Greek Founding Fathers, Essay Example

Aristotle defines Happiness as, “apparently something complete and self-sufficient, since it is the end of things achievable in action.” It was as an attribution of incidental experience which comes as a consequence of pursuing good and truth. To Epicurus the meaning of happiness belonged to an individual- an individual would be happy if he lives a self sufficient life within a society, free from pain and fear.

The Founding Fathers were influenced by the Greek philosophers and that is obvious from the statement in the opening paragraph of the American Declaration of Independence. It says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” However, the point of debate is to what extent were the founding fathers were affected by Greek philosophy.

Word by word analysis of the philosophy of happiness by Aristotle and Socrates, implies an abstract hallucination, a theoretical interpretation that was hard to substantiate. There were chromes of questions that had no answers. The wisdom of our founding fathers realized the abstract protégé and they tried to give a concrete touch to the philosophy.  They imbibed a practical touch in the declaration and stated, that  man has to exist for his own sake and fulfill his own quota of happiness, freedom and ownership of property. He has to live a good life by fulfilling his basic requirements, by bequeathing his share of being happy and prosperous, and helping in the growth of his society and friends. The founding fathers lay more emphasis on social condition as the key to happiness rather than virtue as propounded by the ancient philosophers.

John Locke, the Greek philosopher professes the connection between human fulfilment and owning of personal property. Our Founding Fathers also had great regard for the law of private property and even mentioned that they will not allow the least violation of it, and not even for the benefit of the community as a whole.