3 Western Philosophies For A Happy Life!

Ah! Philosophy! One of my old love that is compelling me to take a look at it again! It's been quite a long time since I started reading philosophy books to find out about the meaning of life. But, due to the time schedule, I was unable to read any philosophy books as my mind was diverted into getting a degree and a job! But I hear my old love, screaming for me, asking me to get back to it if I want to live a happy and fulfilling life!

Western philosophy originated long ago in Greece, but the main western philosopher that made it famous was none other than Socrates! Nevertheless, in this article, we are going to look at the three western philosophies that I have mainly read and inquired about on my quest to find a meaning to life.

1) Existentialism: Existentialism deals with the problem of human life. What's the purpose of life? Why are we here? Existentialism mainly focuses on the problem that arises due to the philosophy of "Nihilism". Existentialist state that destiny does not exist and only you give your life meaning by your thoughts and values. There is no higher entity and only you, as an individual, give your life a purpose and meaning with positive actions and outlook! Existentialism was made popular by Satre and Albert Camus. I highly suggest reading "The Stranger" by Albert Camus and "Nausea" by Satre if you want to dig deeper into this philosophical thought!

2) Stoicism: Stoicism is a philosophy which states that one should be indifferent to pain and pleasure! It basically states that external things bear no importance, but our reaction to them does! We should all live with harmony with each other and should not let any external things, whether good or bad, have any significant amount of influence on us. I highly recommend reading "Letters from a Stoic" to get a better understanding of this philosophy!

3) Epicureanism: Epicureanism mainly deals with pleasure. It states that the main aim of human life is to attain pleasure. It can be said that this philosophy is a form of another philosophy called "Hedonism", which states that attaining pleasure and moving away from pain to be the greatest good and sole purpose of human life. Epicureanism is seen as opposite of Stoicism, as Epicureanism aims to attain pleasure for a fulfilling life, while stoics use virtue as their driving force for a better life. Books to read on this topic are any books by Epicurus.

That's it, folks! Next up I will be discussing various Eastern Philosophies for a better life!