The Philosophy of Happiness

Paper Summary:

The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the topic of happiness in philosophy. Specifically, it defines and describes what makes a "happy" life for philosophers Aristotle and Epicurus. Happiness is an essential part of every life, but happiness can mean different things to different people, as these two philosophers clearly indicate. It shows how happiness should be a goal for everyone and how these two philosophers illustrate how to achieve it, though in differing ways and with different outcomes.

From the Paper:

"Happiness is not the same concept to everyone, and Aristotle and Epicurus are no exceptions. Epicurus, who lived between 341 and 271 B.C., was an Athenian philosopher whose main theory centered on happiness and how to achieve it in life. He believed happiness would come if people did not fear death, took care of themselves, and did not indulge in desires that were not necessary (155). He felt that people were able to create, and must create, their own happiness, that it was not dependent on others. He writes, "We must then meditate on the things that make our happiness, seeing that when that is with us we have all, but when it is absent we do all to win it" (Epicurus 155). Epicurus' theories included theories on death, the gods, and immortality."

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