarded the universe as infinite and eternal and as consisting only of space and atoms; where the soul or mind is constructed of indestructible parts that can never be destroyed. He sought to free humanity from the fear of death and of the gods, which he considered the main cause of unhappiness.
In Book I of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that the ultimate human goal or end is happiness. Aristotle then describes steps required for humans to obtain the ultimate happiness. He also states that activity is an important requirement of happiness. A virtuous person takes pleasure in doing virtuous things. He then goes on to say that living a life of virtue is something pleasurable in itself. The role of virtue to Aristotle is an important one, with out it, it seems humans cannot obtain happiness. Virtue is the connection one has to happiness and how they should obtain it. My goal in this paper is to connect Aristotle’s book of Nicomachean Ethics to my own reasoning of self-ethics. I strongly agree with Aristotle’s goal of happiness and conclude to his idea of virtues, which are virtuous states of character that affect our decision making in life.
Happiness is often viewed as a subjective state of mind in which one may say they are happy when they are on vacation with friends, spending time with their family, or having a cold beer on the weekend while basking in the sun. However, Aristotle and the Stoics define happiness much differently. In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle describes happiness as “something final and self-sufficient, and is the end of action” (NE 1097b20). In this paper, I will compare and contrast Aristotle and the Stoics’ view on human happiness. Aristotle argues that bodily and external goods are necessary to happiness, while Epictetus argues they are not.
Aristotle accepts that there is an agreement that this chief good is happiness, but that there is a disagreement with the definition of happiness. Due to this argument, men divide the good into the three prominent types of life: pleasure, political and contemplative. Most men are transfixed by pleasure; a life suitable for “beasts”. The elitist life (politics) distinguishes happiness as honour, yet this is absurd given that honour is awarded from the outside, and one’s happiness comes from one’s self. The attractive life of money-making is quickly ruled out by Aristotle since wealth is not the good man seeks, since it is only useful for the happiness of something else.
One of Aristotle’s conclusions in the first book of Nicomachean Ethics is that “human good turns out to be the soul’s activity that expresses virtue”(EN 1.7.1098a17). This conclusion can be explicated with Aristotle’s definitions and reasonings concerning good, activity of soul, and excellence through virtue; all with respect to happiness.
Cahn, Steven M. and Peter Markie, Ethics: History, Theory and Contemporary Issues. 4th Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Hursthouse, R. (2003, July 18). Virtue Ethics. Stanford University. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/ethics-virtue
Many stoic philosophers have taken a different approach to virtue and happiness. Homer and Epicurus for instance argue that happiness through desires and virtue are co-dependent suggesting that men with no desires cannot live happy lives. This slightly counters Seneca’s belief that happiness is a result of virtue.
Happiness can be viewed as wealth, honour, pleasure, or virtue. Aristotle believes that wealth is not happiness, because wealth is just an economic value, but can be used to gain some happiness; wealth is a means to further ends. The good life, according to Aristotle, is an end in itself. Similar to wealth, honour is not happiness because honour emphases on the individuals who honour in comparison to the honouree. Honour is external, but happiness is not. It has to do with how people perceive one another; the good life is intrinsic to the...