Happiness is every man’s desire and as such, human beings are constantly trying to define what happiness is and how it can be achieved. Aristotle and Epicurus are two philosophers who developed theories on happiness and although they both believe that our actions are aimed at achieving happiness, they have different views on happiness, especially in the means in which it is achieved.
On one hand, Epicurus proposes that in order to experience happiness, one must avoid pain and abstain from desires that are unnecessary and instead, focus on achieving inner tranquility. This can only be achieved if we ignore the pleasure derived from physical things such as sex and food and embrace the pleasure derived from conversations with friends. According to Epicurus, there are two forms of desires; necessary and unnecessary desires (The Information Philosopher). The pursuit of necessary desires results in happiness, while the pursuit of unnecessary desires result in unhappiness. On the other hand, Aristotle proposes that one must focus on their own self-interests, in order to experience happiness, which is referred to as eudaimonia (Kúcúkuysal and Beyhan). Based on this view, it is safe to say that the two philosophers differ because in the case of Epicurus, the pursuit of happiness does not include the pleasure derived from physical things, but in the case of Aristotle, the pursuit of happiness includes everything that meets the self-interest of that individual, including pleasure derived from physical things, as long as it does not involve sacrificing other people.
Further, Aristotle believes that to achieve happiness, one has to have good morals and be a virtuous person. According to Aristotle, reason is the highest virtue of mankind, noting that it separates man from other animals. In this case, virtue refers to the function of mankind which ultimately helps man achieve happiness. In addition, Aristotle posits that one should be able to balance between excesses and deficiencies in order to lead a fulfilling life. In the view of Aristotle, happiness is neither a pleasure nor a virtue, but rather, it is the exercise on virtue. Epicurus has a different opinion on the highest virtue of mankind, which in his case is the pursuit of pleasure. The pursuit of pleasure, while avoiding things that bring us pain, is the ultimate means in which man can achieve happiness, according to Epicurus. In addition, Epicurus views happiness as pleasure and at times uses the two terms interchangeably, which is different from Aristotle’s view of happiness.
The other difference in the perception of happiness from the two philosophers is in terms of duration in which one experiences happiness. On one hand, Aristotle believes that one can only achieve happiness at the end of their life. Happiness is a goal that is achieved by being morally virtuous and as such, it is not temporary. On the other hand, Epicurus believes that happiness is a state of being free from pain and worry, which can be achieved throughout one’s life. From this view, Aristotle does not portray happiness as something that can be achieved throughout one’s life, but rather, it is only a goal achieved at the end of exercising virtue and reason. When a person is not morally virtuous, he/she will not achieve the end goal.
Both philosophers opine that happiness is the expected end product of the actions of human beings. According to Aristotle, we ought to do those things that will bring us happiness and ignore those which destroy happiness. Similarly, according to Epicurus, we should only pursue the necessary desires that results in true happiness and pleasure. In this case, they share similar views, although their means towards those views differ greatly.
Further, both philosophers agree that we require wisdom in identifying the things that bring us happiness. Epicurus proposes that there are things that are necessary in bringing us pleasure while others only bring us pain, and distinguishing between these things require wisdom. In the letter to Menoeceus, Epicurus notes that “let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old” (The Information Philosopher). Further, Epicurus notes that “wisdom is a more precious thing even than philosophy” while talking about pleasure and happiness. Accordingly, Epicurus is of the view that all other vitues stem from wisdom, making it the greatest good in the pursuit of happiness. Aristotle shares a similar idea and believes that wisdom gives us the ability to balance between excesses and deficiency for optimal happiness.
I think that Aristotle’s teleology is a more helpful ethical system because unlike Epicurus’s hedonism, it does not give restrictions by defining things that we should not desire in pursuit of happiness such as food and drinks. In Aristotle’s ethical system, happiness is viewed as the main purpose of human existence and as such, encourages the pursuit of happiness without sacrificing our own interests, as long as it does not come at the expense of other people. Lastly, Aristotle’s ethical system pays more attention to virtues, while Epicurus does not. In my own view, our society needs a system that encourages people to be moral to avoid chaos.
Works Cited
Kúcúkuysal, Bahadir and Erhan Beyhan. “Vitual Ethics in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.” International Journal of Human Sciences 8.2 (2011): 43-51.
The Information Philosopher. Epicurus- Letter to Menoeceus. n.d. 24 April 2018 .
