Question
Description
In a 750-1000 word essay, please respond to the following:
Analyze and explain Epicurus’ famous proclamation: “Thanks be to blessed Nature because she has made what is necessary easy to supply, and what is not easy unnecessary…The right understanding of these facts enables us to refer all choice and avoidance to the health of the body and the soul’s freedom from disturbance, since this is the aim of the life of blessedness.” Do you agree or disagree with this assessment of the good life, and why?
In support of your argument, please refer to specific passages from the video (Alain de Botton’s “Epicurus on Happiness—Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness,” available on YouTube via the link below). Students are also required to include at least two MLA-formatted citations to the Epicurus textbook chapter (NOT including the quotation in the assignment prompt). Submissions that do not fulfill the above criteria will only be eligible for partial credit.
Epicurus on Happiness—Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
The link above will give you detailed information on how to cite your sources properly.
NOTE: It is the students’ responsibility to verify that their submission was properly uploaded into the system for grading. If there was a technical issue preventing submission, the student must contact the instructor immediately after the unsuccessful submission attempt. Failure to do so will result in a grade of zero with no chance to resubmit.
Solution
A Good Life
According to Epicurus “Thanks be to blessed Nature because she has made what is necessary easy to supply, and what is not easy unnecessary…The right understanding of these facts enables us to refer all choice and avoidance to the health of the body and the soul’s freedom from disturbance, since this is the aim of the life of blessedness” (De Botton). In this famous proclamation, he addressed the link between a happy life and the indulgence in sensual pleasures, luxurious habits and preferences such as shopping, drinking and eating. The ancient Greek philosopher was committed to happiness; thus, he acknowledges the desires for fine wine and good food as natural. For him, “pleasure was the most important thing in life”, but he lived a simple life (De Botton).
However, Epicurus viewed the desire for good things and other similar desires as entirely unnecessary. He dismissed such desires because he thought that chasing them would lead one into a life of distress and pain in the long run. According to De Botton, in Epicurus’s view, the person who believes that chasing excessive sensual pleasures and luxury was on the wrong path to happiness. However, less focus on these desires sets one to …………for help with this assignment contact us via Email Address: consulttutor10@gmail.com