Re-thinking hedonism : an approach to Epicurus’ conception of happiness from the point of view of hyperconsumer society
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5944/endoxa.31.2013.9371Keywords:
Epicurus, happiness, well-being, hedonism, consumption, individualism,Abstract
The pursuit of happiness has always constituted one of human beings’ main concerns, and even today this task is relevant, as it is part of the essence that constitutes us. What it is that defines happiness has changed over time. The Hellenistic epoch took on the philosophic task of the pursuit of happiness, linking it to concepts related to prudence, moderation or serenity of the soul. In this paper we propose to think over the notion of happiness with which we work in our contemporary society; a contemporaneity defined by the explosion of consumerism, the defense of individualism and a driven technological progress that put sensory pleasure satisfaction in the place of true happiness. But does this hedonism provide complete well-being? If not, is the re-establishment of a responsible hedonism that could reconcile consumerism with a more complete ethic of happiness possible?
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