ABSTRACT
Socrates argued that one must live a life of virtue to avoid the pain of wickedness. Aristotle (see Durant, 1961) suggested that a happy life was one characterized by reason and active efforts to produce feelings of happiness. Aristotle also suggested that a “good birth” characterized by opportunities for reason and happiness was essential—and that, because of their lack of reason, women were left out of the discussion. Epicurus suggested that asceticism was the path to contentment, arguing that if one does not want for many things, one has fewer opportunities for disappointment. Perhaps not surprisingly, Epicurus suggested that one abstain from sex and from marriage if one is to achieve that coveted state of contentment. Further, Epicurus suggested that happiness was determined by the good use of one’s senses, arguing a position very similar to that taken in the current volume: learn the best ways to avoid the bad feelings and the better ways to achieve the good feelings. That sex was to be avoided suggests that it was not just about pleasure, but the willingness to sacrifice many immediate sources of pleasure for more optimal states of happiness and contentment.
