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In: Psychology

Epicurus argues there are three primary barriers to happiness. What are these barriers? Be sure to...

Epicurus argues there are three primary barriers to happiness. What are these barriers? Be sure to describe them in detail. How do they present an obstacle to the pursuit of happiness, and how does Epicurus’ view remove them?

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Expert Solution

  • Epicurus points out that oftentimes romantic love leads to feelings of jealousy, anger, and other complications (not happy times).
  • Some people believe that money and material possessions will bring happiness. Epicurus, however, believed that in order to have a lot of money we need to work very hard. This is not something that will make us happy.
  • The basic concept of his philosophy is that we are starkly unable to understand what can make us happy. We are very much attracted to the materialistic things rather than the spiritual ones. We go to shopping of useless things, mislead by advertising. Thus, we replace our real needs with requirements like more clothes, furniture, cars, nice houses, and many other necessities.
  • He believed that what we really want from work is to do something meaningful and helpful in some way. Working for lots of money will leave us unfulfilled. We want to work to bring value to the world.
  • Epicurus realized there was a problem with desire. We want things in life because we think that they will bring us happiness. The problem is they only bring us temporary happiness, but nothing long lasting.
  • There are 2 ways to deal with desire:
  • 1) strive until we fulfill the desire, or
  • 2) curb or eliminate the desire.
  • The second method is the recommended way to deal with desire. If we lower our desires then it is easier to reach them and therefore, we will be happier. If we strive to attain our desire we often find that we are not happy and only desire more.
  • According to Epicurus, we should all seek a life of knowledge and temperance, surrounded by friends and free from fear and pain. And to Epicurus, there was one obstacle that plagued the hearts of men; it was this one thing that kept us from living a happy and fulfilled life.
  • Epicurus believed that the main obstacle to a fulfilled life was the irrational fear of incurring the wrath of the gods and suffering for eternity in the lair of Hades. We are so preoccupied with fearing death that we refuse to acknowledge life.
  • To Epicurus the goal of living was to find happiness through friendship, living humbly and avoiding pain and anxiety. He believed very strongly that by living peacefully and avoiding fear and pain, we could live fully. To Epicurus, living a virtuous life and a peaceful life were one in the same.
    He believed that the rich man was not the man who has the most, but rather the man who needs the least.
  • One of the keys to happiness for Epicurus was having friends.Friends and like minded individuals bring us so much happiness and we need to spend more time with them. Friendship is very different from romantic relationships. Friendships are supportive, positive and fun, while romance can lead to negative feelings.
  • Freedom and self-sufficiency are other components of happiness. We want to be free to do the things we like and also be able to live sufficiently among friends. Looking at the community that Epicurus developed, everyone worked to sustain the community. There were farmers, tailors, wood workers, etc. The work they did was meaningful and needed by others. They therefore, felt good about the work they did.It is true they may not have had a lot of money, but all of their needs were met and they had time and freedom to do the things they enjoyed with their friends. That is, they had freedom and self sufficiency.
  • The final component of the happy life is engaging in philosophical or rational thought.That is, living an analyzed life.Epicurus believed that it was important to think about our life and examine our thoughts and feelings. Even though we try to limit our desires and do the things that make us happy, we may still occasionally feel anxiety and fear.If we want to be happy, we need to explore these things and understand them.
  • Epicurus knew that many people feared death – a fear of the unknown. But he said if we engage in philosophical thought and really look at death there is nothing to be afraid of.
  • Due to time limit,any remaining questions can be asked as anthoer question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation

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