Epicureanism PDF

**EPICUREANISM** **EPICURUS** \- Epicurus, born around 342 BCE on the island of Samos, was greatly influenced by the works of Democritus during his teenage years. \- He established his own school in Athens in 306 BCE, where he formed a close-knit group of friends and developed a clear philosophic...

**EPICUREANISM** **EPICURUS** \- Epicurus, born around 342 BCE on the island of Samos, was greatly influenced by the works of Democritus during his teenage years. \- He established his own school in Athens in 306 BCE, where he formed a close-knit group of friends and developed a clear philosophical approach. \- Epicurus\'s influence persisted after his death in 270 BCE, spreading to Rome, where the poet Lucretius captured his main ideas in the famous poem, On the Nature of Things. \- Epicurus, a practical philosopher, believed that philosophy should have a significant impact on life, comparable to the effect of medicine on the body\'s health. \- Influenced by Democritus, he asserted that everything is made up of tiny particles called \"atoms\" in empty space. \- Epicurus emphasized that pleasure is the primary goal of human life, but he distinguished between different types of pleasures, considering their intensity, duration, and aftermath. **PHYSICS AND ETHICS** **-** Epicurus turned to the pleasure principle due to the physics inherited from Democritus, which eliminated the notion of God creating everything and human behavior being based on divine principles. \- Based on the \"atomic theory,\" Epicurus concluded that everything is made up of eternal atoms, and apart from these clusters of atoms, nothing else exists. \- This implies that if God exists, he must also be a material being and not the source or creator of anything, but the result of a purposeless and random event. \- Atoms have always existed in space, remaining the same distance apart from each other \- Epicurus proposed that a slight swerve in an atom\'s path led to collisions with other atoms, forming clusters like rocks, flowers, and animals \- This accidental collision of atoms resulted in the existence of human beings \- Human existence is not part of a purposeful order caused by God, but rather a product of the collision of atoms. **GOD AND DEATH** \- Epicurus believed he liberated people from the fear of God and death by explaining that God does not control nature or human destiny and that there is no sensation after death. \- According to Epicurus, only matter exists, and each individual\'s nature is explained by the composition of atoms, with no need for God or an afterlife. \- His moral philosophy focused on individual desires for bodily and mental pleasures rather than abstract principles of right conduct or God\'s commands. **THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE** \- Epicurus viewed the universe in a mechanical manner and saw humans as small mechanisms driven by the pursuit of pleasure. \- He believed that humans had the power and responsibility to control their desires, despite liberating them from fear of divine providence. \- Epicurus considered pleasure as the standard of goodness, but he distinguished between different types of pleasures. \- He argued that some desires, like those for food, were both natural and necessary, while others, like certain types of sexual pleasure, were natural but not necessary. Luxury and popularity were deemed neither natural nor necessary. **PLEASURE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE** **-** Epicurus emphasizes the importance of friendship for happiness, especially when friends are like-minded and intellectually stimulating. \- He believes that society should prevent individuals from causing harm to others, based on the notion of pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain. \- Epicurus argues that while absolute justice doesn\'t exist, societies will naturally adopt social agreements to prevent harm among people.