Consider the following quote from Walden: "Wealth is the ability to fully live life." Please write one short paragraph that describes the extent to...

The
assignment is based on a quotation from 's , an autobiographical work
concerning two years (1845€“1847) Thoreau (July 12, 1817, to May 6, 1862) spent living in a
cabin by Walden Pond. The quotation expresses a sentiment that one does not need material goods
in order to be happy but that happiness is found in one's experiences, independent of material
circumstances.

This represents part of a longstanding philosophical debate.
In antiquity, the Cynic school of philosophy argued that people would be happier living in
accordance with nature and ridding themselves of human conventions and possessions. Diogenes
famously owned only a cloak and a bowl. Other philosophers such as Aristotle argued that a
moderate amount of material prosperity was important to happiness, as it was necessary for
physical comfort and security. For example, Aristotle would claim that someone living in Canada
might be happier having access to a home with adequate heating than living outdoors in the
woods.

As a student writing on this topic, one should be aware that there is
no one right answer. Philosophers over the centuries have disagreed about the nature of
happiness. Some consider it entirely an internal matter, having nothing to do with experience at
all, while others argue that happiness is a product of how we live lives in relation to others.
Theologians would say that happiness is found in a relationship with the divine.

As a student writing about the topic, you should simply state what you consider the
nature of happiness and whether you feel that it requires some degree of material wealth or
whether one's greatest "wealth" is a storehouse one builds up of memory or experience,
as, for example, Boethius argued in his Consolation of
Philosophy.