The Concepts of Aristotle and Epicurus on Happiness, and the Ideas of Aristotle, Kant, and Hobbes on Friendship (Essay Sample)

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The Concepts of Aristotle and Epicurus on Happiness, and the Ideas of Aristotle, Kant, and Hobbes on Friendship
Happiness is not the same concept to everyone, and Epicurus and Aristotle are no exceptions. Epicurus believed that everyone is responsible for their pleasure. He considered self-satisfaction as an essential thing in life and advised people to concentrate on things that make them happy. For one to achieve happiness, Epicurus stated that one should not fear death, and take care of themselves. He considered death as nothing to human beings since so long as one is alive, they are not affected by it, and when they die, they become oblivious of it. By not fearing death, people can live a fruitful and happy life. Most of Epicurus' beliefs revolved around pleasure and happiness and how the latter could be created as part of daily life.
There are some polar differences between Epicurus' understanding of happiness and the concepts of Aristotle on the same topic. In contrast to Epicurus' view that everyone is responsible for their happiness, Aristotle believed that pleasure and happiness must represent the good of people and not an individual, and they must be achieved through acceptable means (Vitrano and Cahn 59).