Epicurus: the philosopher who developed the theory of pleasure seeking

Human beings are governed by various principles. Throughout history, various thinkers have dedicated themselves to studying them, Epicurus (341 BC – 270 BC) being one of them. Through philosophy, this philosopher explored wonderful corners of our nature to bring us closer to understanding it.

Thanks to his career and his great passion for knowledge, he founded his own school, Epicureanism. His contribution was so important that it continues to be studied today.

Thus, we propose a journey through the philosophy of Epicurus: we will talk about his life, his theories and the magnitude of his legacy. Let’s immerse ourselves together in the philosophy of this fabulous author!

Life of Epicurus

Epicurus was born in 341 BC. C on Samos Island, Greece. From there, he became known as Epicurus of Samos. He was the second of four children in a poor family; where his mother, called Querestrata, was a fortune teller, while his father Neocles served as a teacher.

Epicurus spent his childhood and adolescence on Samos. Later, he and his family were expelled from the island and took refuge in Colophon. At the age of 14, Epicurus moved to Teos and stayed there for three years. There he received the teachings of Democritus’ disciple, Nausiphanes; It was then that he began to become interested in thought and philosophy.

After turning 18, Epicurus traveled to Athens to undergo two years of military training, as required to obtain citizenship. It seems that while he was there, he may have heard the thoughts of Xenocrates, Plato’s successor in ideas, and Aristotle who was in Athens at that time.

There is no record of the following ten years; most hypotheses are based on the fact that he dedicated himself to traveling and studying. In fact, it is likely that in this period he developed his philosophical perspective through exchanges with Platonists and Aristotelians.

It is known from a letter he wrote to Theos, preserved by Diogenes, that At the age of 32 he began teaching, first to Mytilene and later to Lampsacus. In various places, Epicurus met with his disciples, who helped the Epicurean school develop.

He established a school in 306 BC, which he called the “Garden School.”; This became famous because it had the participation of women and cultivated friendship; At that time the most important academies were those of Plato and Aristotle.

At the age of 72 he died from prostatitis. He dedicated an affectionate letter to his friends in Lampsacus, in which he defended serenity even in the midst of pain as an act of fidelity to his philosophy.

Legacy of Epicurus

After his death, Epicurus left more than 300 manuscripts. Diogenes Laertius described him as a prolific writer, and preserved three of his letters and the Kyriai doxiai. Let’s see a little more about them:

Letter to Herodotus. In which he talks about physics and epistemology.The one written to Pitocles. In this one he talks about meteorology. Furthermore, he makes reference to cosmology and astronomy.Letter to Menoeceus. In which he tells him about ethics and theology.Kyriai. These are the main doctrines of Epicurus, also called “Capital Maxims”, consisting of forty brief aphoristic statements. They preserve the central ethical beliefs of the Epicurean philosophical school.

Furthermore, according to Diogenes Laertius, the main works of the philosopher, apart from those already mentioned, were: About nature, On justice and other virtues, Essay on the angle of an atom and Four essays about lives.

Philosophy of Epicurus

Philosophy for Epicurus was opposite to Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy.. His thoughts revolved around an idea: there is nothing beyond reality and the sensible world; therefore, he denied the immortality of the soul. In fact, he promoted that the soul, like the rest of the elements, was made up of atoms.

Now, we can summarize Epicurus’ philosophy as follows:

Canonical Philosophy

Through it I examined the way in which we know. According to Epicurus, sensation is the basis of knowledge; and it results when the images reach our senses. Furthermore, he formulated that experience is the only thing we can rely on to obtain information from the outside world.

Physical

For its part, Epicurus believed that all reality was made up of atoms and emptiness.. And, although he was influenced by Democritus, he introduced the element of chance into the movement of atoms. In fact, in the letter he wrote to Herodotus he formulated that nothing arises from what does not exist.

Policy

Unlike Plato and Aristotle, Epicurus argued that politics and philosophy are irreconcilable.. Therefore, the philosopher must reject the political in favor of the contemplative life.

Thus, He advocated abandoning the polis and defended a life without attracting attention. This meant giving up glory, wealth or power, and enjoying the little things like the company of friends.

Ethics

Perhaps this is why Epicurus is most recognized. He spoke that philosophy has the objective of bringing those who are immersed in it to happiness. But based on: autonomy, autotarchy and ataraxia. Furthermore, he associated pleasures with calm and peace, therefore, he referred to pleasures as the source of happiness.

For its part, Epicurus emphasized fears. He spoke of the fear of the gods as absurd: they must be a model of virtue, since according to him they do not intervene in human affairs. Regarding the fear of death, he also said that it was irrational. He understood that it occurred for two reasons: the imagination that leads us to think that horrible things exist after death, or the result of the feeling generated by thinking about ceasing to exist.

He also dedicated a space to the fear of pain and failure. He said that the fear of pain was unfounded. His reflection was that, if the pain is slight, it could easily be overborne; If it is intense, its duration could be short. Regarding the fear of failure, he considered that its origin lay in ignoring that happiness depends on internal factors.

One of Epicurus’ most important contributions was his formulation on the pursuit of pleasure. He thought it was necessary to distinguish between natural and necessary desires, for example, quenching hunger or thirst; of those that are natural and not necessary, such as gluttony; and those that are neither necessary nor natural, for example, the pleasure of obtaining honor.

So, came to conclude that we can go on a path to happiness, and that is through pleasure. But assessing what is really essential, taking into account autonomy, and other internal factors. Also, cultivating friendship. So, for all this, it would be necessary to abandon our irrational fears, and anchor ourselves to reality through experience.

Finally, we can emphasize that Epicurus greatly valued friendship. In fact, he saw generosity as one of the most important virtues. In Epicurus and his philosophy we find a defense of pleasure of being alive or autonomy. Finally, we give you the floor:

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