Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The pursuit of happiness philosophy
The pursuit of happiness philosophy
The pursuit of happiness philosophy
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The pursuit of happiness philosophy
“ The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less, said Greek Philosopher Socrates. Philosophers have said that happiness is about living a good life. Looking at the reading we see different views of what people thought happiness was. We will explore the different characters and stories of a few people like Epicurus, Epictetus, and Socrates. Whether it be through doing what we want to do or doing what we ought to do through happiness or pleasure.
First of all Epictetus argues that we shall not grieve over death because death is something we cannot control. If death is not something we control, then why do we implement services that honor the dead that are going to activate our uncontrollable emotions? We struggle with accommodating death because of the attention that death receives. Grieving is a natural emotion, the more the person is reminded of something the more emotional they will become. The more significant the loss the lengthier the grieving process lasts. Epictetus believes that our feelings are expressions of what seems right to us based upon our opinions and values. If we reevaluate our judgments or beliefs, then our feelings will be corrected as well. If we cannot control
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.
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 Letter to Menoeceus, Epicurus writes to Menoeceus on the philosophy by which he follows with regards to creating pleasure while avoiding pain. That is, Epicurus argues that the ultimate meaning of life hinges on our perception of happiness and consequences, which are directly affected by our choices. For example, Epicurus describes this perception of the ultimate meaning through death. He states that death is, by logic, harmless to no one since when one is dead, he/she ceases to exist. Thus, nothing can harm him/her if he/she no longer exist, including death. Therefore, it is irrational and dangerous to “shun death” (Epicurus, 50) since it is only hurtful to people, who extensively ponder on it. Epicurus maintains that not thinking about death leads to happiness while the consequences of thinking about death leads to sadness. Furthermore, Epicurus discusses several consequences overly pursuing pleasure. For instance, he argues that we must not always decide on the basis of immediate pleasure and immediate pain
Both Plato and Augustine offer unusual conceptions of what one must acquire to live a truly happy life. While the conventional view of happiness normally pertains to wealth, financial stability, and material possessions, Plato and Augustine suggest that true happiness is rooted in something independent of objects or people. Though dissimilar in their notions of that actual root, each respective philosophy views the attaining of that happiness as a path, a direction. Plato’s philosophy revolves around the attainment of eternal knowledge and achieving a metaphysical balance. Augustine also emphasizes one’s knowing the eternal, though his focus is upon living in humility before God. Both assert that human beings possess a natural desire for true happiness, and it is only through a path to something interminable that they will satisfy this desire.
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.
“Hector and the Search for Happiness” film by Peter Chelsom demonstrates what happiness looks like and how come it is important to our life in depth and in an entertaining way. The movie demonstrates many things across the movie, but the three main things that being emphasized the most were love, fear, and money. These points are connected very strongly and affect almost all of our happiness because we cannot miss any points of it in the modern life, and it is motivating make us happy.
To be just or unjust. To be happy or unhappy? Men fall into these two categories. Why does a man act according to these 2 extremes? Is it because they fear punishment? Are they quivering in fear of divine retribution? Or do men do just things because it is good for them to do so? Is justice, good of its rewards and consequences? Or is it good for itself. What is justice? Are the people who are just, just as happy as the people who are unjust? Plato sheds light on these questions and says yes, I have the definition of justice and yes, just people are happy if not happier than unjust people. Plato show’s that justice is worthwhile in and of itself and that being a just person equates to being a happy person. In my opinion, Plato does a good job and is accurate when explaining what it is to be just and this definition is an adequate solution to repairing an unjust person or an unjust city or anything that has an unjust virtue and using the definition of what justice is accurately explains why just people are happier than unjust people.
“Plato, Apologia” is a primary source that is a story written by Plato, it is a written account of Socrates, a Greek philosopher, who was being tried for immorality towards the gods and for “corrupting the youth” (Strayer). In this primary source, Socrates is trying to plead his case so he won 't be charged; unfortunately, Socrates does get charged with the crimes he was convicted of and is sentenced to be put to death. Through his Socrates’ plea, his discusses what he believes is “the good life,” what “wisdom” is, and what “virtue” is.
Aristotle feels we have a rational capacity and the exercising of this capacity is the perfecting of our natures as human beings. For this reason, pleasure alone cannot establish human happiness, for pleasure is what animals seek and human beings have higher capacities than animals. The goal is to express our desires in ways that are appropriate to our natures as rational animals. Aristotle states that the most important factor in the effort to achieve happiness is to have a good moral character, what he calls complete virtue. In order to achieve the life of complete virtue, we need to make the right choices, and this involves keeping our eye on the future, on the ultimate result we want for our lives as a whole. We will not achieve happiness simply by enjoying the pleasures of the moment. We must live righteous and include behaviors in our life that help us do what is right and avoid what is wrong. It is not enough to think about doing the right thing, or even intend to do the right thing, we have to actually do it. Happiness can occupy the place of the chief good for which humanity should aim. To be an ultimate end, an act must be independent of any outside help in satisfying one’s needs and final, that which is always desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else and it must be
Plato and Aristotle, both have similarities and differences in their ideas of which virtues are important and how they lead to happiness. For Plato, in his book "The Republic", happiness is achieved by adhering to a set of rules put into place by the state for each class. According to Aristotle 's "Nicomachean Ethics", Aristotle believed that all human activity is done to achieve happiness, which is considered the supreme good. Becoming wealthy, or famous, or seeking physical pleasure is only done to achieve happiness. Aristotle believed that happiness can only truly be achieved after death, because happiness is more of a temporary state, but while alive, virtue can be achieved by finding a mean between the extremes of excess and deficiency.
However, we can wonder if the pleasures that derive from necessary natural desires are what actually brings us happiness, since having a family, friends, a good job and doing fun things seem to bring the most joy in life. Plato’s ideas on life are even more radical, since he claims that we should completely take difference from our bodily needs. Therefore it seems that we should only do what is necessary for us to stay a life and solely focus on the mind. Although both ways of dealing with (bodily)pleasure are quite radical and almost impossible to achieve, it does questions if current perceptions of ‘living the good life’ actually leads to what we are trying to achieve, which is commonly described as
We place an enormous value on our happiness. .For centuries mankind has been on a philosophical quest to find happiness. Arristippus ancient philosopher, and founder of hedonism the school of philosophy, echoed this sentiment when he said "the art of life lies in taking in pleasures as they pass." Arristippus concluded that the ultimate telos or goal for humans is happiness derived from pleasure. pleasure seekers by nature; we actively seek pleasurable experiences. Conversely we run away from the bad and the painful ones.
“The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does” (James M. Barrie). Happiness is pleasure, joy, bliss, or simply the state of being happy. Aristotle would define happiness by saying “happiness appears to be something complete and self-sufficient, it being an end of our actions” (Aristotle 63). Philosophers like Aristotle see happiness as a way of life not just a certain mental state. Aristotle makes a connection with happiness and what can be obtained from it, such as reason and wisdom. On the other hand, many individuals feel as though happiness is something that comes and goes and therefore seek certain things out in order to fulfill their void of happiness
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...