More Subjects
Student
Course
Instructor
Date
Letter to Monoeceous
Eudemonia is an ideology mentioned by Aristotle where he describes it as a condition of humans flourishing well. He considered it different from the state of being in happiness, as he believed that eudemonia as it does not include that state of mind or satisfaction as ‘happiness’ should. He called it the best of human life that is desired by one’s self, rather than for something else. Aristotle believed that living thing or any man made thing possess some unique feature that differentiates it from rest of the things. The highest good for anything is determined on the basis of its good performance or good characteristics, virtues and qualities that assist in performing good. Thus, eudemonia comprises of two basic concepts in its definition of ‘good’, performance of distinctive function of human beings and the virtue that is combination of so many good traits. Aristotle argued that the capability to ‘reason’ is the unique function of humans that distinguish them from all other things.
According to his book ‘Nicomachean ethics’, Aristotle stated that eudemonia comprises of a philosophical and scientific mediation as per the intellectual virtues of wisdom and thoughtfulness. He also included the functionality of characteristics and virtues in the political sphere where it can be used in applications of terms such as justice, morality and happiness. Thus, according to his eudemian ethics theory, eudemonia consists of all the functions of a soul that comply with the perfection and completion of virtue, be it intellectual or moral. Subsequently, it can be referred to as an activity rather than a state and it primarily includes the practice of reasoning. He also established that these virtues are not based on innate or acquired skills, rather they are inculcated by social appropriation, reflection and habituation. Thus, eudemonia is the accomplishment of complete life or at least much of it ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"gIIpgMcw","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Fowers)","plainCitation":"(Fowers)"},"citationItems":[{"id":23,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/HkFX5Fcg/items/XRQXCVX9"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/HkFX5Fcg/items/XRQXCVX9"],"itemData":{"id":23,"type":"chapter","title":"Aristotle on eudaimonia: On the virtue of returning to the source","container-title":"Handbook of eudaimonic well-being","publisher":"Springer","page":"67-83","author":[{"family":"Fowers","given":"Blaine J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Fowers). Such philosophical theories were considered as highly sophisticated and realistic substitutes of action based theories in the mid-20th century. Theories of utilitarianism, deontology and consequentialism were thought to be the counterintuitive of the theoretical theories.
Epicurus was a major figure in both science and philosophy. For him, happiness holds an intrinsic value in life, especially in the form of pleasure. A pleasant life, in his opinion, is the one where we refrain from unnecessary desires and work towards the attainment of inner tranquility, which asks that an individual be content with themselves in the effort and achievement of pleasure. The choice of pleasure, in his opinion, ranged between the pleasure of having philosophical conversations with friends or the choice of physical pleasures that includes, drinking, food, and sex.
He was a staunch believer of his opinion, which is why he chose to spend his final days of life delving in pleasure regardless of how much physical pain he was in at the time. He also states that future is not ours truly, thus, it is better that we neither expect much from it, nor do we abandon all hope. At the same time, we should also take control of our desires and ensure that we understand these facts. The right understanding of facts leads to the best of choices, which in turn improves our understanding of the matter. It helps us remove disturbances from the sole and enable us to live a blessed life ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"eyFgHdVp","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Bergsma et al.)","plainCitation":"(Bergsma et al.)"},"citationItems":[{"id":22,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/HkFX5Fcg/items/7ZFQBWGB"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/HkFX5Fcg/items/7ZFQBWGB"],"itemData":{"id":22,"type":"article-journal","title":"Happiness in the garden of Epicurus","container-title":"Journal of Happiness Studies","page":"397-423","volume":"9","issue":"3","author":[{"family":"Bergsma","given":"Ad"},{"family":"Poot","given":"Germaine"},{"family":"Liefbroer","given":"Aart C."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2008"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Bergsma et al.). Thus, we should avoid both pain and fear as it is only then can be feel pleasure. He calls pleasure as the very first thing that is both good and natural to us. However, being human, we do not always gravitate towards the various pleasures that life has to offer, pleasures always follow us once we have endured the greatest amounts of pain known to man.
Works Cited
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Bergsma, Ad, et al. “Happiness in the Garden of Epicurus.” Journal of Happiness Studies, vol. 9, no. 3, 2008, pp. 397–423.
Fowers, Blaine J. “Aristotle on Eudaimonia: On the Virtue of Returning to the Source.” Handbook of Eudaimonic Well-Being, Springer, 2016, pp. 67–83.
More Subjects
Join our mailing list
© All Rights Reserved 2024