Reflective Essay Sample on Epicurean Hedonism

The philosophy of Epicurean Hedonism focuses on understanding the nature and necessity of desires to achieve ataraxia, the state of not having troubles. Over the past few days, I attempted to practice Epicurean Hedonism, in which I would evaluate my desires and how these desires would increase or decrease my ataraxia. The first situation I encountered was going on my morning run, which stems from the desire to be healthy and fit. I evaluated this desire and found it to be both natural and necessary as it contributes to ataraxia but is also needed in life as physical activity is essential for good health. After this evaluation, I acted on the desire and went on a 3-mile run. Following the run, I felt accomplished and happy with myself knowing that I had already done something productive with my day. This greatly increased my ataraxia because the action provided static pleasure since I was in a good mood for several hours following the run. That pleasure led to me being in a more positive mood for the remainder of the day, showing the enduring effects of static pleasure were more beneficial in this situation than the short-term effects of kinetic pleasure.

Another situation where I practiced using Epicurean Hedonism was choosing whether or not to satisfy the desire to eat ice cream even though I’m lactose intolerant. Normally, I would choose to eat the ice cream and deal with the consequences of that action later, but after evaluating the desire I did not act on it. This desire would be natural and unnecessary because it may contribute to ataraxia, but it is not essential. I chose to not act on eating the ice cream because I evaluated whether or not the action would provide kinetic or static pleasure. I established the action was kinetic because my satisfaction comes from eating the ice cream and the happiness at that moment, but I do not have any static pleasure following eating the ice cream because I am lactose intolerant and feel sick and lethargic after. This action increased my ataraxia because I felt I made a healthy decision and one that would benefit me more in the long run.

The last situation in which I practiced Epicurean Hedonism was when faced with the desire to go out late at night to a party with my friends. The nature of my desire would be natural and necessary because it contributes to ataraxia and friendship is necessary to achieve happiness. After realizing that this was a natural and necessary desire,  I decided to act on it. Following going out with my friends, I felt cheerful, energized, and happier than I was when sitting in my room. This action dramatically increased my ataraxia, as I felt both kinetic pleasure while being out with my friends and static pleasure when reflecting on how much I enjoyed their company.

Overall, I found practicing Epicurean Hedonism very rewarding and felt like I had more control over my desires and understood them better. I believe that managing one’s desires both consciously and rationally can be very fruitful, as it leads to making decisions based on what will benefit the person in long-term happiness rather than short-term. While I don’t believe that Epicurean Hedonism is “the” key to happiness, if paired with the Stoic philosophy of not focusing on things out of our control and the thought reframing from cognitive therapy, then I think we can be very close to finding the true key to happiness.