The Art of Happiness. Literature & Language Essay.

The Art of Happiness
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THE ART OF HAPPINESS
As one struggles to have a good life, a lot of ideas may come to mind. Whether it may be beauty, family, or wealth, the theories of the early philosophers should be taken into consideration. The early philosophers include Bertrand Russell, the Stoics, and the Hedonists. These philosophers were committed to making the lives of people better through their philosophical theories. They always contemplated the thought of having a better society and life. In adult life there are a lot of things people do to achieve happiness nut in the long run, these things do not achieve anything. For example, people go to war to bring peace. These cannot make life worth living. It is normal for people to ask “what is happiness?” What makes people truly happy is happiness. However, it is very hard for people to be completely happy. Today, the world is filled with much suffering and oppression. In my paper, I am going to argue about the art of happiness and why it is hard to achieve happiness. Then I will evaluate the views of different philosophers like the Stoic, the Hedonists, Bertrand Russell, and Aristotle on their view on happiness.
The Stoics hold that the key to a good and happy life is cultivating an excellent mental state. The Stoics asserted that ideal life is the one people have harmony with nature. Stoic explains how people can achieve happiness with the use of a triangle. The core approach of Stoic is supreme happiness. People thrive to attain supreme happiness. This can be achieved by living with the three principles in the triangle. These principles include taking responsibility, focusing on what one can control, and living with the arête. For example, focusing on what one can control according to the Stoics means that there are things people can control and there are things they cannot control. To have a good life and achieve happiness, people should focus on what they can control and just accept that the rest just happens (Robertson, 2018). People cannot change what has already happened but they can choose what to do if they are given a chance. Taking responsibility means that even though people cannot control everything in their lives. According to the Stoics, every situation offers an area where they can control. For example, people can choose how they judge a certain even and how they choose to respond to it. It is not the outside situation that makes people happy or miserable, but their interpretation of the situation. If people will take responsibility and will not allow the internal conditions determine their wellbeing, then they can express their best selves and become extremely happy. Lastly, living with arête means being your finest version. If people want to be extremely happy, then they are supposed to express their best selves every moment. It means aligning their chosen values with their deep values.
While the Stoics claim that people can achieve by controlling what they can, it is worth noting that it is very hard of an average human being to do such. It is very hard for people to become a Stoic sage. There are some situations when people cannot control circumstances or events to be happy. For example, today with the outbreak of COVI-19, it is impossible for people to control such a situation. These are times when it is hard for a normal human being to be completely happy. It is hard for people to take responsibility for their emotions and feelings. Sometimes it is not worth the effort. In the book “How to be Stoic” by Pigliucci, the author claims that people van use stoicism to develop a moral character and also attain peace of mind in different ways. People can take charge of their desires by acting uprightly and acting properly to the events that cannot control fully. While this is true, it hard for these tenets of stoicism can survive in the modern world. Remain doubtful of these tenets can provide the right moral values especially in the political framework of our time. Moreover, the Stoics assert that being happy means living a good and flourishing life. If this is the case, then it means that not everyone in the world can be happy. Some people cannot afford to live a good and flourishing life like the poor. It is also worth noting that the Stoics notion about happiness does not apply to rich people because they can live a good life. Aristotle disagreed with this notion of happiness. However, the Stoics still held on their philosophy and asserted that ah a noble person is a happy person who is enjoying a fine dinner in a Roman Villa surrounded by the loved ones. With this notion of the Stoics, it means that there are certain individuals like prisoners, orphans, and street children who do not have a chance of being happy because they do not have their loved ones around them and they cannot afford good things. Such people are unhappy and cannot attain happiness.
On the other hand, Hedonists, happiness can be pursued. Hedonists believe that a happy life always minimizes pain and maximizes the feelings of pleasure. For example, a happy person will always smile has bright eyes, her pleasures are very intense and her pains are very few and far between. Hedonism believes that the dominance of pleasure over pain is the main recipe for happiness. Happiness is what people desire most in their lives today. Additionally, the fulfillment of one's desire contributes to the happiness of the person irrespective of the amount of displeasure and pleasure one has (Lampe, 2017). Hedonists believe that happiness is a way of life. The hedonists also believe that pleasure is the most significant intrinsic good in the life of a human being. People who have a hedonist personality are the ones who seek happiness in every action and activity they do. They always seek to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
While the Hedonists claim that happiness should always be pursed and a happy life maximizes pleasure and minimizes pain, there is a contrary opinion about this. Religion rejects the views of the Hedonists. It was God who drove mankind out of paradise and he does not expect people to behave in the same manner as if they are still in the heavenly place. Human beings have alw...