Epicurus: having enough, friendship and fear of death

Philosophy as occupation for every age

The Epistle to Menoikeus opens with the thought that no one is too young or too old to engage in philosophy. The questions of happiness and fear are not banished to a specialist corner. They're part of life itself. The practical approach makes the text accessible, but does not mean that every position is presented without any argument.

Epicurus connects his ethics with views about nature, gods and mortality. The idea that reality is made up of atoms and empty space plays a role in its broader philosophy in combating fear. So it's not about a collection of loose relaxation tips. A way of life here rests on a certain image of the world and of what a human being is in it.

Learn to distinguish desires

Epicurus distinguishes between natural and necessary desires, natural but not necessary desires and desires based on unfounded ideas. Thirst lessons, for example, require a different requirement than can only be satisfied with the rarest drink. The first need has a recognizable boundary; the second can evoke a new comparison.

That distinction is not a ban on every pleasure. It helps to investigate the dependence of a desire. What happens when the object is missing? Is a real deficit being resolved, or is the need for confirmation increasing? A modest meal can therefore offer more freedom than a luxurious meal that you have come to consider indispensable.

Fun is also the absence of disruption

Epicurus not only uses pleasure for an intensely pleasant stimulus. Being free from physical pain and mental unrest gets a central place. Not every pleasure should be chosen: an immediate pleasure can bring greater burden. Conversely, an effort can be sensible when it makes a better situation possible. The practical assessment is therefore more important than simply adding up pleasing moments.

A personal example is a party where you want to be present because you love people. The value of the evening does not need to increase when each new course is more expensive. The philosophical question is what needs are met: connectedness, taste, status or fear to fall outside the group. These needs can be mixed up in the same event.

Why Epicurus says death isn't our experience

The famous argument is basically that good and bad for us are connected with experience, while death is the end of experience. As long as we are there, our death is not there; when death is there, we no longer experience. Thus Epicurus tries to break through the image of an eternal death terror.

One objection is that a loss can appear to be a loss even without later pain, because someone may miss out on future good experiences. That is not the end of the discussion. It does help to separate the different fears: fear of dying, sorrow over a finite life and the thought that one will suffer after death are not exactly the same problem.

Friends and just agreements

In the Main Pronunciations friendship and mutual security are given a lot of weight. Justice is linked to agreements that prevent harm to one another. This makes it clear that peace of mind is not a completely isolated inner world. Those who constantly threaten others or fear retaliation do not simply live free of unrest.

The knowledge universe connects Epicurus with Diogenes, the supply closet and a Greek meal. Those are thematic comparisons around enough, care and togetherness. The line to Democritus is another kind of connection: it invites from nature's philosophy of kinship and the important differences to read.

Think on for yourself

Choose one desire that keeps coming back. First, describe what concrete lack will resolve it. Which version of it is easy to fulfill, and which has virtually no end point? Then think about how the need changes when you discuss her with a friend instead of a social comparison.