Epstein’s psychological work Opening up to Happiness is a short article that argues how humans think “only of manipulating the external world; we never stop to examine ourselves.” Epstein emphasizes our human flaws as the reason we are unhappy, stating “then a happiness that has more to do with acceptance than gratification becomes available to us.” Ultimately Epstein’s work is thought provoking but lacking many key elements to his argument by failing to examine and argue how other rhetoricians have proved, essentially, that one can be happy without conforming towards Epstein’s route to happiness. Epstein talks about how Buddhism has influenced this realization, and because of this religious influence he is a bit biased towards his argument. Non-the-less Epstein’s work brings up some great points that strongly adds to my topic.