John Van

Business 1050

Renaissance Term Paper

The Renassiance is a movement in Europe between medieval and modern times

beginning in the 14th century in Italy, lasting into the 17th century. It was a time of rebirth for

humanism, characterized by new discoveries in fine arts, music, literature, philosophy, religion,

science and technology, architecture, and spirituality. It’s only natural that if there is a period of

growth in new ideas, there is also a period of decline characterized by economic deterioration.

Business is a function of civilization for thousands of years and has undergone countless stages

of relearning and rediscovery. Having to learn and study the roles of business as it evolves over

specific time periods (from Prehistory to Post Modern), I notice that civilizations of this planet

do not progress in a straight line. They experience their highs and lows just as people do in their

everyday lives. Similarly, having to take this course, I have learned about the history of

business, its philosophy, and explored it through the literature of many great thinkers. Having

to utilize critical thinking through the work of Aristotle, Epicurus, and Thorstein Veblen, I have

come to a reevaluation on happiness and money. Aristotle said it best when he said,

“Happiness depends on ourselves.”

Edward G. Engh, an associate professor at Salt Lake Community College, describe critical

thinking as error detection and there are two types of errors one can make. Type 1 error which

is rejecting something that is true, whereas Type 2 error is failing to reject something that is
false. And for most of my life, I have failed to reject the idea that money equates to happiness

in a world where I’m led to believe winners and losers are determined by how much money,

prestige, and power one have. Aristotle claims that happiness is the ultimate purpose for

human existence and depends on the cultivation of virtues. According to Treatise on

Government by Aristotle, people are political by nature. Only in a city-state environment are

people self-sufficient, being able to relied on the community for material necessities as well as

moral habituation and education. But away from community, people are separated by law and

justice, becoming the worst of all. Humans are social creatures, in a community individual have

a purpose according to Aristotle. Nature generally consists of a ruling and ruled element, where

some people are masters by nature and others are slaves by nature. And this relationship only

works if both parties are benefitting. This relationship is mostly seen in business, where one

gains at the expense of someone’s lost, but both parties will see it as beneficial. Aristotle

described it as a relationship between soul and body where the master is the soul that

possesses rational and commanding power while the slaves are body, carrying out menial

duties. This sort of employment is natural because it works by supplying specific sufficiency.

Aristotle said, “true riches seem to consist in these; and the acquisition of those possessions

which are necessary for a happy life is not infinite.”

However, Aristotle mention that there is another species of acquisition, which involves

pecuniary and by this, it seems that there is no bounds to riches and wealth. Money which is

invented as a medium for exchange soon became an art, focusing on where and how the

greatest profits can be made. Accumulating money beyond natural acquisition has no limit and

leads people to indulge in an excess of enjoyment. Acquiring money for the sake of acquiring
money has misconstrued the perception of wealth as it relates to happiness. We are led to

believe that happiness is achieved through wealth, pleasure, and a good reputation. When in

fact, I have come to understand that happiness is an end itself and it would be self-sufficient,

not reliant on anything else.

I have always been a great student but I believed it first started when I entered middle

school. I was alluded with the idea that material gains such as having nice car and a nice house

would make me happy. And in order to obtain it, I would have to keep my grades up, graduate

high school with honors, receive scholarships, ultimately go to college and come out making

great money. Of course, being financially sound means I would be able to purchase all of the

things I ever wanted. At the age of twenty-two, I paid off the rest of my mortgage. I had a

decent size home, a decent car, owned over 300 pair of shoes, and my closet was filled with

brand names such as Burberry and Salvatore Ferragamo, yet I was not happy. In contrast, I was

miserable. There was this gaping void in my life and I had no idea how to fill it. Over the years, I

thought the solution to my problem was to fill my life with more things, more goods. Happiness

had to be around the corner, I mean growing up it was implied that having these material goods

will bring me happiness, but it didn’t.

After being exposed to a variety of literature by great thinkers such as Aristotle and

Epicurus, I was reminded that happiness is very simple and it depended on ourselves. For

Epicurus, the most pleasant life is one where we are abstained from unnecessary desires and

achieve an inner tranquility. That means being content with simple experiences such as having

a meaningful philosophical conversation with a friend. Something that adds no value to my life

cannot possibly make me happy. Material possessions are not the center of living a satisfying
life. Humans starts life out by making human connections and as we age, our connections start

seeping into objects. It gets to a point where these objects are perceived as important, and at

times even more important than people. Thorstein Veblen, an economist and sociologist,

introduced consumerism, the idea that our economy Is built on people buying and consuming

ever-increasing amounts of goods that we don’t need. People are brought into this idea that

having material possessions will enhance and add value to their life, ultimately bringing them

happiness. But that’s not the case.

My recent trip to Vietnam has only supported Aristotle and Epicurus’s view on

happiness. I walked the street of Hoi An in Vietnam, a small city where poverty is extremely

prevalent and, on my visit, I notice people there don’t have enough to eat and wear yet they

look one hundred percent happier than a lot of people I knew of in the U.S. The problem is

people are too materialistic for their symbolic meaning. Business wants consumers to feel

outdated, out of trend, and consume as much as possible and as fast as possible. People stop

purchasing because they need it. They consume just for the sake of consuming and there seems

to be a constant longing to buy more yet, yet one can never be satisfied. On my trip, people

have asked me if they can have my clothes, watches, and shoes. At first, I decline because I feel

like I need these things to be happy. Yet towards the end of the trip, I found myself giving

everything I had brought with me away because I don’t necessarily need it. I realize it doesn’t

add any value to my life, instead, this trip to Vietnam and making connections with the

inhabitants here was far more rewarding. I had gained a new perspective on life and had come

to a realization on what I want to fill my life with and what brings me the greatest pleasure, and

that’s human connection. We are all born into this world with nothing and eventually, we
would leave with nothing. It only make sense that I chase down the things that I can carry and

share with other people, and that’s my experience.

Aristotle claims that happiness depended on ourselves. It does look from the outside

that money can buy happiness because it would fulfill all of our necessities and provide us with

more. But that more doesn’t necessarily equate to more happiness. Money is neutral, more of

it means nothing. Living with a purpose, buying with a purpose, making human connections

with a purpose are all of being naturally rich. There is nothing wrong with consumption, but

there is with compulsive consumptions because we are letting advertisements telling us what

we should consume and letting them tell us whether or not it will add values to our lives, which

shouldn’t be the case because they are not us, it’s impossible for them to know. The things

people see, feel, touch, hear, and smell are completely internal. The events around us may not

be determined by us, but how we experience life is one hundred percent determined by us.

Therefore, happiness also depends on ourselves.