Ethics Of Epicurus Essay

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The ethics of Epicurus basically state that the only thing valuable in a person’s life is pleasure. He also states that some pleasures can lead to pain. In order to not have painful pleasures, we need to judge our desires in the right way. Epicurus also realized that we do not know what we really need. What we want is not what we really need. Epicurus thought that the goal of life would be to pursue a life with friends, having freedom, and analyzing one’s life. Those three things would lead to happiness. He thought that pursuing the pleasure of always eating with a friend would fulfill his soul. He wanted to be free and self-sufficient which would satisfy his desire to be free. Lastly, he thought that we should reflect on our worries in order to realize why our souls are not at rest. He thought those three things would lead to the healthiest soul.

Epicurus believed that we have two types of desires. One type of desire is natural and mostly what we need to survive, like pursuing food and shelter. The other type of desire is artificial and vain. The desire to have a brand new cell phone every month would be considered an empty and vain …show more content…

Buddhists believe that meditation can separate our thoughts so that we can become fully aware of our surroundings. Meditation leads to our inner peace, and we experience joy. With Epicurus, he thought that our souls were unhealthy and pleasure could be our medicine. Both believe that we need to stop worrying about so much going around us. Although they share some similar beliefs, Buddhism and Epicureanism are quite different. Buddhism is more about the understanding and awareness of nature and all of life. Epicureanism is based mostly on desires and pleasures. Buddhism also seems to have more guidelines and rules to follow. Even though they are similar and different, they have their own views on the goal of life and

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