Wednesday Wisdom

WHO?

Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded the philosophical school of Epicureanism in Athens in the 4th century BCE. He was born on the island of Samos in 341 BCE and studied philosophy under various teachers before founding his own school.

Previous schools of philosophy sought to answer who we are and what makes people good. Epicurus sought to answer a different question, what makes people happy? He believed that the purpose of philosophy was to achieve a happy and fulfilling life, and he emphasized the importance of pleasure and the avoidance of pain as the means to achieve this goal. He also placed a great emphasis on the pursuit of knowledge and the practice of ethics. Epicurus wrote several works, but only a few fragments of his writings survive today. 

What he produced

His best insights into his thoughts and philosophy are in his letters to friends and followers. Like many philosophers of ancient Greece, he sought the world's knowledge to describe man's place in it and how to live a fulfilled life. From his letters to friends and pupils, we see he was a man who sought knowledge across a spectrum of subjects. 

• "Letter to Herodotus" - A work that provides an overview of Epicurean physics, including his views on atoms, the void, and the nature of the universe.

• "Letter to Pythocles" - A work that discusses Epicurean astronomy and cosmology, including his views on the motion of the stars and planets.

• "Letter to Menoeceus" - A work that sets out the core teachings of Epicureanism, including his views on pleasure, pain, and the nature of the good life.

• "On Nature" - A work that provides a comprehensive overview of Epicurean philosophy, including his views on physics, ethics, and epistemology.

• "The Principal Doctrines" - A collection of forty concise statements that summarize the core principles of Epicurean philosophy.

While his work was fragmented, over many years, philosophers and historians have put an outline of ways to be happy from several of his writings. The list was generated from his letter"The Principal Doctrines",  "Letter from Menoeus" and the "Vatican Sayings" which were discovered in the Vatican Library in 1888. This fourteenth-century manuscript was a  collection of maxims and was also known as “The Sayings of Epicurus” – or alternatively, “The Voice of Epicurus”. This rediscovered Vatican manuscript also contained Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, Epictetus’ Manual, and similar works and its source remains a mystery.

Epicurus's 8 steps to happiness are:

1. Don't fear God: Epicurus believed that the gods are distant and uninvolved in human affairs, so there's no need to fear them.

2. Don't worry about death: Death is nothing to us, according to Epicurus, because when we die, we no longer exist. So there's no reason to fear it.

3. Good is easy to get: Epicurus believed that the things that make us happy are simple and easy to obtain, such as food, shelter, and friends.

4. Pain is easy to endure: Pain is temporary and can be endured, according to Epicurus. It's not worth worrying about it.

5. Happiness comes from within: Epicurus believed that happiness is a state of mind that comes from within us, rather than from external sources.

6. Live modestly: Epicurus believed that excessive wealth and luxury can lead to unhappiness and that a simple and modest lifestyle is preferable.

7. Cultivate friendships: Friends are important for our happiness, according to Epicurus. We should cultivate deep and meaningful friendships.

8. Be self-sufficient: Epicurus believed that we should be self-sufficient and not rely too much on others for our happiness.

2023 why do we care?

The term "epicurean" is often used to refer to someone who enjoys good food and drink, but this is a popular misconception of the philosophy. It is often also confused with hedonism which in modern form hints at excess in fulfilling desire. In ancient Greece, hedonism was a philosophical concept that emphasized the pursuit of pleasure and happiness as the ultimate goal of life. The word "hedonism" comes from the Greek word "hedone," which means pleasure.

 Epicurus sought to bring logical proof of how to live a happy life by combining metaphysics with aesthetics. He believed that simple pleasures brought happiness; good company, good conversation, and good food as essentials to a well-lived life.

In other words Simple over Complex and Quality over Quantity

And now you know...

Philosophy is the art of thinking, the building block of progress that shapes critical thinking across economics, ethics, religion, and science. 

METAPHYSICS: Literally, the term metaphysics means ‘beyond the physical.’ Typically, this is the branch that most people think of when they picture philosophy. In metaphysics, the goal is to answer the what and how questions in life. Who are we, and what are time and space?

LOGIC: The study of reasoning. Much like metaphysics, understanding logic helps to understand and appreciate how we perceive the rest of our world. More than that, it provides a foundation for which to build and interpret arguments and analyses. 

ETHICS: The study of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Ethics tackles difficult conversations by adding weight to actions and decisions. Politics takes ethics to a larger scale, applying it to a group (or groups) of people. Political philosophers study political governments, laws, justice, authority, rights, liberty, ethics, and much more.

AESTHETICS: What is beautiful? Philosophers try to understand, qualify, and quantify what makes art what it is. Aesthetics also takes a deeper look at the artwork itself, trying to understand the meaning behind it, both art as a whole and art on an individual level. A question an aesthetics philosopher would seek to address is whether or not beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

EPISTEMOLOGY: This is the study and understanding of knowledge. The main question is how do we know? We can question the limitations of logic, how comprehension works, and the ability (or perception) to be certain.