Epicurean Philosophy: Soul, Atoms and the Void

• Epicurus (341–270 B.C.E.) was an ancient Greek philosopher
• He founded the school of philosophy known as Epicureanism

Fundamentals of Epicurean Philosophy

• Epicureanism includes a theology where gods exist but don't concern themselves with human affairs
• It is an empiricist theory of knowledge where humans learn about the world through the five senses
• It includes an atomistic theory of basic reality
• Epicurus and followers thought reality comprised "atoms and void," with atoms as tiny, indivisible, material particles, and void as the space where no atoms exist

Epicurean Concept of the Soul

• Epicurus believed people have souls composed of material atoms
• Soul atoms are especially tiny and distributed throughout the body
• Upon death, soul atoms disperse, leaving only atoms composing the inert body
• Epicurus was a "materialist" who believed all things are composed of indivisible material atoms, even souls
• He posited that there is no immaterial soul or spirit

Epicureanism As An “Ethos"

• "Ethos" means "custom" or "character" in Greek
• Philosophers use the term to refer to values and practices embraced by a society or individual
• The word "ethics" originates from it
• Epicureanism advocates moral beliefs and lifestyles for a good life
• In Letter To Menoeceus, Epicurus writes about Epicureanism as an ethos in an epistolary style
• The letter advises a student, Menoeceus, on beliefs and actions for the best life
• As an ethos, Epicureanism aims to identify what to choose and avoid for a happy life
• For an Epicurean, the best life is a life of happiness

Happiness

• People disagree about its definition
• It is debated whether happiness is within one's control or determined by circumstances

Epicurean Conception of Happiness

• Epicurus was a "hedonist" who believed pleasure is morally good and pain morally evil
• He equated a happy life with a pleasant one

The Prudent Pursuit of Pleasure

• Epicureans aim to rationally distinguish which pleasures to pursue and to what extent, as well as which to avoid
• The person who does this well has the virtue of prudence
• “Moving pleasures” stimulate appetites but quickly produce pain when they are withdrawn, leading to longing
• Examples are eating and sex
• Epicurus cautioned against starvation or celibacy, and was especially dubious about the value of sex and marriage
• "Static pleasures” are enjoyable both in the pursuit and the getting
• Epicurus considered Platonic friendship the best example, along with study and learning that keenly engage interests
• Unlike moving pleasures, static pleasures aren't accompanied by pain

How To Live Happily

• Believe in God, but do not fear God
• Believe God is immortal and blessed and do not assign to God anything alien to God's immortality or ill-suited to God's blessedness; believe about God everything that can uphold God's blessedness and immortality
• Knowledge of the gods is by clear vision, but they are not as many believe
• Acknowledge mortality realistically, but do not fear death
• Death is nothing because all good and evil consists in sensation, but death is deprivation of sensation
• Understanding that death is nothing makes the mortality of life enjoyable, not because it adds time, but because it removes the craving for immortality
• There is nothing terrible in life for one who comprehends that there is nothing terrible in not living
• Epicurus advises not to fear death, echoing Socrates' view that death is either a state of nothingness or a migration of the soul
• A happy person is satisfied by simple pleasures that are easy to acquire and difficult to lose
• For Epicurus, these are friendship, community, study, and freedom from extreme poverty or want