Since the true path to happiness, according to Epictetus, is the attainment of virtue, we can all become happier by improving ourselves, whether morally or intellectually. Furthermore, Epictetus' philosophy of happiness would lead us to live less stressful lives if we came to worry about only that which we can control. Still, while I admire Epictetus and his philosophy, I do not believe that most of us could be happy purely through the attainment of virtue. I believe that social support and some level of material possessions are necessary for happiness; we cannot forever strive only for virtue. I do, however, believe that Epictetus had a strong point when he asserted that we should only, rationally-speaking, worry about what we can change -- what good is there in worrying about things we cannot
“The Pursuit of Happiness” suggests what we imagine occurrences and possessions that we believe would make us happy or unhappy. Then we even take that a step further by actually believing we fully realize what effect it would have on us and how we would react. The reality with this is, most of the time our beliefs are not even remotely close to what truly brings us genuine joy or despair. The same remains true in what feelings or reactions one would have with each situation. The article “Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness”, on the other hand, states that
Need for possession is knowledge. Knowledge has its purpose to aim at good. External good, need for possession to wealth, and other goods for the body and soul. Men pursue honor in order to assure their goodness and wisdom that they seek to be honor and believe that virtue is better. Being able to provide for your own without any help from anyone is self-sufficient is a possession that people want to have
Answer Key 1. In the opening paragraph, Bertrand Russell says, “The happy life is to an extraordinary extent the same as the good life.” What does he mean? Is this statement paradoxical? He means that by being a good person, doing good for other people and trying to make other people happy, you will also be happy. This statement is not paradoxical because we do not have to sacrifice ourselves to help others.
PSYC 2100 12/6/11 Money Giveth, Money Taketh Away: The Dual Effect of Wealth on Happiness This study questions whether or not money can buy one’s happiness. Evidence from this study have proven that the income a person shows an important impact on happiness. Those who are more luxurious, when experiencing the best things in life, they tend to forget the simple joys that life brings them instead. When being reminded of wealth, it can apply a deep insight of effects on thought and behavior. In simpler terms, when people are thinking of money, it may lead them to think that any experiences they desire is likely to be attainable.
Bad experiences and feelings make the good feelings worth living for. If I were in a constant state of happiness I don’t believe it would be as great as it sounds because I would not be able to experience other emotions. Eudaimonic happiness means that we are happiest when we follow and achieve our goals and develop our unique potentials. Hedonic happiness means that we define the good life in terms of our own personal
In this sense, the virtue of the ancients was amoral. Consequently, their conception of happiness was functional as well: But presumably to say that happiness is the supreme good seems a platitude, and some more distinctive account of it is still required. This might perhaps be achieved by grasping what is the function of man. If we take a flautist or a sculptor or any artist his goodness and proficiency is considered to lie in the performance of that function; and the same will be true of man, assuming that man has a function. (Nicomachean Ethics, 1097b) Aristotle inherited this functional sense of happiness, or eudaimonia.
How many times have we fantasized about having a perfect life, and in that fantasy, we dreamt that we are extremely happy living that life? According to Daniel Gilbert, in his essay “Immune to Reality”, “because we ignore how our psychological immune system works, we cannot predict how happy our choices will make us”. Therefore, it gets us away from the perfect life that we wish so much. At the end, can we learn how to control the Psychological Immune System to achieve happiness in our life? We would be in a better standing position if we can take advantage of the knowledge how our psychological immune system works, identify what kind of happiness we want to experience, and recognize that we cannot be always happy.
The Good Life The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the things that make me “happy”, I think of love, stability and wealth. This is probably true for most people, with a few variations of course. One definition of happiness could be the state in which we have everything and what nothing. Someone is happy because everything he or she could ever want has been acquired so there is no wants. Plato had a completely different view of happiness.
The biggest single factor which he feels contributes to happiness is family and other close relationships. Having good personal relationships with people who are important to us is a very significant contributor to happiness and general well being. Happy people tend to be distinguished by their rich and satisfying close relationships, rather than their greater levels of wealth. This is supported by Robert Lane’s findings. According to Spoors et al, Lane found that increased economic power did not lead to increased happiness.