Epicurus and his Works - Research Paper Example

Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher who lived from 341-270 B.C., infamous quote "riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as theytorment us with their loss" expressed his inner most thoughts about the dependence on money to achieve a tranquil way of living. Epicurus has spawned a philosophy called Epicureanism which underlying teachings suggests that happiness can be achieved by eliminating physical pain and mental anguish. Epicureanism also expresses freedom from fear that religion has imposed as Epicurus believed that the Gods were to preoccupied to delegate punishment and reward. The infamous quote "riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as they torment us with their loss" can be likened to a mirage as the perception of the acquirement of money gives a false illusion of true happiness. A prime example is a person who acquired much wealth and for lack of correct management, or other reasons, looses the wealth which ultimately leads to that person demise by way of suicide. Another examples that can be used are the famous singers Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson. Having acquired a massive amount of wealth each heavily sought the tranquility Epicurus describes with the heavy usage of prescription drugs. The excessive usage of drugs ultimately lead to both icons untimely deaths. Epicurus statement also suggests that the pursuit of monetary gain would interfere with the natural flow of personal evolution and create mental disturbance and infallible wants and desires. According to the article "Epicurus" the ultimate goal of human life is to pursue happiness which could only be achieved with the absence of physical pain and mental disturbance (1). Once a person began to excessively seek materialism, then the natural flow of personal growth would be disrupted leading to mental anguish. Epicurus quote also suggests that the grief brought on by losing wealth outweighs the happiness that money can bring. It goes back to the old adage that money cant buy happiness. The pursuit of happiness has been made interdependent on monetary success which is illusionary. According to Epicurus: an introduction by John M. Rist, suggests the Epicurus believed that happiness came from free thinking and that politics as well as religion were erroneously used in the pursuit of happiness (157-158). Epicurus could be considered a polytheist and adamantly believed that the Gods were to preoccupied with other missions and did not dole out rewards and punishment for behaviors. The author goes on to say that Epicurus believed that faith in the certainty of knowledge produced happiness (5). As a scholar of his times, Epicurus may have been predisposed with money while others were still void of possession which skews individual opinion. In the article by Richard A. Easterlein "Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all?" the author suggests that more income spawns more desires and wants. This thesis aligns with Epicurus as he suggests that fallacious desires and wants are the results of unnatural pursuits to happiness (36). Unlike the era of Epicurus, current times have lead to researchers to conduct a test to reveal if money buys happiness. Author Jonathan Gardner, article "Does Money Buy Happiness? A Longitudinal Study Using Data on Windfalls" reviewed the psychological health and reported happiness of approximately 9000 randomly chosen people. The people selected either won the lottery or received and inheritance. The polled participants mental well being was followed for a year. The end results showed an increase in the participants mental well being 1 year after receiving the money (1-3). The mythological belief that happiness would be a constant once wealth is acquired is far from the truth. Suniya S. Luthar article "The Culture of Affluence: Psychological Costs of Material Wealth" suggests that widespread problems have arisen in the upper socioeconomic families with problems such as substance abuse, anxiety and depression(1-2). The article is in consensus with Epicurus theory that, wealth does not alleviate unhappiness, however creates fallacious desires and wants. In his book A Life Worthy of the Gods: The Materialist Psychology of Epicurus, author David Konstan reveals Epicurean philosophy that believes that a materialist world view would create irrational anxieties and desires (1-2). The torment of losing a fortune must have devastating effects. Countless people have taken their own lives or had mental breakdowns because of not being able to deal with the loss of their fortune. Epicurus infamous statement "Riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as they torment us with their loss" suggests that the act of losing the money would have more of a devastating impact then what the happiness involved would yield. In the article "Happiness in the Garden of Epicurus", authors Ad Bergsma, Germaine Poot and Aart C. Liefbroer suggest that Epicurus believes that the pursuit of luxuries leads to indulgence which would make a person dependent on whims of fortune. One must focus on pleasure which is the starting point for living happily (402). Epicurus believed that natural and necessary desires would liberate people from pain and increase overall happiness. Unnatural and unnecessary desires are preferences and generic and limit self sufficiency and increase unhappiness. Epicurus infamous statement "Riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as they torment us with their loss" expresses his view on the erroneous emphasis that is put on money. Epicurus believes that having money does not constitute happiness and that one has misplaced desires that diligently pursue money. Also, Epicurus suggests that the loss of wealth is more detrimental then the happiness that having wealth can bring. Works Cited Bergsma, Ad, Poot, Germaine & Liefbroer Aart. "Happiness in the Garden of Epicurus." Journal of Happiness Studies. V9.I3 (2008). 397-423. Print DeWitt, Norman W. Epicurus & his philosophy. London: Oxford University Press, 1964. Print DeWitt, Norman W. Saint Paul & Epicurus. London: Oxford University Press, 1954. Print Easterlin, Richard A. "Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all?" Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (1995): 35-47. Print "Epicurus." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2009). 1-26. Print Gardner, Jonathan & Oswald, Andrew. "Does Money Buy Happiness? A Longitudinal Study Using Data on Windfalls." (2001). Print Konstan, David. A Life Worthy of the Gods: The Materialist Psychology of Epicurus. Parmenides, 2008. Print Luthar, Suniya S. "The Culture of Affluence: Psychological Costs of Material Wealth." Child Development (2003): 1581-93. Print Rist, John M. Epicurus: an introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972. Print Warren, James. Facing Death Epicurus and his Critics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print Read More