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Epicureanism
By definition, Epicureanism can be considered the philosophy that pleads with the senses. The essential doctrine of Epicureanism is that pleasure is the ultimate good, whether sensual, emotional, or intellectual. However, Epicurus, the Greek philosopher for whom the school is named for, believed that intellectual stimulation was superior to sensual but both were necessary for living a full and happy life.
As defined by Epicurus, true happiness is removing the fear of God and death from one�s mind and living without fear of an afterlife. Epicurus believed that an afterlife was impossible because once one dies, his dead body cannot house a living soul. In Epicureanism, the soul is equally distributed throughout the entire body and if the body dies so will the soul. As all philosophers must, Epicurus was forced to acknowledge the possible existence of a God and whether or not he believed in it. In regard to this matter, Epicurus stated that the universe is infinite and eternal consisting of bodies and space.
Epicureanism has also had an vast sway on the philosophy of natural science. Epicurus believed that all humans, animals, and plants originated from a major collision of atoms and survive through the centuries by natural selection. If this sounds remotely familiar don�t worry, this sort of rationale was used by Charles Darwin to establish the theory of evolution. Moreover, Epicurus also influenced the world of physics. He taught that atoms were free to move spontaneously; his ideology resembles the teachings and theories of Democritus. Much like Epicurus, Democritus did not believe in afterlife because of what he called �soul atoms.� These �soul atoms� are dispersed throughout the body and die when the body does. As Epicurus said, �death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.�
The philosophies of the Epicureanists are very similar to the Stoics but unlike the great Stoic leader Marcus Aurelis, Epicurus was not interesting in politics or statehood. Instead, Epicurus was interesting in working towards a happier and fuller life. In this search, Epicurus defined the cardinal virtues of Epicureanism. Although Stoicism and Epicureanism have many differences, a few of the cardinal virtues are comparable.
The cardinal virtues in the Epicurean system of ethics are justice, honesty, and pleasure equally yoked with pain. Most Epicureans are hedonists and seek friendship over love because love has the ability to tie someone down to one place. As taught by Epicurus, most Epicureanists believe that only through self-restraint, moderation, and detachment can one achieve true happiness.
The teachings of Epicurus were very popular in 300 BC when the philosophy was just getting off the ground but after some time, Epicureanism began to burn out. The cessation of Epicureanism was due in part to the fury of controversy surrounding the tenets of Epircueanism and those of the Cyrenaics. Notwithstanding, Epicureanism was in many ways revived by the Greek grammarian Apollondorus, the Roman poet Horace, statesman Pliny the Younger, and most strikingly the poet Lucretius. The poem De Rerum Natura was responsible for a large surge of Epicureanism interest until 4th century AD when Epicureanism again dropped out of sight. Epicureanism seemed to be gone for good until the 17th century when Pierre Gassendi helped to again raise interest. Since then, Epicureanism has been regarded as a prominent and influential philosophy. |
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