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According to the Epicureans, the goal of life was the avoidance of pain, which meant they recommended moderate enjoyment and the pursuit of rational pleasures, such as scholarship and connoiseurship....For the Stoics, the goal was apathy, the acheivement of indifference and dispassion, somewhat like the original Buddhists, or Mr. Spock....For the Pyrrhonic skeptics, the goal was ataraxy, an equipoise of mind that cured one of metaphysical anxiety, rather like Zen....For Aristotle, the goal was "eudemonia", well- being, which is best achieved, for those qualified, in the contemplation of nature, and the reflection of the mind of the Divine, and otherwise in friendship....For Plato, the goal was to take one's place in a rational polity, and, if possible, to achieve knowledge of the Forms underlying the cosmos, and a glimpse of the One that is their source..... |
