Epicurus Philosophical Ideas - Essay Example

Epicurus philosophical ideas Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who had a number of philosophical thoughtsthat he taught at his school – School of Epicureanism. His thoughts were related to a number of factors such as: happiness; life; ethics; death; religion; science; peace; freedom from fear; pain; friends. Through all these factors, he developed philosophical theories that explained these aspects. As a result, below are the philosophical teachings and ideas that were put forward by Epicurus: Pleasure and pain - Pleasure and pain were referred to by Epicurus as characteristics of life; and life is made up of all that is good as well as all that is bad. As a result, these good and bad aspects in life are what contribute to pleasure and pain respectively. Epicurus went ahead to describe what exactly pain and please were in his understanding. He mentioned that a person may decide to choose between pain and pleasure. As a result, if an individual selects pleasure over pain in their lives, then they are prone to endure only the pleasurable things in life. Else, an individual will only endure all the bad and/ or sad events in their lives. It should be noted that Epicurus was advocating for pleasure in both dynamics- that is pleasure in the body as well as the mind together with satiety and freedom from fear of death (Epicurus 128-129). As cited from the Epicurus Reader, pleasure in happiness was all up to the individual. “Do you want to be happy? Of course you do! Then what’s standing in your way? Your happiness is entirely up to you. This has been revealed to us by a man of divine serenity and wisdom who spent his life among us, and showed us, by his personal example and by his teaching, the path to redemption from unhappiness” (Hutchinson, “Introduction to The Epicurus Reader”). Based on that, he added that the only aspect that could hinder our happiness was based on our feelings. For example, if an individual was extremely nervous or anxious, then their pleasure in happiness would be distorted. Another example that was projected by Epicurus was based on rich people and healthy people. That is, if a rich person gets extremely anxious to be richer, then that individual will lack happiness and pleasure in their life since their mind is optimally focussed on what is not readily available in their lives. In addition to that, if an individual would get anxious about their eating habits as well as their health, then they could as well get sick, all because of what their mind is focussed on. The best advice that Epicurus put forward was that people should enjoy what they currently have and be glad that they do have it. This is due to the fact that there are those who have nothing in their lives and they are extremely happy for whatever little it is that they have – “You can't be happy in this life if you're worried about the next life... But you can be happy if you believe in the four basic truths of Epicureanism: there are no divine beings which threaten us; there is no next life; what we actually need is easy to get; what makes us suffer is easy to put up with.” As a result, Epicurus terms this as the “Epicurean remedy” to all the problems that people face in their life (Hutchinson, “Introduction to The Epicurus Reader”). According to Yapijakis (2009), the same concept of pleasure and pain was also introduced into the field of medicine. This was done by Asclepiades of Bithynia who was an Epicurean doctor and Greek medicine practitioner. For example, for individuals who were insane, Asclepiades of Bithynia proposed that a natural cure to their illness would be to treat them in a human manner as compared to showing such people acts of suffering and pain by treating them badly. Through such humane acts, insane patients would have the feeling of pleasure and happiness. This methodology by Asclepiades of Bithynia turned out to be a success and a major solution to a number of illnesses, mental illnesses being one of them. As a result, he became one of the major pioneers of psychotherapy. When it comes to understanding pain, Epicurus mentioned that too much of something can lead to pain and suffering. For example, if an individual would focus too much on how to attain true love, in most of the instances, the individual would turn out to always fall for the wrong people and in turn these experiences would lead to pain and suffering – lack of happiness and pleasure. It is without doubt that this is a very true concept and real life experience where a lot of people who focus on attaining true love always end up in heartbreaks which equates to pain. A second example that can be related to this ideology is that of attaining wealth. A lot of individuals in this lifetime are obsessed in attaining a lot of wealth and power. This has gone to the extent that such individuals would look for all possible ways to channel in power and wealth to their side. In some instances, such individuals would do anything out of the ordinary to attain the kind of wealth that they want and in most instances; this does not turn out to be well and can lead to pain and suffering. Another example that was propagated based on the pain ideology was that of friendships. According to Epicurus, friendships are worthy in an individual’s life however, their worth is not integral. Epicurus and his philosophy on death – Pain in death is inseparable with regard to the teachings that were put forward by Epicurus. According to him, death was a matter that ought to be accepted with full might and an individual was not supposed to be afraid of death. A statement that was put forward by Epicurus was that "death is nothing to us”. An elaboration to this was that human life and death play an integral part in our lives. In addition to that, the two play an interexchange able role. That is, if we are alive, then death is not in existence but if death is in existence, then life has departed us. Based on this teaching, Epicurus vividly supported the fact that death has no feeling; it is a state of being void since if we cease to exist, we also lack feeling. Epicurus further explained that death was just the end of the existence of the body as well as the soul. In addition to that, he welcomed individuals to accept death without fear – “Don't worry about death. While you are alive, you don't have to deal with being dead, but when you are dead you don't have to deal with it either, because you aren't there to deal with it” (Hutchinson, “Introduction to The Epicurus Reader”). In addition to that, he explained that the state of being dead has no feeling; as a result individuals should not focus too much on their life after death. It should be noted that the philosophies that were put in place by Epicurus were closely related to one another. For the case of death, this philosophy was linked to that of pleasure and pain. That is, an individual should not focus on their future life, but they should be concerned about their present life. The future holds a lot of uncertainties that can lead to pain. To avoid such pain, the future life should be something that individuals should learn to not be anxious about. In real life, death is a matter that a lot of people fear. To others, this is an issue that causes then pain when they think about it. Based on the philosophical thoughts by Epicurus, to attain pleasure in life, individuals should not think about death as it is a futuristic event that must happen to each and every existing living creature. Epicurus on happiness – Freedom from pain causes optimal happiness (Epicurus 131). An individual in this state experiences “static pleasure” which cannot be measured. Based on the fact that Epicurus was an atomist, he believed that everything in the world is caused by the fact that atoms to exist. As a result, the state of being happy was caused by the atoms that make our souls. Due to the fact that the philosophies put forward by Epicurus were related. It should also be noted that the happiness belief and/ or ideology was related to pain and suffering. Apparently, if an individual was happy about the life or the environment that they were in, then they would achieve the state of happiness. Else, if an individual was sad about life and what they could not achieve, then they would succumb to a life full of suffering and pain. In his readings, Epicurus sought to explain and differentiate between what is necessary in our lives and what is not in a bid to attain happiness. Necessary desires are related to matters that lead to happiness while unnecessary desires are related to fear, lack of freedom, death, anxiety etc. One of his major statements with regard to happiness is that, “the end of all our actions is to be free from pain and fear, and once this is obtained the tempest of the soul is quelled” (Epicurus, “Pursuit of Happiness”). This can be literally translated to the fact that all humans have an internal desire to be happy and achieve peace in their hearts; that is to live in peace and harmony. With that, when we are in pain, our minds automatically search for meaningful options to go back to the state of being happy. Apparently, Epicurus puts forward that individuals should prevent themselves from undergoing pain and pleasure back and forth by stating that the mind can only be conquered by the mind. That means that, the mind is the cause and solution to pain. When put into real life, when an individual perceives themselves as being unworthy, it is without doubt that the individual will act as being unworthy (useless) and through such a mentality, other individuals in the person’s environment will definitely carry them just the way they carry themselves- an unworthy being. Another example is that of being in a sick state. The mind can be in a position to “make” somebody feel sick and in actual sense they are not sick. It is all about what Epicurus termed as “feelings and beliefs”. When an individual believes in something, it becomes a reality. Additionally, if an individual does not believe that they are sick, then they will not feel sick. As such, if an individual does not believe in something, then it will never become a reality to them. With that, happiness is a state of freedom from worry. Epicurus advices individuals that happiness is a factor that should be implemented in our daily life as it is not inborn but acquired through practice (Epicurus, 122). Epicurus and his philosophy on science - Epicurus was also a believer in science. In that bid, he did not believe that which he had not tested and/ or experimented on his own terms and retrieved the results. Based on that, his thinking was not the same as that of his fellow Greek thinkers. Other Greek thinkers based their philosophies on ideas that were not propagated by science. For the case of Epicurus science and the existence of feelings were the major themes in this thinking. One of the factors that he thought was the reason behind the existence of the universe and all living things under it were the existence of atoms (Epicurus 42-44). As such, atoms controlled everything that happened in life. Epicurus and his ideology on life - Life according to Epicurus was all about the universe that people live in. Additionally, the universe that humans live in was described by Epicurus as being infinite and/ or eternal. On the other hand, the universe has immortal beings describes as gods. According to Epicurus, gods exist due to the fact that we humans believe that they truly exist. If we humans did not believe that they exist, then it is without doubt that they would not exist in our lives. Based on this statement, it is without doubt that the theory that was propagated by Epicurus about feelings and the power of the mindset is truly realistic. In addition to that, Epicurus put forward that gods were friendly beings and individuals should not fear them as well as worry that they were constantly watching people in a bid to punish all those who engaged in wrongful doings. Epicurus tries to explain that humans should practice the state of ensuring happiness just in the manner that gods do. Apparently, the gods that we humans believe in are in a state of bliss and pure happiness (Epicurus 123). With the stated ideologies, it can be concluded that Epicurus propagated four important aspects in life. These include the fact that pain and happiness are all in the reach of an individual’s mindset. As a result, if an individual think of pain, then they will be in pain and if they think of happiness, then they will be in state of happiness and pleasure - bliss. The second aspect that was propagated for was that of freedom. According to Epicurus, humans were not to fear matters such as death and gods. This is because in death, there is no feeling and everybody must pass through this stage; with the gods, these are immortal beings that do not constantly watch over humans and their actions. As a result, people should not fear these two matters. Thirdly, according to Epicurus, everything that is good in our lives is easy to achieve since it all about the mindset that we have and believe in. In addition to that, pain and suffering are matters that can be easy to endure, again depending on the mindset that we human beings have. References Inwood, B., and Gerson, L. P. The Epicurus Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub Co., 1994. Print Epicurus. Pursuit of Happiness. 2013. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/epicurus/ Hutchinson, D.S. Introduction to The Epicurus Reader. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.epicurus.info/etexts/ier.html Yapijakis, C. Hippocrates of Kos, the father of clinical medicine, and Asclepiades of Bithynia, the father of molecular medicine. Review. Volume 23 (2) (2009): 507–514. Read More