The Philosopher's Book of Questions and Answers

suffering is necessary for human development. Without the negative, we cannot appreciate the positive, and some elements of human greatness can only be achieved through suffering, strife, and loss.

what we call evil is simply the absence of good, just like darkness is not a real thing, but only the absence of light. He asked what happens to a physical wound or sickness when we are healed. Does it flutter away from your body to a new host? Of course not; it simply disappears, showing that the injury was not a real thing, but only an absence of health. In the same way, evil is not real, it is only the absence of good.

The bottom line here is that, whatever we believe, we should have humility about it. Because whatever we believe, it doesn’t really answer the question, and it sure seems like nothing ever will.

And so too he tells us that just because life amounts to nothing does not mean it isn’t worth living.

Why not just recognize that happiness isn’t the only reason we do things, and certainly isn’t the only reason things are worth doing? How empty and worthless the world would be if our own private enjoyment were the only reason to get up in the morning!

It taught that the key to a good life was to identify what was up to us, and what was not, and to care only about those things that were up to us.

“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides.”

Happiness can only be reached indirectly; you end up happiest when you just try to do the right thing, and when you try to make yourself happy, you often enough end up feeling worse.

An ancient Greek philosopher, Epicurus (341–270 B.C.E.), held that the good life and happiness were found by pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain.