Epicurus

Biography

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Covered in the vault’s survey histories

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Adamson — Hellenistic & Roman Worlds

• Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds - Peter Adamson — Chapter 4 — The Constant Gardener: Principles of Epicurus (heading contains links, so it can’t be anchored; search the title inside the note)

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|2fd1b030aef9c42448ca00760200c56f_MD5.jpg (image unavailable)

Roman marble bust of Epicurus| |
|Born|February 341 BC

Samos, Greece|
|Died|270 BC (aged about 72)

Athens, Greece|
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|Era|Hellenistic philosophy|
|Region|Western philosophy|
|School|Epicureanism|
|Main interests|- ethics
- epistemology
- physics
- theology|
|Notable ideas|- aponia
- ataraxia
- “moving” and “static” pleasures1(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus#cite_note-buyu-1)


Attributed: 

- Epicurean paradox|

Life

• Influenced by Democritus, Aristippus, Pyrrho, and possibly the Cynics, he turned against the Platonism of his day and established his own school, known as “the Garden”, in Athens.
• Plato had died seven years before Epicurus was born and Epicurus was seven years old when Alexander the Great crossed the Hellespont into Persia.
• the vast majority of everything he wrote has still been lost, and most of what is known about Epicurus’s teachings come from the writings of his later followers, particularly the Roman poet Lucretius.

Impact on Philosophy

• Founded Epicureanism
• Epicureanism reached the height of its popularity during the late years of the Roman Republic. It died out in late antiquity, subject to hostility from early Christianity.
• His influence grew considerably during and after the Enlightenment, profoundly impacting the ideas of major thinkers, including John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Jeremy Bentham, and Karl Marx.
• Epicurus and his followers had a well-developed epistemology, which developed as a result of their rivalry with other philosophical schools.
• The overwhelming majority of surviving Greek and Roman sources are vehemently negative towards Epicureanism and, according to Pamela Gordon, they routinely depict Epicurus himself as “monstrous or laughable”. Many Romans in particular took a negative view of Epicureanism, seeing its advocacy of the pursuit of voluptas (“pleasure”) as contrary to the Roman ideal of virtus (“manly virtue”). The Romans therefore often stereotyped Epicurus and his followers as weak and effeminate.

Concepts

• philosophy’s purpose is to attain as well as to help others attain happy (eudaimonic), tranquil lives characterized by ataraxia (peace and freedom from fear) and aponia (the absence of pain).
• living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends
• root of all human neuroses is denial of death and the tendency for human beings to assume that death will be horrific and painful, which he claimed causes unnecessary anxiety, selfish self-protective behaviors, and hypocrisy.
• death is the end of both the body and the soul and therefore should not be feared
• gods exist, they have no involvement in human affairs
• people should act ethically not because the gods punish or reward them for their actions but because, due to the power of guilt, amoral behavior would inevitably lead to remorse weighing on their consciences and as a result, they would be prevented from attaining ataraxia.
• universe is infinite and eternal and that all matter is made up of extremely tiny, invisible particles known as atoms. All occurrences in the natural world are ultimately the result of atoms moving and interacting in empty space. Epicurus deviated from Democritus by proposing the idea of atomic “swerve”, which holds that atoms may deviate from their expected course, thus permitting humans to possess free will in an otherwise deterministic universe.
• rejected the Platonic idea of “Reason” as a reliable source of knowledge about the world apart from the senses
• maintained that the senses never deceive humans, but that the senses can be misinterpreted
• He taught that knowledge is learned through experiences rather than innate and that the acceptance of the fundamental truth of the things a person perceives is essential to a person’s moral and spiritual health.
• In the Letter to Pythocles, he states, “If a person fights the clear evidence of his senses he will never be able to share in genuine tranquility.”
• strongly favored naturalistic explanations over theological ones.
• Ethics
  • Epicurus was a hedonist, meaning he taught that what is pleasurable is morally good and what is painful is morally evil.
  • The Tetrapharmakos presents a summary of the key points of Epicurean ethics:
    • Don’t fear god
    • Don’t worry about death
    • What is good is easy to get
    • What is terrible is easy to endure
  • a person can only be happy and free from suffering by living wisely, soberly, and morally.
  • “the pleasant life is produced not by a string of drinking bouts and revelries, nor by the enjoyment of boys and women, nor by fish and the other items on an expensive menu, but by sober reasoning.”
  • One of the Principal Doctrines states, “Of the things wisdom acquires for the blessedness of life as a whole, far the greatest is the possession of friendship.”
  • Epicurus distinguished between two different types of pleasure: “moving” pleasures (κατὰ κίνησιν ἡδοναί) and “static” pleasures (καταστηματικαὶ ἡδοναί).”Moving” pleasures occur when one is in the process of satisfying a desire and involve an active titillation of the senses. After one’s desires have been satisfied (e.g. when one is full after eating), the pleasure quickly goes away and the suffering of wanting to fulfill the desire again returns. For Epicurus, static pleasures are the best pleasures because moving pleasures are always bound up with pain
• Epicurus was a materialist who taught that the only things that exist are atoms and void.
• Politics
  • innovative theory of justice as a social contract. Justice, Epicurus said, is an agreement neither to harm nor be harmed, and we need to have such a contract in order to enjoy fully the benefits of living together in a well-ordered society. Laws and punishments are needed to keep misguided fools in line who would otherwise break the contract. But the wise person sees the usefulness of justice, and because of his limited desires, he has no need to engage in the conduct prohibited by the laws in any case. Laws that are useful for promoting happiness are just, but those that are not useful are not just. (Principal Doctrines 31–40)
  • Epicurus discouraged participation in politics, as doing so leads to perturbation and status seeking. He instead advocated not drawing attention to oneself.

References

Epicurus - Wikipedia
Epicureanism - Wikipedia
Epicurus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)