Stumbling on Happiness

Flowers beautify the world and bring joy to those in it. Some people become inspired by flowers and write, sing, and talk about them. All of the literature that comes from flowers evokes many different emotions and touches on many different topics. Sometimes the writings can stem from sadness, enjoyment, forgiveness, or jealousy. Many of the greats of literature have written about flowers and used them to explore topics and themes that others may not touch upon. The poems “Asphodel, That Greeny…

A central theme in Plato’s The Meno is virtue. It is approached through posing two questions: How does one acquire virtue? And what exactly is virtue? Meno poses the question “can virtue be taught?” (70a) Meno’s goal is to understand how one can acquire virtue, but Socrates inquires as to what virtue is. Meno attempts a few definitions of virtue, which Socrates deems inaccurate through the usage of the elenchus, where he dissects each suggestion to show Meno that it does not hold all the…

Think of something beautiful like the stillness of the morning before the first glimpse of sunlight makes its presence known, or the gentle smile of a stranger passing by on the street. Some individuals would argue that there is absolute beauty in these things. Still, for some individuals it is difficult to identify the elegance of what may seem to be everyday trivial life. In his poem, “California Hills in August,” Dana Gioia creates a speaker that imagines how a foreigner would find the dry,…

but also not understood by many. The corner of our eyes crinkling, the corners of our mouth curling upward, resulting in a broad, bright smile. In America’s society of men and women, we have smiled at one another to show appreciation, to express happiness, or to display a wry countenance. Whether our smile is meant to be genuine or disingenuous, we choose to smile for a multitude of reasons. To which this idea establishes that everyone’s purpose of smiling is driven by their own ulterior…

"Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs" (Whitman, line 11). The tone of this poem as a whole is very joyous as if the author was celebrating the everyday life of an average American, demonstrating that it is possible to achieve happiness and be content in life with a basic job. One does not need a prestigious, high paid job to be happy enough to sing, but what people do need are a job in where they feel safe and enjoy. The way the author conveys the message of being happy…

the Nicomachean Ethics and the Enchiridion, respectively, offer humanity insight into the most effective ways to achieve happiness and to exhibit virtue. Aristotle’s approach to happiness is that it must be looked at as the end to a means not as a means to an end. He feels that happiness should be viewed as the highest good within life. Although Epictetus agrees that happiness is the highest attainable good, he believes that the source of humanity’s misery is people’s inability to differentiate…

Have you ever had an exciting day that you wish would have never ended? I have many fun memories, but a small selection of worthwhile memories. I might forget the small memories, but I certainly will never forget my selection of memories because those mean everything to me. When I am sad, I can easily access these memories. These memories will always be in a special place in my heart. This kind of memory lasts a lifetime. One of my favorite memories started like this. I was sad to…

as the proper functions of a man who aims to reach success and happiness. Aristotle’s theory of virtue as a mean provides a useful framework to interpret how to live a good life. To begin, it is necessary to understand this argument with the assumption that happiness is the highest life goal. Aristotle states that all actions aim towards a single end. This single end is eudaimonia, translated as ‘happiness’. This sort of happiness is actually describing an individual…

Why do people believe a movie is good when it has mostly positive reviews? Most people would answer the previous question by saying “because people said it’s good”. But if one hasn’t watched a movie yet so they can’t formulate an opinion. This is an example of the Ophelia syndrome. Like the author, Thomas G. Plummer explains how the Ophelia syndrome makes people naïve. One’s dominant discourse, a discourse meaning a way of using language and one’s self-identity of a social group, explained by…

Sharon Begley’s “Happiness: Enough Already” Perhaps it’s safe to say most everyone in the deranged world that we live in today aims for happiness. We are simply slaves to our primal passions, shackled in our endless pursuit of fulfillments and shaping our existence around them. Gravitating towards the concepts in life that bring us pleasure, and recoiling away from those that could cause us pain. Several think of happiness as an overall end goal, while others consider happiness the starting…