Epicurus on Happiness

Epicurus on the Source of Bliss

Epicurus was one of the philosophers who shed light on the source of bliss. He thought that everyone might find happiness in their lives. Many people believe that possessing a large quantity of money is the route to happiness. Epicurus, while leading a simple life, believed that the hidden secrets of happiness include being free, meditating on concerns that prohibit you from being happy, and, most significantly, having friends. Aside from these three aspects of Epicurus thought, the idea also covers the best ways to live, the reasons of unhappiness, and the greatest ways to spend money. In the 21st century, many people are obsessed with the wrong things, thinking that the wrong things are the source of happiness. (De Botton, n.d.) Expresses this by giving an example of a person with a compulsive buying disorder who openly admits that at that time, he was happy and hence did less shopping. These groups of individuals with the wrong perceptions about the source of joy do not take a chance to consider the consequences of their actions. The misguided pursuit of happiness has lead people into avoidable debts, suicide, and drug abuse. In the same line of thought, another multitude believes that immense success brings about joy, from the consequential ethical theory (Stanford University, 2016). Working hard may bring a sense of joy and accomplishments, but according to Epicurus, money, and achievement without the three elements may still turn out to bring sadness. I believe people in the 21st century could benefit from the philosophy and avoid unnecessary problems like compulsive buying behavior and drug abuse in pursuit of happiness.

The Generation of Excessive Buying

The generation that we are in is a competitive one, characterized by online shopping and many malls, which in my opinion lead to excessive buying. Taking an example of the online shops that are found on every social media network, they advertise goods that may result in individual people spending money on the items that are not necessary for their lives. Social media has also exerted unnecessary pressure on looking fashionable which ultimately lead to shopping to make ourselves feel better for more likes, followers or retweets.

The Impact of Advertisements

The advertisements, as mentioned by DeBotton, are highly responsible for the state of unhappiness that people are in. For every brand that hopes to market their goods, they portray their products as to cause happiness. As business people, they rarely are virtuous and care about the impact of the advertisement to the customers. The commercials tend to materialize people, making them value the truly unnecessary items and completely ignore the things that can bring happiness, while not advertising may lead to losses which can make the owners of the organization to lack the basic needs (Stanford University, 2016).. The right thing to do would be to make the advertisements as least materialistic as possible. The advert that we covered didn’t pay any keen focus on the virtue ethical theory or the Epicurus theory.

Being Benevolent and Building a Happy Life

The world is in turmoil. In 2015 alone, United States had almost half a million homeless people (De Botton, n.d.). I don’t believe that people should be thrifty, but spend more on the right things. From the virtual ethical theory and the Epicurus, the right course of action to take between giving the money to the homeless or to do shopping with the money is to be charitable and donate more towards a cause. This not only makes the lives of other people better but also builds on the three most essential elements of Epicurus philosophy. Being benevolent makes room for friends, and provides freedom to the individuals who are jailed by financial turmoil.

The Relevance of Epicurus’s Knowledge

Epicurus died ages ago, but his knowledge lives on to guide more people towards living a happy life with friends, analysis of the past and freedom. The knowledge is still very relevant in this generation of materialism, and lack of care for virtues and consideration of the consequences of their actions.

References

De Botton. . (23 May 2012). [02 - Epicurus on Happiness - Philosophy: A Guide to Happines] [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irornIAQzQY

Stanford University. (December 8th 2016). Virtue Ethics. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/