Third One-Page Paper - Thesis Example

Dilemma of Choosing Between Happiness and Truth There is always a philosophical dilemma in choosing between truthand happiness. If I were given the option to swallow a pill that will always make me happy, even when I am dying, I would choose to swallow it even if it will make me believe all sorts of falsehoods. I believe and prefer the pursuit of happiness rather than the pursuit of truth in order to live well. This proposition is drawn from the differences between stoic logos and the Epicurus right pleasures.

Epicureanism suggests that pleasure is the end of life, and allows people to live free of any sort of pain (Mac, 2009). The primary idea in support of Epicureanism is that a wise person will always remain happy even if he is being tortured. Happiness enhances tranquility of the soul at all times. Someone who chooses to swallow a pill that will keep him happy would argue that he will be satisfied with the peace of mind and mental wellbeing brought about by happiness. He would not bother to worry about death because death is a limit of experience; hence death is nothingness and should not be feared.

What matters is only happiness. On the other hand, stoicism is a theory of absolute stability which suggests that errors in judgment results in destructive emotions (Mac, 2009). In this case, a person who is morally perfect does not suffer emotional destruction. Someone with a stoic view is concerned with ethical and moral wellbeing of a person. He/she would argue that stoicism enables someone to discern between truth and fallacy. It leads to the distinction between truth and falsehood. In this case, I will swallow a pill that will make me to identify falsehood because falsehood can sometimes cause unhappiness.

My main aim in living a good life is to be happy. If someone slams a door on my face and says he wanted to save my life, I would be happy not to know the falsehood in his statement because it would make me unhappy. Even though I will be hurt, I will still be happy as a wise man.ReferencesMac, S.S. (2009). Wrestle to be the man philosophy wished to make you: Marcus Aurelius, reflective practitioner. Reflective Practice, 10 (4), 429–436.