Happiness is one of the most difficult words to define. The happiness of the mystic has nothing to do with that of the brave or the ordinary person.
As in everyday life, we find different definitions of happiness, in philosophy there are also different approaches to the subject.
“All mortals seek happiness, a sign that none of them are happy. “- Balthazar Gracian-
For Aristotle, the most eminent of metaphysical philosophers, happiness is the greatest desire of the human being. From your point of view, the best way to be happy is through virtues. Cultivate the right virtues and you will attain happiness.
According to Aristotle, happiness is a way of life: human beings need to constantly exercise the best of it.
Should you also cultivate character caution and have a good one?Daimon? (good luck), to achieve full happiness. Therefore, your thesis is called “eudaimonia”.
Aristotle provided the philosophical basis on which the Christian church was built, so there is a great similarity between what this thinker has proposed and the principles of Judeo-Christian religions.
Epicure was a Greek philosopher who had many contradictions with metaphysical philosophers, the difference between them is that he did not believe that happiness came only from the spiritual world, but also had much to do with earthly dimensions.
Did you found the School of Happiness? And from there he came to very interesting conclusions.
He set out the principle that balance and temperance give rise to happiness. This approach is reflected in one of its great maxims: “Nothing is enough for the one who is enough is little. “
He believed that love, unlike friendship, had little to do with happiness, he insisted that we should not work to acquire material goods, but out of love for what we do.
Nietzsche thought that living in peace and without worries was a desire of mediocre people who do not value life.
For him, “is it okay? Thanks to favorable circumstances or good luck is not happiness. ” This is a short-lived condition that can change at any time.
Being well would be a kind of ‘ideal state of laziness’, where there are no worries or worries.
Instead, happiness is a life force, a spirit of combating all obstacles that restrict freedom and self-affirmation.
Therefore, to be happy is to be able to demonstrate this life force, overcoming difficulties and creating different ways of life.
For Ortega and Gasset, when is happiness defined?In other words, when the life we want coincides with who we really are.
This philosopher observed that if we wonder what happiness is, we will easily find a first answer: happiness is to find something that fully satisfies us.
But this answer doesn’t really make sense, what is this subjective state of full satisfaction?Besides, what are the objective conditions for something to satisfy us?
All human beings have the potential and desire to be happy. This means that everyone defines what will make them happy; if you can build your life according to your desires, you will be happy.
This philosopher believes that happiness is a matter of opinion, not of truth; sees it as a product of capitalist securities that implicitly promise satisfaction through consumption.
However, the human being is an eternal discontent because he doesn’t really know what he wants.
People believe that if they do better (buy a house, improve its condition, etc. ), they could be happy, but in reality, unconsciously, their desire is different and therefore they are dissatisfied.
And for you, what is happiness?