Epicurus's Letter To Menoeceus

While another philosophical concept, called utilitarianism, addresses an idea relatively close to the definition of altruism. In which, utilitarianism introduces the idea that “one should maximize pleasure and minimize pain for all parties involves in a decision” (Leib slide 12). To summarize, this concept states that there should be “the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people” (Palmer 273). This philosophical view makes the most sense in today’s society by eliminating things that cause pain away from

Martin Seligman’s Positive Psychology Fun versus Philanthropy reflective essay Introduction: In this reflective essay, a number of aspects of happiness and well-being, as well as questions relating to Martin Seligman’s task. Firstly, an explanations of the doctrine will be examined. Then, the relation between fun and the philanthropy will be discussed. To sum up, the question whether happiness is everything. The doctrines of happiness: There are different perspectives on happiness, two of which are the hedonic and the eudaimonic views.

Although happiness comes in different forms such as, monetary fulfilment, emotional containment, materialism etc., the pursuit of conquering these satisfactions is to attain pleasure and happiness in the end. Even in religious belief, like buddhism, the goal of achieving enlightenment, which is the state of being satisfied and fulfilled mentally, physically and emotionally, is the end goal. In no way that any individual will, consciously or subconsciously, chose to be unhappy. Thus, happiness is the rule of life

Socrates learned from Diotima that love is a kind of neediness that can only be fully satisfied by a good, by a kind of happiness that is never fleeting, that is permanent – which is the form of beauty. For beings like us, who are mortal, this means that love looks to stretch out beyond ourselves, beyond our own life. A central part of love, an aspect of love itself, is some aspiration to live on beyond the bounds of our mortality – hence the intrinsic features of unchanging, absolute, and separate of which Diotima

Notably, Boethius does acknowledge that the quest for happiness is a natural habit for human beings, but people are simply trumped by false expectations of what happiness truly is . In Book 3 of his book “The Consolation of Philosophy,” he states that money and riches are poisonous and explicitly declares attributes that come along with them, such as honor and wealth, as harmful and inadequate to true happiness. To him, a person that does not have, is better off than a person that does. His logic follows the concept of attachment. Those who do not have money, are not attached to it, and those who have money will be overwhelmed with

However; it did quite the opposite, instead it brought more conflict and uneasiness to the people. While many disagree with Machiavelli’s points about what makes a good leader, I find them favorable. While leaders during this time were expected to please everyone, Machiavelli makes the point that it is not possible to do so. One argument he makes is “A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily

In “The Whistle,” a short essay by Benjamin Franklin, he emphasizes that many people sacrifice desirable pleasures to achieve a false happiness. He conveys this message by illustrating people who only care about popularity and people who are willing to do anything for an adventure. One type of person who sacrificed desirable pleasures to achieve a false happiness and personal worth is the person who neglects everything else to gain popularity. As a child, Franklin made the mistake of giving all his money for a whistle that temporarily satisfied him, but later caused him to realize that he had payed too much for it. As Franklin grew older, he began to observe how other people also “gave too much for their whistles.” “When I saw another fond

He believes that happiness is achieved through a life full of virtue as well as the expansion of reason and the ability of greater wisdom. This is why we take various actions, to ensure enough outer goods to obtain health, leisure time and the ability to have virtue in our lifespan. Furthermore, another point Aristotle emphasizes, is that moral virtue is located somewhere between extremes and deficiency. That’s where the Greek saying “παν μετρον αριστον” comes from, meaning everything is good but don’t over or under do it. Keep everything in moderation, except virtue.

The pursuit of happiness is defined as an individual and collective activity. Given that philosophers defined happiness as an issue that precedes morality in life, it is important that an individual consistently seek to exude happiness. For this reason, the use of drugs as a substitute and means of being happy is a flawed and often completely misguided of what it means to be happy (Haybron, 2011). It is important that virtue motivate the motivation of personal happiness. Exuding empathy, kindness and gratitude are some of the approaches that are likely to realize collective personal happiness.

a review of the literature [leads] us to identify three constituents of happiness: (i) pleasure (or positive emotion); (ii) engagement; and (iii) meaning” (Seligman et al. 418). While it cannot be defined, happiness can be characterized by pleasure, an overall positive emotion, that is derived from an experience. Happiness can also be achieved through the engagement involved in an activity meaning being fully absorbed in an activity can lead to immense satisfaction. Finally, happiness can be experienced through actions that give a person meaning.