Epicurus on Simple Living and Parsimony - Essay Example

of the Philosophy of the Concerned 2 August Epicurus on Simple Living and Parsimony There is no denying the fact that when it comes to simple living and parsimony, Epicurus advices restrain and moderation. The injunctions of Epicurus regarding simple living and parsimony are as abhorring of going to extremes as blatantly indulging in extravagance and indulgence. In the Epicurean conceptualization of the Universe, there stands to be no eternals and absolutes. Epicurus totally shuns any divine providence or any eternal law affiliated to a divine sense of justice. Epicurus gives precedence to human consciousness, a rational approach towards life and the human capacity of taking decisions on the bases of free will. Thereby, as per Epicurus, every individual is free to lead the kind of life one wants to lead and to choose the values that one respects and considers sacrosanct and worthy. Hence, it is quiet not possible to understand the dogmas of Epicureanism, without paying heed to the importance that Epicurus endows on free will and the human capacity to engage in rational decision making. Consequently, the restraint suggested by Epicurus in the sphere of simple living and parsimony needs to be understood in the light of these innate human capacities. As per Epicurus there is a limit to simple living and any individual indulging in the extremes of simple living is as likely of being erroneous as the one who engages in prolific extravagance. As per Epicurus, every person tends to seek pleasure in life. To put it in simple words, each and every individual tends to aspire for a life that is endowed with a measure of gratification and happiness. The values like honesty, prudence and justice cease to hold a pragmatic and viable meaning in case an individual’s life is totally devoid of pleasure. Thereby, it would certainly not be faulty to conclude that as per Epicurus, extremes of simplicity amount to holding an ascetic bent towards life that is bound to dilute the content of pleasure in life. Such a scenario gives way to extreme situations, where the human spirit marred by penance and pain could lose the ability hold such values dear that endow life with honor and meaning. It would not be wrong to say that the Epicurean approach towards simplicity and leading a simple life tends to be somewhat utilitarian in its approach. Epicurus suggests that while opting for a viable choice in the matters or simplicity and for that matter any other value, one needs to ascertain the amount of pleasure and pain it would lead to and thereby should decide matters while weighing the one against the other. As per Epicurus, “Necessity is a bad thing, but there is no necessity to live with necessity (36).” Thereby, if one tends to translate the Epicurean philosophy in the matters of simple living, it amply gets clear that Epicurus vehemently stands against any such idea of simple living that not only augments the content of pain in life, but also deprives one of the minimal necessities required to lead a fruitful and happy life. Extremes of simple living expose life to a situation of dearth and necessity that eventually gives way to pain and hurt. Epicurus warns the human intellect against ascribing to this idea of leading a simple life that unnecessarily augments pain and necessity and consequently dilutes pleasure or happiness. As per Epicurus, “Life is ruined by delay and each and every one of us dies without enjoying leisure (36).” Thereby, it gets quiet evident that Epicurus is totally repugnant of the idea of adhering to extremes, whether it be living an extremely simple life that is ascetic in its approach and deprives the human experience of all pleasure, or adhering to a life of profligacy and extravagance, which force the human consciousness to make comprises in the quest for extreme pleasure, and thereby eventually getting mired in the bog of pain and dearth. Thereby, the Epicurean approach towards the matter of living a simple life is one of moderation and balance, which on the one side allows the human consciousness to engage in pleasures that at least brings in the minimal requisites of happiness and leisure, while on the other side abstains one from wallowing in pleasure to the extent that it gives way to decadence and pain. In the sphere of parsimony, the kind of self sufficiency that Epicurus extols is that of the heart and the mind and in no way favors a bent of mind that is stingy and man in its approach and ramifications. Therefore, Epicurus no way favors an idea of parsimony that is extreme in its scope and ushers in a sense of self sufficiency that is abjectly material and base in its scope and deprives the human consciousness of the most natural and explainable of pleasures. The self sufficiency that Epicurus favors is one that is of the mind and the heart and that has emotional and psychological attributes associated with it. Thereby, as it was the case with the idea of leading a simple life, in the matter of parsimony also Epicurus suggests balance and moderation. For extremes of parsimony is bound to push the human affairs to the limit where one may deprive oneself of the basic necessities of life that may scotch the human consciousness of the most natural and justifiable of pleasures and thereby create an aversion to the values that endow the life with a meaning. As per Epicurus, “It is impossible to live pleasantly without living prudently, honorably, and justly and impossible to live prudently, honorably and justly without living pleasantly (32).” In that sense it does need to be understood that Epicurus no way proposes an idea of life that is mired in extremes of pleasure, but, rather expostulates a vision of life that gets its share of the optimal pleasure necessary to maintain the human ability to engage in rational decision making, for deprivation and parsimony beyond a limit is bound to give way to extreme pain and thereby bound to interfere with the human ability to sustain proper poise and a rational bent of mind. In that context Epicurus places the value of pleasure parallel to the values like prudence, honor and justice and goes ahead to claim that it is simply not viable to sustain and wear these values if the human existence is deprived of all sorts of pleasure. Thereby any idea of parsimony that pushes the human intellect beyond the limit of being able to engage in rational decision making is poised to be unwholesome in its ramifications and as per Epicurus such an extent or measure of parsimony is almost as harmful as the extremes of indulgence and profligacy. Epicurus strongly warns his adherents of affiliating to such limits of parsimony and advices them to head to their mental balance and prudence while exercising parsimony so that their sense of economy does not expose them to a pain that is beyond nature’s limit and is poised to give way to suffering and a loss of the sense of values. For Epicurus, a prudent man seldom engages in the kind of simple living and parsimony that curtails the scope for reasonable pleasure. Hence, Epicurus warns the human intellect against a warped and mistaken view of simple living and parsimony and discernibly supports the limits of simple living and parsimony that are balanced and moderate in their scope and endow the human existence with the natural pleasure and happiness. Read More