Post #2 Epicurus 3 ingredients to Happiness

2 Commentsby   |  09.06.12  |  Student Posts

Interesting thing about Epicurus is that one thing he believed in we still search for today in our society. Happiness. He believed that there were 3 ingredients to happiness. Friends, Freedom, and an Analyzed life. He also believed that we needed to be self sufficient in our lives to procure happiness. Epicurus’s philosophy was to have a tranquil life by ataraxia, meaning peace and freedom from fear, and aponia, finding a way to be absent of the pain that we experience in our lives. He also stated that friends were important for support purpose’s. The thought of searching for happiness was to be believed that we were looking in all the wrong place’s through the earning of money, we as a society believe the more money the happier we will be, but it does not matter how much we have if we do not have friends, freedom, and an analyzed life, all the money in the world can not make us happy. Psychology today still use’s ways to decrease our fear in life, and helps us to determine where our tranquility comes from, it teaches clients how to deal with the pain, and let it go instead of living in it with guilt. Happiness is an all around subject that each person searches for in life, and Epicurus finds a way to explain to us how we can find the settled mind of happiness through these three ingredients. In our society today we make life difficult for ourselves for lack of this kind of education. I find that Epicurus is brilliant in his thoughts, and the system that we live in now pushes us to believe that one must work exceptionally hard to find happiness. I also believe that there should be one other ingredient added to this and that is God.

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2 Comments

  1. Claire Coburn
    8:16 pm, 09.06.12

    I particularly liked what you said about how what Epicurus believed applies to our culture today. We have it all wrong when we are looking for happiness outside of Epicurus’ “three ingredients.”

  2. Jacob Lowe
    8:32 pm, 09.06.12

    Stacy, thank you for an excellent explanation of Epicurus and his three ingredients to happiness. I really appreciate Epicurus for his search for simplicity. He lived a simple life, and he found friendship to be invaluable, beliefs that I have significant respect for. I also like your fourth ingredient to finding happiness, God. I love how simple Jesus is. Sure, sometimes following His commands and picking up our crosses is incredibly challenging, but Jesus loved simplicity. I say this, one, because Epicurus loved simplicity, and two, because I think Jesus has a much better spin on it, even more simple. During His Sermon on the the Mount, Jesus includes in His teaching almost an interruption. In the midst of all His teaching, He says this: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33. Again, in Matthew 22:37 Jesus breaks it down further, love God with all you are, and love people. All the law and prophets are summed up in this. I think its cool how simple Jesus makes it. Thanks again for your understanding of Epicurus, and your wonderful addition to his ingredients to happiness.

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