Happiness (October 2014)
Philosophers and Happiness
Of course Wikipedia provides some thoughts on philosophy and happiness:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_happiness
I’m proposing we look at three of the philosophers mentioned in the article – Aristotle, Epicurus and Montaigne.
Aristotle – Nicomachean Ethics
Wikipedia intro: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicomachean_Ethics
Book X (i.e. Roman for ten) is the bit I’m suggesting we read. You can get a pdf of the full NE here:
http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/903
It’s very long, so don’t ‘print all’ unless you have a huge amount of paper (and ink) in your printer!
Epicurus
Wikipedia intro here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus
His primary writings don’t survive in full. Here are 40 aphorisms which (purportedly) summarise his ‘principal doctrines’: http://www.epicurus.info/etexts/PD.html
I recommend you buy The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton (one of those $10 Penguin Classics). There’s a chapter on Epicurus – his ideas are proposed as consolation for ‘not having enough money’.
Montaigne
Basic intro here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_de_Montaigne
In The Consolations of Philosophy, Montaigne provides consolation for ‘inadequacy’.
I haven’t found a specific happiness-related reading in the Essais, but I have ordered them in book form and I’ll let you know if I find something specific.
Podcasts
I thought I’d better source a podcast or two, so here are a couple from Philosophy Bites (which I haven’t listened to!):
Myles Burnyeat, on Aristotle on happiness:
http://philosophybites.com/2007/11/miles-burnyeat.html
Pascal Bruckner (who, I must confess, I’ve never heard of) on happiness: