Throughout history, great philosophers have worked to solve the world’s big questions. What is consciousness? Do we have free will? Who am I? What is death? Is the cosmos eternal, non-eternal, finite, infinite? What’s more fun, driving a luxury car for seven days or flying business class for a little more than seven hours?
I was determined to solve this last question as my Toronto-to-Rome flight on ITA Airways took off and the attendant set an Aperol Spritz before me. I had been bumped up to business class a few weeks earlier and I could now tackle a riddle that neither Socrates, Confucius, Of course, comparing driving a luxury vehicle to flying in luxury is comparing apples and oranges; but both are expressions of the sweet life. I am not normally in this category. When I fly, I fly “crunched-in class.” Until 2019, I drove a child-ravaged Dodge Grand Caravan minivan, which I dubbed “the Anti-Porsche.” I have no illusions about wealth. Money can’t buy happiness, but what it can buy comes pretty close.
So, what’s more fun? Driving a luxury car for seven days or flying business class for a little over seven hours? . Epicurus maintained that one’s own pleasure was the only thing that had inherent value. He praised virtue and moderation, but I bet if he were alive today, he’d appreciate a Porsche and a business class seat that reclines to a full bed.
What’s more fun? The reality is that the perfect picture would be flying business class and then driving home from the airport in your Porsche. That said, I’m happy to have had my brief dalliance with the sweet life. “Nothing,” Epicurus wrote, “is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.” No point in being greedy.