Abstract
The purpose of this project is to highlight Epicurus’s concept that is tranquility, which I believe to be relevant towards how we tend to think about happiness and well-being in contemporary philosophy. In order to do so, I must acknowledge how he is traditionally interpreted because this limits the ways in which we can apply his theory. My goal is to show the ways in which hedonism and psychological egoism are unreasonable so that we can see that they should not be thought of as the main takeaways from Epicurus. Once we do this, we can be clear about what the concept of tranquility is and how it differs from kinetic pleasure. I argue that it does not need to be described using the term pleasure, personally preferring the term tranquility. I argue that the concept of tranquility itself does not require one to commit themselves to monism about value. And so, it can be accounted for as one of the aspects of well-being which we think are valuable in themselves. When it is, it can enhance or help us ‘measure’ our own individual happiness and well-being more precisely. My thesis, ultimately, is that tranquility is a reasonable end. But it should not be the only end. This concern comes more from worries about monist theories of value than it does the potential downsides of tranquility specifically being the only end.
Advisor
Thomson, Garrett
Department
Philosophy
Recommended Citation
Ertsgaard, Liam, "Tending to a Garden of Desires: Epicurus’s Contribution to the Discussion on Happiness and Well-Being" (2024). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 10974.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/10974
Disciplines
Ancient Philosophy | Epistemology | Ethics and Political Philosophy | Metaphysics
Keywords
Epicurus, tranquility, katastematic pleasure, kinetic pleasure, ethics, metaphysics, value, hedonism, egoism, Bentham, Mill, Hobbes, Williams, Nagel, Nozick
Publication Date
2024
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2024 Liam Ertsgaard
