The ancient Greeks used a word that is commonly defined as happiness, the word is eudamonia. This word can be broken down and I am told (by wikipedia) to mean good spirit or fortune. Socrates, according to the dialogues of Plato claims eudamonia, or happiness can be gained through arete and episteme, virtue and knowledge. Virtue is essentially the ability to know right and wrong and knowledge would be to act accordingly.
In The Republic, Plato using Socrates, takes a slightly different approach, the soul has three components: rationalism, emotion and appetite. Eudamonia is reached when these are ordered correctly. This means rationalism governs emotion and appetite, virtue is achieved and thus happiness, the ultimate good. This seems to echo the ideas of Democritus, who stressed a conservative, stoic path to happiness through self control and patience.
This stress on rationalism and knowledge are what I think, made the Greeks so consequential and such a fulcrum of western thought. These tenets were contrasted with the great tragedies and comedies by Sophocles and Euripides, among many others. I will avoid here diving into a survey history of ancient Greek culture and philosophy and just get to my point. The Greeks created the disparity between tragedy and comedy versus knowledge and virtue. That gulf still is with us this day, it still defines our perspective and our happiness.
Perhaps that is too broad a characterization, perhaps I cannot say "our" perspective, perhaps what I mean to say is "my" perspective. I believe in knowledge and ultimately I guess, in virtue. I also believe in comedy and tragedy. These concepts are linked, they are two sides of the same coin and a life, any life, will contain plenty of both.
Happiness is tied into all this. While Platonic and Socratic thought stress acquiring knowledge to gain happiness, there is something to to be said for the phrase "ignorance is bliss". Of course, the knowledge they stressed is almost beyond knowing, it's an ideal, not a happiness gained by reading a Dr. Phil book, but the happiness possessed by an all powerful deity. This knowledge is discussed further in Plato's theory of forms. In part, the theory held that every entity in life had a perfect form that could not be seen and that we mere mortals could only witness the imperfect copy of the perfect form.
This is all a rather back of the envelope summation of really complicated concepts. I am not really giving it's due diligence and really cannot here. If anything I have merely muddied the waters more and made this post more complex, obtuse and indecipherable as I go.
In The Republic, Plato using Socrates, takes a slightly different approach, the soul has three components: rationalism, emotion and appetite. Eudamonia is reached when these are ordered correctly. This means rationalism governs emotion and appetite, virtue is achieved and thus happiness, the ultimate good. This seems to echo the ideas of Democritus, who stressed a conservative, stoic path to happiness through self control and patience.
This stress on rationalism and knowledge are what I think, made the Greeks so consequential and such a fulcrum of western thought. These tenets were contrasted with the great tragedies and comedies by Sophocles and Euripides, among many others. I will avoid here diving into a survey history of ancient Greek culture and philosophy and just get to my point. The Greeks created the disparity between tragedy and comedy versus knowledge and virtue. That gulf still is with us this day, it still defines our perspective and our happiness.
Perhaps that is too broad a characterization, perhaps I cannot say "our" perspective, perhaps what I mean to say is "my" perspective. I believe in knowledge and ultimately I guess, in virtue. I also believe in comedy and tragedy. These concepts are linked, they are two sides of the same coin and a life, any life, will contain plenty of both.
Happiness is tied into all this. While Platonic and Socratic thought stress acquiring knowledge to gain happiness, there is something to to be said for the phrase "ignorance is bliss". Of course, the knowledge they stressed is almost beyond knowing, it's an ideal, not a happiness gained by reading a Dr. Phil book, but the happiness possessed by an all powerful deity. This knowledge is discussed further in Plato's theory of forms. In part, the theory held that every entity in life had a perfect form that could not be seen and that we mere mortals could only witness the imperfect copy of the perfect form.
This is all a rather back of the envelope summation of really complicated concepts. I am not really giving it's due diligence and really cannot here. If anything I have merely muddied the waters more and made this post more complex, obtuse and indecipherable as I go.
So to sum up, happiness for the Greeks thus far, is not about emotion, or a sentiment of some kind. Happiness is about self control, virtue and knowledge. To know right, act right and behave right is to achieve happiness. You don't "feel" happy, you are happy.
Well this post is too long, I'll stop here and again pick up with Aristotle and his thoughts on the matter.
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