The Is A Philosophical Theme Taught By Epicurus

Epicurus was a Greek philosopher born in 341 B.C., and he lived until 240 B.C. According to The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, “He [Epicurus] claimed to be self-taught, although tradition states that he was schooled in the systems of Plato and Democritus by his father and various philosophers” (Columbia). These prior philosophers heavily influenced the ideals that Epicurus would popularize later on in life. The ideals of Epicurus went on to be known as Epicureanism, which essentially was a school of thought that recognized pleasure as the greatest virtue (James).

The Leading Doctrines of Epicurean philosophy state that ‘it is impossible to live the pleasant life without also living sensibly, nobly and justly, and conversely it is impossible to live sensibly, nobly and justly without living pleasantly’ (Epicurus, 1998b, p.53). Therefore, the good Epicurean believes in order to live virtuously, one must adhere to a pleasurable life. For Epicureans it is impossible to live virtuously and unpleasantly or vice-versa. In addition, Epicurus describes pleasure as our ‘primary native good’ (Epicurus 1998a, p. 51), implying that all human actions are driven by pleasures and by the avoidance of pains. Another imperative concept to Epicurean philosophy is Epicurus’ idea of the three fundamental aspects in attaining pleasure, those of friendship, freedom and an analysed life

Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who was born in 341 BC and died in 270 BC. As a boy, he studied philosophy for four years under the Platonist teacher Pamphilus, when he turned 18 he went to Athens for his two-year term of military service. Many of his teachings were strongly influenced by earlier thinkers but Epicurus would deny this influence, and call other philosophers confused and he’d claim to be “self –taught”. Epicurus’ school was based in the garden of his home, and he called it “The Garden”. His school was one of the first ancient

Epicureanism is a philosophy developed the teachings and ideals of a man named Epicurus. Epicureanism is defined by Epicurus as the pleasure for the end of all morality and that real pleasure is attained through a life of prudence, honor, and justice. Epicurus introduced this philosophy around 322 B.C, and two schools established in Athens. Epicurus taught the ethics of his philosophy in his school, that a person should live by "the art of making life happy", and that "prudence is the noblest part of philosophy"(newadvent.org). Epicurus ideals for life intrigued people and they began to think that perhaps the ethics of Epicureanism had some truth behind it; a person should live his/her life to the fullest in order to become happy. Epicurus

25. Epicurean teachings and politics were based on individual pleasure. The highest of all pleasures is the serenity of the soul, in complete absence of mental and physical pain. This can be achieved by eliminating fear.

The first four Principal Doctrines, deal with anxiety in people’s lives, and how they should think. Epicurus, is telling people not to fear death, God, nor pains in one’s life because they do not last long and they are for the week. The problem with this way of thinking, is that it removes the true God from the person’s life. But, that is not what he is saying. He, “believed that the true life of pleasure consisted in an attitude of imperturbable emotional calm which needed only simple pleasures, a healthy diet, a prudent moral life, and good friends” (pg. 342). This is quit opposite of what people say of Epicureanism in today’s time.

In evaluating the philosopher’s goal of determining how to live a good life, Epicurean philosophers argue that pleasure is the greatest good and pain is the greatest bad. Foremost, for the purpose of this analysis, I must define the pleasure and pain described. Pleasure is seen as the state of being pleased or gratified. This term is defined more specifically by the subject to which the pleasure applies, depending on what he likes. Pain is the opposite of pleasure, which is a type of emotional or physical un-pleasure that results in something that the person dislikes. “Everything in which we rejoice is pleasure, just as everything that distresses us is pain,” (Cicero 1). Through this hedonistic assessment of pleasure and pain, epicurean philosophers come to the conclusion that, “the greatest pleasure [is that] which is perceived once all pain has been removed,” (Epicurus 1).

In current society, people question the true essence of a happy life: is it money, power love, sex, or religion? In retrospect, however, this is a contemplation that also wondered the minds of people from ancient times. Ever since the emergence of early civilizations, human beings have attempted to identify the elements that can allow them to live happier lives. For the early thinkers of these civilizations, this quest for a more meaningful and satisfying life could be acquired only through the application of philosophical thought. According to them, philosophical thinking, which strictly focuses on the use of reason and logic (Pojman and Vaughn 2), offered the only tools that would allow them find the true sources of happiness. A prime example of a civilization that used critical thinking and reason to identify these seemingly complex elements were the ancient Greeks. Essentially, Greek philosophy attempted to find rational answers to basic questions about man and the universe (Owens). These questions included the quest for happiness. The intellectual movement of ancient Greece nurtured many different kinds of philosophies, and in particular, there were two different kinds of philosophies that attempted to guide people towards the quest of a fulfilled and happy life: the philosophies of Epicureanism and Hedonism.

In David Suits' article, An Epicurean Idea Suits addresses in detail the theory of Epicureanism. Suit begins by introducing the major fear humanity faces and explains to us how Epicurus would refute each fear. Suit then goes one step further to explain the different aspects of life that allow humans to achieve the ultimate goal in Epicurus’s mind ataraxia, which is peace of mind.

Lucretius’ beliefs and Philosophical Remedy In Lucretius’ poem, On the Nature of Things, Lucretius makes his famous claim that religion “subverts all reasoned thought / and turns your life to terror and confusion” (1.106-107). Since Lucretius is against the idea, his entire poem is completely based on providing facts and helping people cope with the idea of death. Since Lucretius was a man that believed in science, physics and logical reasoning, his claim against religion had a lot to do with the illogical concept of religion. Throughout book one of this poem, Lucretius makes a lot of claims against religion as well as provides strong arguments about what he believes is true. One of Lucretius’ arguments

I truly believe in Epictetus teaching but the three that captivated me the most are the discipline of desire, the discipline of action and the discipline of an asset. To begin with the discipline of desire stands for, the control of desire, according to this view, is the advantage of living in harmony with Nature and the universe as a whole, or in the language of Unemotional study of God. I myself strongly agree with this point because mastering discipline of desire it could help a person inner strength his or her desire and themselves which causes them to control their actions and reactions. It gives the person to stick to their choice of a decision and stay strong and firmed and follow them through, without a change of thought. So there for

Lucretius was a Roman poet who believed that the Epicurean systems provided the most important and valuable way of thinking. He pledged all of his poetic and persuasive writing skills towards presenting Epicurus’ teachings in a concise expose. A key Epicurean doctrine which he explores is the concept of the Nature of Happiness. Philosophy, in this mindset, is a refuge from the trials and tribulations of the

Epicurus believes pleasure is the greatest good because it is the only way to completely fulfill ones life on this earth. Epicurus is inclined to philosophize in this way as he believed that there was no after life or immortal soul, leading pleasure full self-fulfillment to be the only rational conclusion for the greatest good on earth. To comprehend Epicurus’ pursuit of pleasure one needs to understand that his version of hedonism is not full of lavish indulgences that have

Hedonism- the idea that pleasure is the greatest good, was the ethical theory used by Epicurus to show us how to live a happy life. A prominent belief of his was that we needed to master our desires. To do this, we must first understand our desires and where they come from. This means being able to look at your desires, and understand those that are necessary for survival, for your happiness, and those which are not necessary at all. By doing this, Epicurus would say that you will be able to make wise decisions which will ultimately lead to a happy life.

To Epicurus happiness was the same as pleasure. And pleasure was freedom from bodily pain and mental anguish. He lived a simple life, owning only two cloaks and only eating bread and olives. With the occasional slice of cheese for a treat. He believed desire was a form of pain and therefore should be eliminated, and thus one should be satisfied with the bare minimum of what is needed to be happy. Therefore, while it was not a life of many desires, it was filled with the only pleasures you would need to be happy. There was a certain joy he found, in pure existence. Today’s society could learn a thing or two from this philosophy, most of which being living simply. It was better to take pleasure in simple things, rather than to chase pleasure.