The Recipe for a Good Life

The great philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Epicurus, and Socrates all had both everything in common with each other, and very little. They each became famous for their work as they studied the world around them in their search to understand the nature of knowledge, reality, and existence in their quests to define what it means to live a good life. While many of them did have conflicting views regarding life as we know it, generally, agreed upon consensus found in each of their works can be summed up in saying that to lead a good life one must live simply and independently, have friendships, and be constantly seeking personal growth.

To live simply and independently seems to be one of the main agreed upon ingredients needed to live a good life, as expressed by both early American philosophers and by Ancient Greek philosophers. Henry David Thoreau is a perfect example of this. Thoreau lived alone in the woods because he said he wanted to live deliberately and to learn what life had to teach him. He wanted his life to be purposeful. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (Thoreau, Waldren). He thrived to have a simple life and claimed that that was the best life. He valued solitude because it allowed him to better look inward without the distractions of the outside world. It allowed him to empty his life of busy work. “I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” He is referring to a psychological solitude more than a physical solitude, as he talks about how one can be lonely even when they are with people, however the psychological solitude often results in physical solitude. In this, he was able to find peace. Ralph Waldo Emerson, another leading example of the importance of simplicity and independence, found importance and significance in the individual and self-reliance. He discussed about how everyone is too busy being what they are supposed to be instead of just who they are due to the past, religion, and social forms. “History is an impertinence and an injury; our religion, we have not chosen, but society has chosen for us” and that “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members”. This was in reference to how he was saying that if we want to just be ourselves, we need to get rid of our focus on and the influences caused by the past, religion, and social forms. He also said that we also just need to live from within trusting nothing but our own intuitions and the integrity of our own minds. “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, -- that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost." (Emerson, Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson). Given that Epicurus was an atheist, he would not have agreed with Emerson’s reasoning behind trusting oneself and being independent, however he would agree with self sufficiency being considered very necessary in creating a good life. “Happiness then, is found to be something perfect and self-sufficient, being the end to which our actions are directed” (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics). This is something Epicurus highly values. “The most important consequence of self-sufficiency is freedom” (Epicurus, The Art of Happiness). He believes that someone who has not achieved satisfaction and self-sufficiency before going off and making friendships finds themselves dependent on the other person for the self-interest of trying to fill the unsatisfied void in themselves or using their friend to maintain sufficiency.

Despite the philosophers’ views on the importance of self-sufficiency, when looking at both these ancient Greek philosophers and these more modern American philosophers, another key finding many of them had in common in their calculations of what it is that they believe creates a good life, is their mutual belief and value of the importance of friends. Emerson and Thoreau both consider friendship as a necessary part of bettering oneself and believe that we cannot grow and improve without the challenges and opportunities for growth that our friendships provide in our life. “Friendship is first, Friendship last. But it is equally impossible to forget our Friends, and to make them answer to our ideal. When they say farewell, then indeed we begin to keep them company. How often we find ourselves turning our backs on our actual Friends, that we may go and meet their ideal cousins. I would that I were worthy to be any man's Friend” (Thoreau, Waldren). In one of his letters, Emerson talks about how two people who think alike grow intellectually and spiritually through their love and affection towards one another. He states that friendship teaches us many things in life and that friendship can help us learn to fully admire one another. He explains that if we truly enjoy being in one another’s company then we become automatically happy for their achievements. “From the highest degree of passionate love, to the lowest degree of good-will, they make the sweetness of life. Our intellectual and active powers increase with our affection. The scholar sits down to write, and all his years of meditation do not furnish him with one good thought or happy expression; but it is necessary to write a letter to a friend, — and, forthwith, troops of gentle thoughts invest themselves, on every hand, with chosen words” (Emerson, Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson). When we are with our best friend, time just flies by and our sorrows and tragedies all vanish and just their company would keep us happy. He explains how a good friend can appreciate the fine qualities in us and we could just be ourselves with them. “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship” (Emerson, Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson). Both Socrates and Epicurus would agree with Emerson and Thoreau, stating that friendship is an essential aspect towards achieving the good life. Socrates argued that putting focus on self-development rather than acquiring wealth lead to a happier life and that people who concentrate on friendships had it better. In The Estate-Manager, Socrates explains how friends are a huge factor in whether a person should be considered wealthy. In Plato’s The Republic however, Socrates talks about how justice is more important than wealth; that you need at least some wealth in order to function and therefore lead a moral life; that being either poor or being rich can be harmful to people and to societies, and that wanting or having too much unnecessary wealth just ends up destroying integrity and internal peace. Keeping in mind that The Apology was written after The Estate-Manager (around 20 years later), and that they were both written by different authors, it is interesting for Socrates to at first hold more importance on friendships only to than later in life refine that focus to the morals. Nevertheless, Socrates did see the value of friendships. “And yet on comparison, to which of the other possessions would a good friend not appear far superior? For what horse or what ox team can be of greater use than a good friend? What slave is so well-intentioned and constant? Or what other possession is so universally good?” (Xenophon, Conversations of Socrates). Wisdom and knowledge are needed, as Socrates says, but that it comes with a price and must be attained very carefully. Socrates’ obsession with wisdom (and in this case also wealth to the extent of simply being able to support yourself as he discussed) is simply a means to virtue, friendships, and self-development which is needed to have a good life. Nevertheless, Socrates explains the superior value of spiritual love over physical love, and the centrality of virtue to genuine love. “The greatest blessing that befalls the man who yearns to render his favorite a good friend is the necessity of himself making virtue his habitual practice” and finishes by talking about how we should never make our friends feel trapped in any way since freedom is a part of friendship. Similar to the findings of Thoreau and Emerson in their statements explaining the advantages and personal growth gained from friendships, Epicurus too sees the value in friendships and how they can also be of use as be explains saying, "Every friendship in itself is to be desired; but the initial cause of friendship is from its advantages" (Epicurus, Vatican Sayings XXIII). So, while the mutual advantages of the friendship should be beneficial, one must find the golden mean that Aristotle explains in Nicomachean Ethics which is his theory that moral and virtuous behavior, and anything truest good for that matter, can only be found at the mean between extremes (at one end is excess, at the other deficiency). In this case, reliance instead of pure independence or dependence. “All friendship is desirable in itself, though it starts from the need of help” (Epicurus, The Epicurus Reader). This is something Socrates believes and stated as well. “He (the accuser) said that, concerning friends, Socrates maintained, that their goodwill is not useful, unless they are able to be useful themselves; that he [Socrates] also claimed that the only ones deserving of honor are those who know what they should and are in a position to explain it”. (Xenophon, Conversations of Socrates). Being able to rely on someone is a comfort and strength. This strength is a utility, formed by selfishness, but it is not at all negative. Whereas living a life of independence is painful and lonely and living a life of dependence is unhealthy and crippling. “It is not so much our friends' help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us” (Epicurus, The Epicurus Reader). By finding the mean between extremes in friendship you are freeing yourself from not only the desire of friendship but without the crutch or pain. Epicurus categorizes the desire of friendship as both natural and necessary and that being alone won’t make you happy. “Of all the means to insure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends” (Epicurus, The Epicurus Reader). He does discuss however, that unlike other natural and necessary desires such as food and shelter, the desire for friendship can be dangerous as it can come off similarly to natural and unnecessary desires. In a sense, according to Epicurus, this is because in order to maintain a healthy friendship one must independently be of health themselves. More accurately and descriptively, they must be a self outside of their friend and have a level of satisfaction and self-sufficiency. Without this, it is argued to be impossible to be purely happy and content in the friendship.

The third main agreed upon ingredient to creating a good life, is the importance that rests on the constant quest for continued personal growth. The good life, according to Socrates, can be achieved by examining one’s own life and having reason instead of just mindlessly carrying out their daily life activities. According to Socrates, one of the pivotal things that is required to have a good life is acquiring happiness in life, which he says can only be attained by having a rich and active mind. “The mind is everything; what you think you become” (Socrates, The Psychology of Fate & of Free Will). He argues that wealthy people lack happiness and that they may not achieve the good life because they are constantly fighting for resources, such as in Athens. “Esteemed friend, citizen of Athens, the greatest city in the world, so outstanding in both intelligence and power, aren't you ashamed to care so much to make all the money you can, and to advance your reputation and prestige--while for truth and wisdom and the improvement of your soul you have no care or worry?” (Socrates, Apology). In Plato's book Apology, Plato provides a version of a speech given by Socrates to defend himself against the charges of corrupting the youth and impiety charges that Socrates was convicted of and sentenced to death. When speaking to the jury to explain why he can't stop what he is doing, such as constantly questioning people about what they believe and why, Socrates says that he can't stop examining his own life and the lives of others because the “unexamined life is not worth living”. That statement provides insight into Socrates' understanding as to what it means to live a good life. For Socrates, participating in rational reflection about what you value and why it is crucial in his mind being human and to not do so is to fall short of your humanity. Similar to Socrates, Emerson and Thoreau also value the importance of growth. Thoreau, echoing Socrates’ statement that an unexamined life is not worth living and the implication it has on the meaning of being human, reminds us that we must examine our lives at every juncture “To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically…” (Thoreau, Waldren). However, despite personal growth being a generally agreed upon essential quest in life, this is one of the main areas that the differences between the ancient Greek philosophers and the early American Transcendentalists is most prevalent. Unlike the views of Socrates on how to approach the matter, Emerson, similar to Thoreau all whilst denying being a transcendentalist, believes that all knowledge comes from nature and the divine and can be gained through a fourth state of consciousness. “The growth of the intellect is spontaneous in every expansion. The mind that grows could not predict the times, the means, the mode of that spontaneity. God enters by a private door into every individual. Long prior to the age of reflection is the thinking of the mind. Out of darkness, it came insensibly into the marvelous light of to-day. In the period of infancy, it accepted and disposed of all impressions from the surrounding creation after its own way. Whatever any mind doth or saith is after a law; and this native law remains over it after it has come to reflection or conscious thought” (Emerson, Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson). Thoreau, being a student of Emerson’s, believed that the quest to expand the mind rests on his idea that instead of just gaining knowledge one should aim for symphony with intelligence. “My desire for knowledge is intermittent; but my desire to bathe my head in atmospheres unknown to my feet is perennial and constant. The highest that we can attain to is not knowledge, but symphony with intelligence. I do not know that this higher knowledge amounts to anything more definite than a novel and grand surprise on a sudden revelation of the insufficiency of all that we called Knowledge before, —a discovery that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy” (Thoreau, Waldren). Thoreau also believes that knowledge is best gained through experience. An example of this is how when Thoreau describes the animals he sees in the woods, he does not describe them using science or even simply what he sees, but he instead looks for what lesson they can teach him. “The animal merely makes a bed, which he warms with his body in a sheltered place; but man, having discovered fire, boxes up some air in a spacious apartment, and warms that, instead of robbing himself, makes that his bed, in which he can move about divested of more cumbrous clothing, maintain a kind of summer in the midst of winter, and by means of windows even admit the light and with a lamp lengthen out the day” (Thoreau, Waldren). He looks for how he can apply morals and philosophy to whatever he is observing

Despite being from different countries, time periods, and religious backgrounds, philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Epicurus, and Socrates all agree upon the consensus that in order to lead a good life one must live simply and independently, have friendships, and be constantly seeking personal growth.