How to Be Happy in a World of Pain: Lessons from Epicurus and Chris Gardner
Happiness is a universal human goal. Everyone wants to be happy and avoid suffering. But what does happiness mean and how can we achieve it? One possible answer comes from the philosophical tradition of hedonism, which holds that pleasure is the sole or chief good in life.
Hedonism is often misunderstood as a selfish and reckless pursuit of sensory pleasures without regard for the consequences. However, this is a distortion of the true meaning of hedonism, which is more nuanced and diverse than its popular image.
There are different types of hedonism, depending on how they define pleasure and how they relate it to human behavior and morality. Psychological or motivational hedonism claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decrease pain. This is a descriptive theory that tries to explain how humans actually act.
Normative or ethical hedonism, on the other hand, is not about how humans actually act but how humans should act: people should pursue pleasure and avoid pain. This is a prescriptive theory that tries to guide human action and values.
Axiological hedonism, which is sometimes treated as a part of ethical hedonism, is the thesis that only pleasure has intrinsic value. This means that pleasure is the only thing that is good for its own sake, and everything else is good only if it leads to pleasure.
Applied to well-being or what is good for someone, it is the thesis that pleasure and suffering are the only components of well-being. This means that happiness consists in having more pleasure than pain in one’s life.
One of the most influential and famous hedonists in history was Epicurus, who lived in ancient Greece in the 4th-3rd century BCE. Epicurus taught that the goal of life was to attain a state of tranquility and freedom from fear and pain, which he called ataraxia. He argued that this could be achieved by living a simple and moderate life, avoiding unnecessary desires and attachments, cultivating friendship and wisdom, and following reason and nature. He also distinguished between different kinds of pleasures and pains and advised his followers to choose wisely among them. He said that some pleasures are natural and necessary, such as food and drink; some are natural but not necessary, such as sex and music; and some are neither natural nor necessary, such as fame and power. He also said that some pains are avoidable, such as hunger and thirst; some are unavoidable but endurable, such as disease and death; and some are self-inflicted, such as greed and envy. He claimed that by following his teachings, one could achieve a happy life even in the face of adversity.
Another example of a hedonist in modern times is Chris Gardner, whose life story was portrayed in the 2006 biographical drama film The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith as Gardner. Gardner was a homeless salesman who struggled to provide for his son while pursuing his dream of becoming a stockbroker. He faced many challenges and hardships along the way, such as losing his apartment, his wife, his money, his dignity, and his hope. However, he never gave up on his goal and his son and eventually succeeded in overcoming his obstacles and achieving his happiness. He demonstrated remarkable resilience, perseverance, courage, optimism, and love in his pursuit of happiness (the unusual spelling comes from a mural that Gardner saw on the wall outside the daycare facility his son attended).
What can we learn from these two examples of hedonists? One possible lesson is that happiness is not a fixed or static state, but a dynamic and relative process. Happiness depends on how we perceive and evaluate our experiences, how we cope with our challenges, how we balance our pleasures and pains, how we align our actions with our values, and how we relate to ourselves and others. Happiness is not something that we can find or receive from outside sources, but something that we can create or generate from within ourselves.
Another possible lesson is that happiness is not a one-size-fits-all concept, but a personal and subjective one. Happiness varies from person to person, depending on their preferences
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