Epicurus - Letter To Menoeceus

In Pursuit of Happiness : Epicurus on PleasureIntroductionThe law of dryness has its own way of putting all things of the earth into a stable rest . If one were to throw a twine into the air , for instance , one should expect it to fall screen and eventually roll to a place where it would finally tick off . In the same way , all things on the fall out of the earth are using the law of gravity to construct their respective states of rest to properly function - buildings to their bases , rocks to their beds , water to its basins . analogously , Epicurus theory on diversion - a category ascertain the primordial motives for ethical forgeions - takes on the expression of how things are pushed by gravity towards correspondence or rest . At the oncoming , it is imperative to note that , rightly as the book puts it , Epicurus is no hedonist (Cooper , ed , 1998 ,. 47 . Instead , his whole principle on fun is derived from an understanding that even flavor itself is haggard towards a state of equilibrium , stability and peacefulness (p . 48Epicurus on funIn his letter to Menoeceus , Epicurus clearly explicates the manner by which he understands the honest value of pleasure in human life . His dapple may prove to be a little inappropriate to the dominant streams of thought of both Plato and Aristotle since they have placed pleasure not as the primary determinant of , but lonesome(prenominal) a constitutive element of true happiness (p . 47 . The central thesis of Epicurus belief on the place of pleasure in human life is certainly best captured in his very own words . He contends , we speak of pleasure as the starting point and the goal of the happy life because we realize that it is our primary native good , because every act of choice and aversion originates with it , and because we come back to it when we judge every good by using the pleasure feeling as our criterion (p .

51His words truly speak volumes . But it throne be susceptible to misunderstanding as well . It must be noted that Epicurus teaching is largely influenced by the atomistic theory of Democritus - a theory that maintains that all things of the world are constituted by tiny substructures of atom-like substances pushed to take certain forms in a given a stable state . As a result therefore , human body is a structure drawn towards a state of equilibrium as well (p . 48 . This may explain why Epicurus defines pleasure not as a feeling arrived at an indulgent way to elicit a certain peak of enjoyment , as most people would regard it . Instead , consistent with his linear perspective about human structure , he maintains that pleasure consists in freedom from bodily pain and mental agitation (p . 52 . To put the idea in other words , he seems to imply that pleasure is more of a state of equilibrium or stillness (peacefulness , if one may call it ) as against an enjoyment derived from what is commonly taken as a congenial experienceEpicurus moreover believes that...If you want to get a full essay, cast it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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