Socrates And Happiness Essay

910 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: My view on happiness

My view is that in life we all pursue happiness but we also have a different perspective of happiness, and I believe that because not everyone wants or desires the same things. We all have different desires as well as goals that we want to accomplish and that can bring happiness to our lives, and to some people without them there is no happiness or reason in life. Some people 's happiness is based on playing sports, to some it may be building a new company and to others like Socrates spending all his time talking to anyone about anything. We all want happiness, but it cannot be found anywhere based on our different desires or believes.

I agree with Socrates to a certain point because although virtue is necessary in life some people may want …show more content…

Although, In both views reasonable insight in ones desire is the key the differences lies in the measure of this reason. Socrates believes that all you need in life to be happy is to have virtue and even though I agree with that I also believe that there is more to that to be happy. Virtue is a great trait that can bring praise and respect but that is not what makes all people happy. People 's happiness is based on doing what gives them joy and pleasure. Socrates mostly focus is on virtue and he believes that is sufficient for happiness, but we all can agree that there are people without virtue but live happy. In the other hand Epicurus believes that to be happy you need to find pleasure and comparing it to socrates I believe that virtue consists to some people but finding what gives you pleasure in life is the most …show more content…

Socrates would agree that is not important to be a supermodel or a financially successful person to find happiness but I believe that to some people achieving those goals is where they will find happiness. People see pursue of happiness differently in my opinion because everyone find happiness differently. People have different passion different desires and I cant be happy if I 'm doing something that I don 't find pleasure in. Socrates for example found happiness in talking to random people and questioning them about their morals even if he was accused of corrupting the youth. Socrates spend all his life talking to random people about anything and we can conclude that he found pleasure doing it. Socrates was a wise man with greats virtue but in my opinion his truth happiness was found in talking to people and questioning their

Show More
Related

  • Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Happiness

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    From pursuing pleasure to avoiding pain, life seems to ultimately be about achieving happiness. However, how to define and obtain happiness has and continues to be a widely debated issue. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle gives his view on happiness. Aristotle focuses particularly on how reason, our rational capacity, should help us recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life.';(Cooley and Powell, 459) He refers to the soul as a part of the human body and what its role is in pursuing true happiness and reaching a desirable end. Aristotle defines good'; as that which everything aims.(Aristotle, 459) Humans have an insatiable need to achieve goodness and eventual happiness. Sometimes the end that people aim for is the activity they perform, and other times the end is something we attempt to achieve by means of that activity. Aristotle claims that there must be some end since everything cannot be means to something else.(Aristotle, 460) In this case, there would be nothing we would try to ultimately achieve and everything would be pointless. An ultimate end exists so that what we aim to achieve is attainable. Some people believe that the highest end is material and obvious (when a person is sick they seek health, and a poor person searches for wealth).

    Read More

  • Aristotle And Aristotle: The Differences Of Happiness And Human Happiness

    2347 Words  | 5 Pages

    Happiness is a goal every human pursues, yet the ways in which it is pursued differs amongst people. Some believe prosperity will bring them happiness. Others believe material, power, fame, success, or love will bring them happiness. No matter what one believes is the right way to conquer this goal, every person will take their own unique path in an attempt to find it. But what is happiness? 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

    Read More

  • Nicomachean Ethics And Aristotle's Theory Of Happiness

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    In fact, I don’t reach happiness in regards to money until I am able to make a purchase or pay my dues, making money a stepping stone to my happiness instead of the ultimate end. As quoted by Aristotle, “Wealth is clearly not the good we are looking for, since it is useful and for the sake of something else” (Nicomachean Ethics, 390). My opinion regarding money not being happiness, coincides with a large portion of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, in which Aristotle refutes the common opinions of what happiness is, he contends that happiness is not equitable to pleasure, wealth or honor. These “identifications” of happiness are not considered to be the highest end of an action. In each of these situations that the masses define as happiness, has a greater good to be achieved, therefore making them not true happiness. Aristotle supports his argument by using the example of honor, he contests that an individual pursues honor, to be recognized and convinced they are good, “people seek to be honored…for excellence” (Nicomachean Ethics, 390). Excellence is of greater value in the process of seeking honor, showing that honor, like wealth, is not the ultimate goal of actions, meaning it cannot be equated to

    Read More

  • Happiness Thesis Statement

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    Finding the level of ultimate contentment and life satisfaction can be challenging, but the perception of situations or powerful social connections strengthens the level of happiness within a person. Topic Significance: In recent years, the rate of depression in young adults has increased as people struggle to find the meaning of happiness and how they can achieve happiness. As people continue throughout their life, it is important to recognize what makes them happy.

    Read More

  • Aristotle and Happiness of the Soul

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Opinion Of Aristotle And Kant's Philosophy Of Happiness

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aristotle is a strong believer that reaching happiness is the ultimate goal of humans. He says, “Another belief which harmonizes with our account is that the happy man

    Read More

  • Plato's Views on Happiness

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Socrates, The Good Life, And The Good Life

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    He talks about virtue like it is the result of living “The Good Life.” He says, “For I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons and your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul” (Slayer). In brief, Socrates is saying that in order to have true “virtue” one needs to be consider where they are in the standards of morality, rather than the standards of material gain (Slayer). Additionally, Socrates also argues, “I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue come money and every other good of man, public as well as private.” He is basically saying that anything worth obtaining in the world is only worth obtaining justly because without “virtue” one will have nothing of value

    Read More

  • Aristotle's Theory Of Happiness Essay

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aristotle rejects the idea of universal happiness by explaining how Plato does not incorporate the large number of variants. Aristotle believes that good is not a single, common universal, because what it is to be good is particular to the essence of the individual. One might also argue that other common factors associated with happiness were wealth, pleasure, knowledge, and honor. Aristotle disagrees and found each of these limited to the notion of the good of man. Some benefits that may motivate them to seek better opportunities within their career may be the thought of money bringing happiness and also they will practice living the good life. Developing a good character requires a strong effort of will to do the right thing, even in difficult situations. The general idea that happiness is a result of the wealth is skewed from reality. Wealth is a means to happiness, not actual happiness, one who is wealthy, but is unable to actually use the money is not happy. Aristotle feels the good for man is something that is not dependent on anything else, so being wealthy is not something desirable. Happiness is not pleasurable sensations that can be gained or lost, it is what we seek when acting and is a condition of a person over a lifetime, not at one

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Aristotle And Plato

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    For both Plato and Aristotle, virtue was considered essential for happiness. For Plato, wisdom is the basic virtue and with it, one can unify all virtues into a whole. Aristotle, on the other hand, believed that wisdom was virtuous, but that achieving virtue was neither automatic nor did it grant any unification of other virtues. To Aristotle, wisdom was a goal achieved only after effort, and unless a person chose to think and act wisely, other virtues would remain out of reach

    Read More

  • Virtue Ethics

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    It has more to do with character and the nature of what it is to be. human, than with the rights and wrongs of our actions. Instead of concentrating on what is the right thing to do, virtue ethics asks how. you can be a better person. Aristotle says that those who do lead a virtuous life, are very happy and have a sense of well-being.

    Read More

  • Aristotle On Happiness And Virtue Essay

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    The pursuit for happiness has been a quest for man throughout the ages. In his ethics, Aristotle argues that happiness is the only thing that the rational man desires for its own sake, thus, making it good and natural. Although he lists three types of life for man, enjoyment, statesman, and contemplative, it is the philosopher whom is happiest of all due to his understanding and appreciation of reason. Aristotle’s version of happiness is not perceived to include wealth, honor, or trivial

    Read More

  • Happiness Is A Choice

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    Happiness is an inner state of well-being and fulfilment, and therefore it has to come from inside. Every individual has his or her own emotions and way of thinking and as a result of this no one can really say what happiness is and what happiness is not. However, universally, happiness is a by-product of a healthy attitude and viewpoint. Happiness exists in everyone whether they choose to acknowledge and believe it or not. It is not rare nor is it something only the elite have: everyone has it but not everyone recognizes it. Contentment is finding a light at the end of every dark tunnel and in order to experience this we must ignore the pessimism surrounding us and remind ourselves that happiness is not a materialistic object but a choice and frame of mind.

    Read More

  • Speech on Happiness

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay About Happiness

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    I believe that happiness is the key to living a good and prosperous life. Through all of the sadness and hate in the world, happiness gives me hope. It gives not only me, but others hope and joy. Happiness gives us something to hold onto, therefore we cherish it as much as we can.

    Read More

More about Socrates And Happiness Essay

Open Document