The Selfish Philosophy of Epicureanism
That's Philosophical #36
Aside from the unspellable name, this philosophy really caught my attention with its unique values. This Greek philosophy was started by Epicurus more than 2000 years ago.
It’s one of the most western philosophies I’ve ever written about. While Buddhisms and Confucianisms of the world are focused on spiritual fulfillment and collectivistic values, Epicureanism offers a completely different approach.
And… I kind of like it.
The main principles
Epicurus dedicated his life to studying the nature of happiness. He even opened schools to help people find happiness. Eventually, he came up with a set of mistakes to avoid and rules to follow for people to be happy.
The main principle of Epicureanism is that pleasure is the path to a fulfilling life. Epicurus believed that we should get as much pleasure in our life as possible. He thought that pleasure is the absence of suffering and we are pleasure-seekers by nature. However, the “pleasures” in this context are focused on the mind, not the body.
The thing that made me really curious about Epicureanism is that all artificial or unnecessary pleasures are forbidden. The philosophy gets a lot of undeserved hate from those who didn’t read past a title. Epicureanism is not about drinking and smoking weed. Epicurus knew that these activities are pleasurable, but only in the short run. In the long run, they only cause pain, which contradicts the main principle of his philosophy- seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.
Desserts and fancy food are acceptable as far as they are not consumed too often- to the point when it becomes expected and not desired. The same applies to other luxuries.
Epicurus and his followers ate simple meals and wore simple clothes. They knew that some things corrupt people while others make their lives better. Epicurus lived in a house full of his friends and didn’t like romantic relationships. Friendship is the most sincere form of human connection, he thought.
Epicurus believed that the job that is worth doing is the one where you feel like you are helping people. Deep down, we don’t really need big deals, large sums of money, and prestige. We need a sense of fulfillment from helping others. He and his followers quit their jobs and got big pay cuts just to work for themselves and do what they love.
There is no god
In order to get people to like the philosophy in ancient Greece, Epicurus came up with a smart plan: remove the variable of “god” for his followers. The idea of Epicureanism is to enjoy life without worrying so much. Epicurus believed that the idea of “god” holds us back because of two reasons:
We fear judgment after death.
We fear judgment during life.
These two problems make people miss the moment and don’t let us actually enjoy living. Epicurus thought that gods do exist, but they are far away and don’t interfere with humanity. Why bother to please the gods who are not even aware of your existence? Now there is no constant feeling that you are being watched and you can find fulfillment outside of religious norms.
A Stoic would say “remember death” and do everything they ever wanted. Epicurean would never think of death and get as much pleasure out of life as they can. Why bother thinking about something that will come inevitably?
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?”
- The God Paradox, Epicurus
Why do we like luxury?
One of the mistakes humans make while pursuing happiness is seeking luxury and materialism. Why do we like luxury? Epicurus believed that we do it because we are trying to find calmness in life. Luxurious things give us a sense of calm.
Epicurus and his friends decided to devote themselves to finding true calmness inside themselves, not on the outside. That’s something similar to Buddhism, where the most important thing of all is to sort things out in your own head and find nirvana.
Epicureans spent a lot of time reflecting, writing, reading, and meditating to find the true sense of calm- Ataraxia.
Ataraxia & Aponia
Buddhism has nirvana and Epicureanism has this. Ataraxia is the state of “absolute peace”. Aponia is a “complete absence of mental, emotional, and physical distress”. These two states in the ultimate goal of Epicureanism. To achieve Ataraxia, we must avoid all distress. It includes some things found in other philosophies. For example, we don’t need to worry about things outside of our control. These things include fame, marriage, culture, wealth, politics, and education. Some of these are controversial and are up for discussion.
Basically, everything that I’ve talked about in this article comes down to finding the ultimate piece. Something similar to nirvana, or enlightenment.
Conclusion
Epicurus went down to the fundamentals of human nature and generated a lot of thoughts about the real path to happiness. He went on to build one of the most influential philosophies to this day. Not many people before him tried to answer the question of happiness. Seems like Epicurus knew what he was talking about.
Some may think the philosophy is too vague or it focuses on the wrong things. But almost everything he says makes sense to me. At the end of the day, happiness is all we live for. Every action we make or a goal we set is meant to satisfy our inner monkey that wants one thing- to survive and to have a great time. I love how easy Epicureanism is, it’s straightforward and it has a set of easy rules to follow- enjoy life, but keep moral values in mind. Even though it’s hard to follow all of them, most people can definitely implement a few in their daily lives.
“Four-Part Cure:
Don't fear god,
Don't worry about death;
What is good is easy to get, and
What is terrible is easy to endure”
- Philodemus
Thank you so much for reading this, feel free to share your thoughts :)
