Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Happiness according to plato
Happiness and virtues have a connection
Happiness and virtues have a connection
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Happiness according to plato
Sigmund Freud believes that the purpose of human life is probably unanswerable, but instead, tries to decide what man’s pursuit of happiness would entail. Most would argue that Freud is wrong and that life does have a purpose, and happiness is included in that purpose. Freud’s definition of happiness would include an individual following a path that avoids pain and pursues pleasure. Freud designated this view as the pleasure principal. This instinct is one that is naturally assembled at birth, or the part of our personality called the Id. Through the Id, one can acquire their basic human needs and joy as a child. Freud also concludes that happiness is subjective. He states that life is not worth living if it is full of difficulties and barren …show more content…
This method of looking at things, which seems objective because it ignores the variations in subjective sensibility, is, of course, the most subjective possible, since it puts one’s own mental states in the place of any others, unknown though they may be (Freud, 41). Unlike Freud, believes that having a purpose and finding happiness are connected in his book, “The Republic.” Plato determines that happiness can be created if our society is just. He describes this through his representation of a perfect civilization. From Plato’s teachings one can infer that to establish justice, one’s purpose, and happiness, one must establish several maxims in one’s life including specialization and moderation. Although Plato describes happiness on an individual and group level, he mainly views perfect as the quality of the happiness of the …show more content…
Plato associates moderation with positive traits such as wisdom and manliness, and considers it vital for a utopian society. For example, if the city cannot control the education of its citizens, it cannot control the actions of its future leaders. Plato argues that through moderation and specialization, one could create a nearly perfect city. If the city as a whole is happy, then the individuals that inhabit the city are happy as well and will fulfill each of their purposes in life. “We take ourselves, then, to be fashioning the happy city, not picking out a few happy people and putting them in it, but making the whole city happy (Plato,
The thought of Freud has a total focus on an individual’s mind and how this internal struggle effects how humans interact within society. Freud argues that every human has three functional parts of their personality that exist within the mind itself: the id, super-ego and the ego. Thurschwell describes these three layers as how they relate to each other. The id is the deepest level of the unconscious, which is dominated by the pleasure principle and has no concept of time except for the present, demanding instant gratification of sexual and aggressive (Eros and Thanatos) urges. The superego originates through identification with the individuals parents, functioning as an internal censor witch represses the dangerous urges of the id. The ego starts as part of the id but is more sensible as it has knowledge of the outside world. Unlike the id, the ego is dominated by the instinct to protect oneself. Although these three layers cannot be physically mapped out in the mind they do show how Freud constantly focused on the internal mind...
"The feebleness of our own bodies and the inadequacy of the regulations which adjust the mutual relationships of human beings in the family, the state and society" (Freud) Freud also thinks that there’s sense of frustration in finding happiness. To him, humans were more independent and had more freedom and liberty before the existence of civilization as it limits a lot of someone’s needs and desires.
From chasing joy to evading misery, it seems as if the ultimate purpose in life is to achieve happiness. However, the question regarding how to define and acquire happiness has continued to be a disputed topic. Beginning back in 350 BC, Aristotle developed and supported his view on human happiness as the fundamental end goal of human life in Nichomachean Ethics. However, others did not universally agree upon Aristotle’s accounts and ideas about happiness. In around 550 BC, Solon preached his own theory on happiness in The Histories, stating that a person’s happiness cannot be determined until death, testing Aristotle’s beliefs. Solon attempts, but fails, to refute Aristotle’s belief that happiness is an eternal, virtuous state, by arguing instead that happiness is subject to change.
Like other ancient philosophers, Plato maintains a virtue-based conception of ethics. Someones self worth is related to their morals and their morals come from what they take value in. If Plato's conception of happiness is elusive and his support for a morality of happiness seem depressing there are reasons for this. His conception of happiness differs vastly from most people. In Plato’s early works, his approach is largely negative: “Socratic questioning seems designed to undermine the traditional values rather than...
A just life in a just society would be the happiest possible way to live for Plato. Justice is defined as a balanced and well-integrated specialization of functions both within the scope of society and the individual. The just society classifies its members on the basis of individual differences in intellectual and physical abilities and is therefore warranted. The way to achieve a happy life is only half satisfied with the presence of a just society. Other than living in a just society, the harmony between the parts within an individual's mind or soul is as important. The psyche contains three elements: wisdom, spirit, and appetite. The wisdom in a person, similarly to the role of the rulers in society, ought to be in command of the individual, and working in harmony with the spirit and the appetite, to achieve happiness. This is so because only the mind has the ability to reason and potentially achieve intelligence, which is the form of the Good -- the ultimate source of happiness.
Sigmund Freud took a different approach to the question of human happiness. In an excerpt from his book, which is titled Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud identified what he felt were the three main sources of human suffering. He says “...the three sources from which our suffering comes: the superior power of nature, the feebleness of our bodies and the inadequacies of the regulations which adjust the mutual relationships of human being in the family, the state and society” (Zwann, Junyk, & Zielinski, 2010). That is to say that Freud identified the origins of human suffering in rejecting and controlling our natural human instincts, the limitations of our human bodies, and the conflict between being true to ourselves and being a civilized individual. Furthermore, Freud was of the opinion that though we eventually accept, though are dissatisfied with the first two components of struggling, we are constantly at war with ourselves due to the last attribute. I find that I can agree with Freud on quite a few topics in his discussion, but that a lot of questions are ultimately raised from his thoughts. I plan on discussing and addressing all of these issues in this paper.
Of the copious number of topics in the world today, nothing captivated Sigmund Freud’s attention like psychology did. Known as the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud laid the foundations for comprehending the inner workings that determine human behavior (1). Through his involvement with the hypnosis, dream analysis, psychosexual stages, and the unconscious as a whole, Freud began a new revolution that faced its own conflict but eventually brought the harvest of new knowledge and clarity to the concept of the mind.
In Sigmund Freud's observation, humans are mainly ambitious by sexual and aggressive instincts, and search for boundless enjoyment of all needs. However, the continuous pursuit of gratification driven by the identification, or unconscious, directly conflicts with our society as the uncontrolled happiness. Sigmund Freud believed that inherent sexual and aggressive power prevented from being expressed would cause our "society to be miserable and the forfeiture of contentment." Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic view of personality theory is based on the perception that greatly of human behavior is determi...
In his several dialogues, Plato contends the importance of the four virtues: wisdom, courage, self-control, and justice. In The Republic, he describes a top-down hierarchy that correlates to the aspects of one’s soul. Wisdom, courage, and temperance preside control over the rational, spirited, and appetitive aspects of the soul. It is when one maintains a balance between these aspects of his soul that he attains peace within himself: “...And when he has bound together the three principles within him...he proceeds to act...always thinking and calling that which preserves and cooperates with this harmonious condition (Plato 443c).” Wisdom and knowledge consistently remain at the top of his view of happiness. During the apology, Plato is asked what punishment is best suited for him. He sarcastically answers, “to be fed...(It is) much more suitable than for any one who has won a v...
Sigmund Freud has been heralded as one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century. He is renowned for his discoveries about the human mind, particularly dreams, fantasies, and the role of the unconscious. Even though many of his theories were (and are) viewed as controversial, his ideas revolutionized the way people think about themselves. The potency of his notions have permeated almost every discipline, including literature, art, and medicine. This paper will examine the life, the influences, and the impact of Sigmund Freud. It will begin by discussing who he is, his personal history, and then talk about his role in the development of psychoanalysis. Next it will discuss some of the individuals who greatly inspired Freud. Finally, it will move on to talk about some of those upon whom Freud was an influence.
Plato states being a just person ultimately lead to being a happy person. By giving the definition of what it is to be just, he is giving the definition of what it is to be happy. Plato shows through the definitions of being just he has given us the key to happiness. Through rationality and harmony we can achieve happiness. The definition in its self is a solution to becoming happy. And I thank Plato, for showing me the light.
Sigmund Freud is one of the most influential people of the twentieth century for exploring the human mind more thoroughly than anyone before his time. His contributions have become embedded within the vocabulary of western society not only influencing psychology, as well as literature, art, and the parenting mechanisms of everyday people. He is the founding father of psychoanalysis which is often known as the talking cure, a method for treating mental illness and a theory which is intended to explain human behavior. He articulated and refined the concepts of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and repression, and he proposed a theory of the minds structure. Freud’s innovative treatment of human actions, dreams, and cultural artifacts has had
“Psychological - or more strictly speaking, psychoanalytic -investigation shows that the deepest essence of human nature, which are similar in all men and which aim at the satisfaction of certain needs... [are] self-preservation, aggression, need for love, and the impulse to attain pleasure and avoid pain...” At its simplest form, this quote perfectly explains Sigmund Freud’s theory on human nature. Human beings, according to Freud, are in a constant state of conflict within themselves; trying to satisfy their animalistic instincts, while also maintaining a socially appropriate life. Freud termed these animalistic tendencies that we have, the Id. The Id is essentially our unconscious mind, it is the part of us that has been there since the day we were born and is what drives our life’s needs and desires. The Id simply aims to satisfy our sexual or aggressive urges immediately, without taking into account any further implications. On the other hand, Freud used the term, the Superego, to describe man’s conscience and sense of morality. It is the Superego’s job to keep the Id in check by combatting the desire to satisfy urges with the feeling of guilt or anxiety. Finally, the Ego, is the conscious representation of the constant battle between the Superego and the Id. It must work to satisfy human’s instinctual tendencies while taking into account their conscience and doing what is rational and acceptable. Freud argues that these internal process that are constantly at work in our mind are what shape humans to do the things that they do. Thus, he believes, the goal of human nature is to satisfy our basic aggressive and sexual desires while adhering to cultural and social standards.
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
According to Webster dictionary the word Happiness in defined as Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy. People when they think of happiness, they think about having to good feeling inside. There are many types of happiness, which are expressed in many ways. Happiness is something that you can't just get it comes form your soul. Happiness is can be changed through many things that happen in our every day live.