We place enormous value on our happiness. For centuries, humanity has been on a philosophical quest to find happiness. Arristippus, ancient philosopher and founder of hedonism, the school of philosophy, echoed this sentiment when he stated that "the art of life lies in grasping pleasures as they pass." Arristippus concluded that the telos or ultimate goal for human beings is happiness derived from pleasure. pleasure seekers by nature; we actively seek pleasant experiences. Instead, we run away from bad and painful things. Although happiness has long represented a conflict for the complex human condition. This is because the ideas we have about happiness are intrinsically paradoxical. If pleasure is what ultimately makes us happy, then we are ignoring a crucial fact; In life pain and suffering are inevitable. Life can be described as a series of ups and downs. We are constantly at the mercy of the uncontrollable forces of nature. Unfortunately we cannot ignore the fact that our human experience is filled with things like natural disasters, disease and death._______________ after hedonism a new philosophical movement called stoicisim emerged to address the difficulties humanity faces. At the same time it was a critical response to the endonist and morally lax Greco-Roman society. The Stoics were thick-skinned philosophers with sandals planted firmly on the ground whose philosophy centered on the principles of ethics. In fact, the Stoic vision of happiness was diametrically opposed to the hedonistic vision of happiness. First, they believed that happiness derived from pleasure was meaningless and futile. The Stoics believed that self-control was the banner of human virtue and that it would be our guarantor... middle of paper... true nature. This is both senseless and unbalanced. In Eastern philosophy Plato describes it best when he outlines the different parts of the human soul, where the soul has an irrational part that explains the emotions. Although I believe that some emotions can be destructive. The fact that the Stoics believe that all emotions are bad or useless does not seem plausible. Many emotions are positive and can give us strength. Self-control is important, but it does not lead to self-mastery. Self-mastery comes with the ability to reflect deeply on oneself. Much of this involves mastering our emotions and not masking them; How can we understand what makes us tick if we repress them? Numerous research studies have shown that overly repressing your emotions can be harmful to your health and can cause pent-up tension that can manifest in violent behavior.. (1)