Epicurus's Philosophy Of Happiness

Many things have changed since Epicurus wrote on his philosophy of happiness around 307 BC, but in this century we can still obtain happiness as long as we have Epicurus’ three foundations of freedom, friendship and an analyzed life. He says that happiness does not come from money and money is not required to obtain happiness as long as the essentials are met. (de Botton, ND) There is comfort taken in the ideas of Epicurus because the three things needed for happiness can be accessed by everyone. The philosophy of Epicurus is not as prominently applied in this century as it should be and our society could benefit if more people in the twenty-first century followed the ideas of Epicurus, but everyone needs to be offered of choice to apply this
Being conscious of how, when, and where you spend your money is important because the more you know, the more power you have to save, support and donate. By applying act utilitarianism, everyone can mindfully consider the actions that will bring about the greatest good (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2015). An example would be if a consumer is trying to shop environmentally friendly and have recently found out a business they support lacks environmentally responsible actions; they can choose to no longer shop there to show that they do not agree with the actions of the company. In this way, anyone can make a difference and strive for the greatest good. Epicurus stresses the importance of an analyzed life, and by making conscious decisions of what businesses you support, you are analyzing your purchasing habits and actively adding to your level of
Although the spending of our citizens may be a solution in getting our economy bounce back, there are many other factors that should be considered that could also help us get out of our financial crisis, and one of them includes a decrease in government spending. By creating a society that spends more, there are potential consequences that may not have been considered. If happiness cannot come from buying things, could it be that buying things are make us less happy? Epicurus might have pondered that question himself, considering the consequences that an overzealous shopper may confront. By choosing to follow the philosophy of Epicurus in the 21st century, we benefit from analyzing our behavior in a society that is driven by