Essay about Epictetus: Personal Life and Happiness

Submitted By mmasse1
Words: 659
Pages: 3
Open Document
Philosophy: Guide to Happiness. Epicurus on Happiness
Misty Masse
April 20, 2015

Ever since ancient times human beings have looked to philosophy for the secret of happiness. Epicurus found more knowledge on the pursuit of happiness than any other philosopher out there. Very little of Epicurus has survived over the years, most of his books have been lost over the centuries leaving his suggestions on happiness to be reassembled with few remains of information. Epicurus did believed that we could all find a way to be happy the problem was that everyone was always looking in the wrong place for that happiness. He promised that he could show us how to find happiness and how to live a happy life without feeling guilty for it. Can money solve everything? Can it bring happiness to our lives? Those are the questions Epicurus wanted us to stop and think about before giving suggestions on finding happiness. Epicurus did say that pleasure is the most important thing in life. With the life he lived his was far from pleasurable, but he was happy and content with the simple life he had. Epicurus did not live a luxurious life, he had a simple house, always drank water rather than life and no luxurious or expensive foods. Most people feel that material things will make them happy giving them the impulse for a shopping spree. Epicurus thought he understood the need for our shopping sprees or for spending too much money and that was because we don’t really understand what we need and the difference of what we want. Epicurus found ways to achieve happiness without spending money, and the first thing he thought we needed was friends. He took friendship very seriously. He took friendship seriously because he believed friends were a major source of happiness. He stated that to never eat a meal or snack alone, because eating alone is the same as being a lion or a wolf. You should always have a companion when eating. The second thing Epicurus thought was needed to achieve happiness was freedom. In order to achieve freedom, Epicurus thought you needed to be economically independent and financially stable. We must free ourselves from the everyday prison of life and politics. Live a simple life. Epicurus also believed the third way to achieve happiness was an analyze life. He meant that we need to take time off from all the worry and stress we consume on a daily basis and analyze what is causing it. We can diminish the stress and worry if we have time
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about Epictetus: Personal Life and Happiness

Ethics: Thought and Good Life Essay examples

by the philosopher Epictetus. There were fifty three points on how the good life can be achieved by adjusting a person’s yearnings to fit the world liking. The happiness that consequences from the good life are also thought to be not just any desire but some kind of happiness that is worthwhile. From reading Epictetus beliefs I think he would agree with that statement. The topics that were presented I mostly agree with because he came up with ethical claims but, some of Epictetus beliefs were harsh…

Words 1040 - Pages 5

Comparison Of Epictetus And Taoism

it’s a way of life and is believed to still be followed by many. Epictetus is a stoic philosopher known for his teachings of wisdom and the pursuit of happiness. Both these ways of thinking, believing and living can be useful even in your own everyday life. They are relevant even to my life and I learned something from both of Taoism and Epictetus. First, Taoism is known to base its teachings from the Tao Te Ching. Tao simply means way or path. It is known to be the way of life. Taoists believe…

Words 820 - Pages 4

Epictetus Analysis

One of the most difficult things in life is being severed in the circumstance of death from something and or someone you love so dearly that many of us dread the thought of such an event where you don’t understand how to handle such a loss. In regards to Epictetus’s matter of ideas, in this specific instance, of the death of a loved one, section 3 opens the mind in the sense where the importance of self realization of the love you bore for your wife or child leads to a path where pain will not subside…

Words 1799 - Pages 8