The Life and Philosophy of Epicurus

Epicurus was born in 341 B.C. in Samos, an  island colony of Athens in the Mediterranean

Sea. Since his father was a schoolteacher,  Epicurus received a proper traditional Greek

education in rhetoric, poetry, and music. As a child, Epicurus became interested in

philosophy and began studying different theories.  The ideas of Democritus particularly inspired

him. Democritus had developed a theory  of atoms, tiny, indivisible particles

of matter, and Epicurus saw in this a way out of  superstitious beliefs in gods, spirits, and fate.

At 18, he went to Athens for his two years  of military service. visiting Athens,

a city renowned worldwide as the cradle of  philosophy, greatly influenced the young Epicurus.

When he was about 20 years old, he moved  to Colophon, a city in modern-day Turkey,

to join his family who had been exiled from Samos.  During this period, Epicurus traveled, studied,

and developed his unique philosophical views. at the age of 32, Epicurus embarked on his

teaching career first at Mytilene and subsequently  at Lampsacus. His theories on atoms, however,

caused so much controversy that he  was forced to flee. As a result,

Epicurus sought refuge in Athens, hoping to find  more tolerance for his unconventional ideas.

At the time, Athens was the vibrant  center of the philosophical world,

making it a natural choice for a man such  as Epicurus. However, as a foreigner,

Epicurus found life in Athens challenging. The  Athenians had become weary of philosophers who

came from all over the world to question their  religion and insult their gods. They made a law

that only proper Athenian citizens could teach  philosophy in Athens. Foreigners like Epicurus

were allowed to work but expected to keep  their opinions to themselves in public places.

to tackle this Challenge, Epicurus bought a  small property just outside of Athens where

he established his school. it was named simply  ‘The Garden’. the garden served as a testing

ground for his central philosophical query:  ‘How to be happy?’ In truth, Epicurus introduced

more than just a school or a community to  Athens; he brought an entire way of life.

when people heard that Epicurus had established  a school focused on the pursuit of happiness,

the rumors started flying and  he became the talk of the town.

One critic claimed the school hosted grand  parties and had nightly sexcapades. Another

spoke about Epicurus having 18 orgasms in  a single night in a bed full of virgins.

Of course, they were just lies. In fact, these  and other rumors were started by the Stoics,

who were a rival school of philosophy to  the Epicureans. and It’s because of such

gossip that we still sometimes use the adjective  ‘Epicurean’ to describe luxury and decadence.

Epicurus was focused on happiness  and pleasure; yes, he was a hedonist,

meaning he believed that what is pleasurable  is morally good and what is painful is morally

evil. But if anything, he was an ascetic  who thought that pleasures and good food

have a negative effect on happiness. For the  most part, his basic food consisted of bread,

olives, and a slice of cheese now and then.  As for clothing, he only owns two cloaks.

So, what was Epicurus’s answer to  his question on “How to be happy?”

Epicurus believed that pleasure is simply the  absence of pain. If we can reach a state of mind

where all pain is totally absent, then we call  this state ‘happiness’. What are the sources of

pain? Let’s examine these five elements Epicurus  identified that contribute to our unhappiness

1. Expectations At the basis of Epicureanism

lies a trick. Epicurus suggests that instead of  having high expectations and then having them

shattered by unforeseen circumstances, you  should lower your expectations so that most

of what can happen will be better than what  you expect. High expectations often set the

stage for disappointment. For example, imagine a  flawless Sunday, an ideal birthday, or a perfect

Christmas and you have probably ruined your  Sunday, your birthday, and your Christmas.

2. Bad Luck Epicurus writes:

“The misfortune of the wise is better  than the prosperity of the fool.”

For Epicurus, being wise means being in  control of one’s desires, and the ability

to lead a rational, and measured life. In  such a life, misfortune has little meaning,

because the happiness of a wise person does not  depend on good fortune or luck. Even catastrophic

events would not affect a person who does  not depend on worldly material to be happy.

On the other hand, a prosperous fool is  still a fool: they will always want more,

and they will always be unhappy  about their present situation.

3. Fear of death Epicurus emphasizes that,

in a world that works according to  physical laws, nobody ought to be afraid

of either the gods or one’s own death. He writes: “Death does not concern us,

because as long as we exist, death is not here.  And when it does come, we no longer exist.”

Is this argument convincing enough? In  an atomistic universe, like Epicurus sees

the world, death would be nothing but the  dissolution of the body into individual

atoms that would go on to form new things.  Consciousness would cease with death. Therefore,

we wouldn’t be able to perceive our own death,  and there would be no afterlife to experience.

4. Relationships People are just as

obsessed with romantic relationships now, as  they were back in the olden days. However,

Epicurus observed that love and happiness seldom  coexist. He also strongly believed that marriage

was not essential for achieving happiness,  and declared it was better to be joyously

single or divorced than to be unhappily married.  Epicurus advocated that true happiness could only

be obtained through friendship, stating, “Of all  the means which are procured by wisdom to ensure

happiness throughout the whole of life, by far  the most important is the acquisition of friends.”

5. Material possessions Epicurus made the point

that we don’t need an excessive amount of  material things or technology to be happy.

He believed that instead of accumulating  wealth, one should try to live a simple

life and find joy in things like friends,  the pleasures of work, and philosophy.

Indeed, Epicurus and his disciples practiced  this philosophy every day in The Garden. they

lived simple and frugal lives. They engaged  in intellectual conversations, meditated,

and sought to create a community based on  friendship and mutual support. and unlike

other Athenian philosophy schools, “The  Garden” was open to women and slaves.

Epicurus had no heirs or sons as he never married  in his life. He was 72 at the time of his death.

Epicurus’ ideas on the pursuit of happiness  and the significance of intellectual pleasures

greatly influenced thinkers such as  John Stuart Mill and Thomas Jefferson.

Karl Marx wrote his Ph.D. thesis on  Epicurus, and and one could argue that

what we know as communism, is a scaled-up,  corrupted version of Epicurean societies.

epicurus’ materialist views have influenced  modern scientists and thinkers. and Even today,

the teachings of Epicurus continue to  pursue happiness through simplicity,

intellectual endeavors, and friendship.