Post 2

Epicurus and Epictetus have contradictory views of what morals an ethical person should live by. They share the idea that happiness is the highest good. Epicurus, however, has ideas that break away from the stoicism view on ethics. Epictetus stays true to the stoic values. Stoicism is the moral philosophy that aims in the guidance of people’s lives by helping them live a life of virtue to achieve happiness. The contradictory belief would be that by finding pleasure to create one’s happiness. This was the ideas of Epicurus.
Epicurus says, "For the end of all our actions is to be free from pain and fear." This means that in order for humans to be happy we must keep our bodies and souls pain and worry free. Epicurus believes that there is no gray area when it comes to pleasure and pain. If one is not in pain then they currently have pleasure. He argues this with the idea that there are two forms of pleasure. Moving pleasure is when you are currently satisfying your desire, and static pleasure is the feeling after the desire has been satisfied. Due to the lack of desire there is the greatest form of pleasure in static pleasure. Epicurus does not believe that everyone should be going around doing everything they desire. He instead believes that people should eliminate desire. When people only have natural and necessary desires it is easier to satisfy your desires and therefore it is easier to have pleasure. In dealing with the future worries Epicurus tries to tell people that death should not be something that is feared. If people are living in fear of dying they are living with pain. He argues that due to the fact that once you die you no longer exist; death does not affect the living or the dead. By not fearing the future people are able to have pleasure.
Epictetus believes strongly in the virtues. He believed that living a life of virtue and excellence will bring you happiness. Man must live peacefully with the surrounding world. They must stay true to their morals and they must control what is controllable by man. He believes that humans have the ability to control their desire, just as Epicurus believes. Epictetus teaches that people must have the right mindset when approaching their activities. People should be understanding and not judgmental of people’s actions. His ideas of happiness come from the peace found within when people act out of kindness and according to virtues. He also believed that health, wealth, and pleasure are not of the highest good because they do not always benefit the person. Virtues are the only thing that benefit people in any circumstance.
Epictetus’s ideas of happiness and the path in achieving it are full of the good of all and the society as a whole. The virtuous life in the long run benefits the lives of others. Epicurus’s idea of hedonism associates happiness with one’s self-pleasures. These two, rather different views of happiness give an outlook on different possibilities of what makes people happy, and what morals should consist of.