The Epicureans on Happiness, Wealth, and the Deviant Craft of Property Management
The Epicureans on Happiness, Wealth, and the Deviant Craft of Property Management
Ancient ethicists were concerned with the proper attitude towards acquiring wealth, as well as the place of the craft of financial planning or property management (oikonomia) in the good life. The Epicureans stake out distinctive and plausible positions on these issues. The later Epicurean Philodemus contends that there is indeed a craft that allows you to obtain and manage wealth skillfully, but that cultivating and exercising that craft is incompatible with being a virtuous person and obtaining happiness. Philodemus’ views are an advance on the Socratic and Aristotelian positions on the craft of property management against which he is reacting—or so this chapter argues. By devoting himself to becoming as skillful as he can in accumulating property, the expert property manager will acquire habits and attitudes that distort his personality and disturb his peace of mind.
Keywords: Epicureans, Philodemus, wealth, craft, property management, virtue
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