Name: Salma Moutaouakil Date: November, 16, 2009 Happiness: Kant and Epicurus

Happiness has always been a topic that attracted the attention of many great thinkers in the world. In fact, it is a very interesting topic for two main reasons. First, because it is one of the most important issue that concerns Human’s life and one of the crucial factor that determine his existence in the world, because it is commonly agreed that the greatest achievement of mortals is the seeking of happiness. Second, and the most intrigued part is that it makes in confrontation Human’s instinct and Human’s reason trying to figure out and to analyze which one of them has the bigger chance and potential to contribute in the achievement of happiness. In this context, two different perspectives raised trying to encounter this concept. The first approach is the Eudemonist theory which his followers claims and believe in the capacity of moral actions to achieve happiness. In the other side, there is the classical point of view that is supported by many philosophers such as Mill and Kant that reject the previous hypothesis and argue that happiness is more likely to be attend through following natural instincts rather than reason because they are from two different nature and also they emphasize the fact that reason has another purpose more important and more valuable than happiness. Therefore, it can be deduced that these two approaches are different from each others in their attempt to give a sense to happiness. Epicurus argues that happiness is in the satisfaction of both the soul and the body. In order to be more accurate, according to Epicurus, an individual has to seek the health of the body as well as the peace of mind in order to enjoy happiness. However, according to Kant, reason has nothing to deal with this purpose in the way that it might be an obstacle to happiness; in the other hand it finds its value in creating a will that is good for itself. In fact happiness passes through the satisfaction of both the body and the soul, therefore by the satisfaction of the basic needs of the individual and also by the freedom from any problem that can con constitute a torment for the mind, however, reason cannot be rejected because it is the only Human’s faculty that could distinguish between the different types of pleasures then it is the one that could select the basic natural needs that could contribute to happiness and it is also through it that an individual can seek the peace of mind.
The Human being is composed of both a body and soul that are related to each others, this is why it is very logical and rational to say that both of them should be in a good condition in order to make their holders happy. It is true that the body and the mind play two different functions in the Human being, but each function is essential and crucial to the well being and the living of man. The role of the body is to keep track on the primordial physiological functions that are necessary to our living such as eating, breathing. The mind has another role which consists of thinking and analyzing the Human’s surroundings. Therefore, an individual cannot live without these two faculties assembled, and he will not be considered as a Human if he does not use his body and mind. In addition to this, the complementary between the body and the soul is essential because it creates a certain balance and equilibrium in the Human’s life in the way that if one of these is affected and harmed by a way or another the other one will be automatically affected too; therefore, the happiness will be unachievable. Let’s imagine how it could be difficult for a person who is getting burnt in his hand to be happy. In fact, by suffering physically this person is also suffering mentally because he cannot be indifferent towards the torments and the suffers that he is subject to as consequences of this accident. Therefore, it can be said that this person is not happy, and it can also be concluded that that happiness depends both on the welfare of both the soul and the body. In this context, Epicurus argues “ if the health of body and the peace of mind are satisfied, that is enough for the happy life”. (2).
Human before being a rational creature is first an animal because he has some important needs that he has to satisfy in order to be happy. These needs are according to Epicurus “natural and necessary for happiness” and they should be satisfied in order to achieve happiness. At this point, it is important to mention that Epicurus refers to these needs as necessary because he wants to distinguish them from the other types of needs that are less necessary and according to him are not so much contributing to the happiness of the individual. Personally I can define the necessary needs as the basic pleasures and desires that afford satisfaction to the Human being. As examples, eating, laughing, love and sex are the most common desires that a person can feel and appreciate the most. They are necessary because eating is the main source of existence, laughing is good because it makes a person in a good temperate through which he can enjoy his life and sexuality is primordial because it is the source of life. The other needs are for other purposes other than happiness and they are not as much important as the previous needs and sometimes they can be dangerous, inacceptable and could sometimes have serious consequences on the Human’s life. Let’s have as an example the man who is betraying his wife with another woman. This man, while searching for more pleasure, is breaking social and religious laws and breaks also the strong link that used to strengthen the relationship between his wife and him. These needs are more likely to be considered as pleasures and they lead, if not restricted by certain laws and restraints will certainly have serious consequences that could probably lead to unhappiness.
It has been agreed that happiness is achievable unless the satisfaction of necessary needs as well as the peace of mind occur. In fact, it is through reason that this peace of mind will take place. It has been said previously that only the basic needs are necessary for happiness and the others can be very harmful so they do not lead to happiness. However, how an individual can decide about the needs that he has to satisfy in order to be happy and reject or fight against his temptation to satisfy the other kind of needs that will lead to his destruction? This is where reason is important because its role consists of making a distinction between the natural and the necessary needs, and then it guides the individual to choose only the basic needs that serve to achieve his happiness. For example, both continual drinking and dancing in one side and relaxation in the other side are needs and both of them provide a great pleasure to an individual, but which one of these two is the more efficient and secure to achieve happiness? By using his reason, the individual could figure out that relaxation is a necessary need because he actually needs it to refresh himself and to free himself from stress and anxiety that could be an obstacle in front of his motivation and performance. However, continual drinking and dancing is only a supplement in the life of this individual and he can live without it since it is not mandatory for the welfare of the soul. This is why reason is very important because in this ideology is a major determinant of happiness since it differentiate between the different needs. This is why Epicurus said “ The man who has a perfect knowledge of this ( desires necessary for happiness, desires necessary for the tebody, desires necessary for life itself) will know how to make his every choice or rejection tend toward gaining health of the body and peace”.(2).
Until now it might be agreed that the happiness of an individual pass through the satisfaction of his necessary needs. In addition to the needs, Human has other qualities of temperament and characteristics that if only used in a rational and appropriate way could lead to the happiness. In this context, reason intervenes to influence the will and produce a good will. Why the good will is important? If we analyze the Human being with all his components of emotions, attitudes and thoughts, it can be said in this context that all his characteristics are passive and subjective because they cannot manifest themselves as they are, however they are produced by Human to serve a certain purpose. This is why it can be said that they are always subject to a force or a certain kind of influence that drive them to appear or to manifest in a certain aspect that can be either good or bad. This force is the will that influence the manifestation of each Human’s characteristic, and it is this will that make a certain action good or bad. Since happiness is defined as the welfare of the body and the soul, it is acceptable to say that it is generate by only that is good; and the good of action is determined by the good will. Therefore, it is also logical to deduce that happiness can be achieved by a good will. At that point, it is important to ask ourselves about the origin of the good will or in order to be more accurate, which is behind the creation of the good will? In fact, it is reason that produces the good will that will be used to make the “gifts of nature” good, because reason is the only component or aspect of Human being that have the control over all the other aspects of Human’s being and it is also the one that structures the Human’s being to the good. In order to emphasize the importance of the good will Kant gives two main examples: the first one is about gifts of nature and the second one is about gifts of fortune. In this context he said that “ qualities of mind are certainly good and desirable in many respects; but they can be extremely bad and harmeful when the will which makes use of these gifts of nature is not good”.(394). In the second example Kant talks about happiness and he asserts the following “ Power, wealth, honour, even health and that total well-being and contentment with one’s condition which we call happiness can make a person bold but consequently often reckless as well, unless a good will is present to correct their influence on the mind”.(394).
Mill does not deny the fact that happiness pass through the satisfaction of needs and the fulfillement of pleasures but he also asserts that happiness is acheivable through the fulfillment of the mental activities that are seeken by reason. In fact he distinguishes between two types of pleasures: “low pleasures” that refers to the natural and physical needs and the “high pleasures” that refer to all the activities that are carried by the reason . He adds also that these pleasures are the ones that make the difference between Human and animals. Therefore, according to Mill, happiness is defined as the fulfillement of both the low and the high pleasures.
It is clear or at least it is logical to admit that both reason and pleasures play a crucial role in the acheivement of happiness. However, the contribution of each one of them differs from one ideology to another. Epicurus as an Eudemonist believe that happiness is the greatest end and goal that Human tries to achieve in his life by satisfying some of his physical needs and liberating his mind from anxiety: “the health of the body and peace of mind is the final end of the blessed life”.( Epicurus,2). However, Kant and other thinkers who share the classical point of view about happiness deny the existence of any relationship between reason and happiness and argue that reason has a greatest goal more valuable than achieving happiness which is producing “a good will that is good for itself”. However, it is difficult to exclude reason because first it is part of the Human being and it is the one that governs the Human being and guide him to the good. Second it is through reason that an individual can know what it should be done and what should not be done; therefore it should know through reason what the action that he should take and what he should not take in order to be happy.
Happiness is a topic that has always been analyzed by many thinkers which emphasizes the big importance and interest that is given to this issue and how much efforts the Human is employing trying to achieve this great purpose in life. Through this analysis as well as through many other thinkers’ point of view about this topic, it can be said that Happiness is subject to relativity because until now there is no unique and specific definition to happiness. However, people have different perceptions about happiness. For example, according to Sophists, happiness does not exist in this world but in the other world and the only way to achieve it is to live in isolation and to avoid any temptation that can come from this world. In another point of view which is the one discussed in this essay the happiness resides in the satisfaction of the body and the soul because they are equal. People are different; this is why each one might have his own way to achieve his happiness. However, the most important thing is that whatever the perception that an individual has about happiness, and whatever the means that he employs to achieve it, he has always to consider the other and to keep in mind that what can make the happiness of one can make the misfortune of the other.