EPICUREANISMCierra Coan

EPICURUS Founded the

philosophy Epicureanism

He led a life of sobriety and simplicity

Grounded in the atomic theory of Democritus All things are made of

atoms that are indivisible Not interested in science

but in finding out about the in good life

EPICURUS Founded his

school- The Garden- in Athens in the art of reason

Showed no interest in politics and the community

Garden is like a present day commune “Live in seclusion!”

BELIEF Pleasure is the end to life Epicurus’ definition of pleasure is negative

His belief was the absences of pain in life No act should be undertaken except for

when pleasure is the result No act should be rejected except for the pain

that it could produce Epicurus put great stress

on friendship because one’s own pleasure is dependent on others as well

Emphasized that pleasurable actions must be weighted with side effects

WEIGHING THE PLEASURE Take all your money and buy all the

chocolate you want

Eat all the chocolate in one sitting

WEIGHING THE PLEASURES Wait a half and hour and see how you

feel

This is weighing pleasure with its side effects

SHORT TERM TO LONG TERM Also emphasized weighing short term

pleasure to possible greater, more lasting, or more intense pleasure in the long run

Instead of buying chocolate save more money for something better

SHORT TERM TO LONG TERM Like a ticket to

Chocolate good but Lady Gaga better

TWO DESIRES

Natural desires Vain desires

Necessary – food and sleep

Unnecessary- sex

Decorative clothing or exotic food

NATURAL Necessary MUST be satisfied and

usually easy to satisfy The desire for sex is natural but

usually can be overcomeWhen it can it should be overcome

because the satisfaction of sexual drive gives intense pleasure And all the intense emotional states are

dangerousAlso desire for sex puts people in

relationships that end with more pain than pleasure

VAIN Do not need to be satisfied and usually not easy to satisfy

Since there is no natural limit to them they tend to become obsessive and lead to very painful consequences

REPOSE Epicurus emphasized desire for repose

Repose- temporary rest from activity, excitement, or exertion

Both physically and psychically1. Persons having overcome all

unnecessary desires2. Gratifies necessary desires in the

most moderate way possible 3. Leaves plenty of time for physical and

mental repose

Always free from worry

FEAR OF DEATH Trouble with the teaching that pleasure is the

absence of pain. It can be taken to the logical extremity Absence of life is better than any life at all

This deduction is ironic because Epicurus claimed philosophy dispelled fear of death

Believe death was merely the absence of sensation and consciousness of death “So long as we exist, death is not with us; but when

death comes, then we do not exist” Believe in the theory of “soul atoms”

Didn’t believe in life after death because when we die, the “soul atoms” disperse in all directions

FEAR OF THE GODS Fear of gods brought many people to the

gardenAtom theory of Democritus was useful in curing

religious superstitions Epicurus had little patience with religion,

which he considered a form of ignoranceeager to help people loose their fear of the

gods He did say that the gods existed, although

they lived far away in space somewhere and had little or nothing to do with people on earthAtheism was still illegal in Athens

FOUR MEDICAL HERBS

1. The gods are not to be feared

2. Death is nothing to worry about

3. Good is easy to attain4. The fearful is easy to

endure

AFTER EPICURUS Though it didn’t

become a major philosophy it was around for many centuries

Famous follower was Lucretius Wrote long poem –

On the Nature of Things- expounding the philosophy of Epicurus

NEGATIVE REACTIONS Epicureanism is considered by many to

be for gluttonous and lazy peopleThis is all because of the Roman followers

took his philosophy to the extreme Because of this Epicureanism is

associated with sensualistic hedonism Excessive devotion to sensual pleasure

Epicurean is used in the negative sense nowadays to describe someone who lives only for pleasure