Epicureanism and Stoicism

A detailed Summary of Epicureanism and Stoicism

Epicureanism is a school of ethical philosophy established by Epicurus (340-271 B.C.) and based largely on his teachings. Epicureanism was derived from the Cyrenaics who were very self-indulgent and hedonistic, living in large amounts sensual excess. Epicureanism, however, teaches to avoid excess in pursuit of living the good life, while still appreciating the pleasures of life in plentiful amounts. Epicurus founded a school called "The Garden," in which he lectured to his students and gained a steady following including the poets Horace and Lucretius. Epicurean existence is constantly aimed towards happiness and away from fear and pain. Epicureanism teaches that happiness is a result of pleasure, which is the supreme good and main goal of life, however Epicurus taught that excess of pleasure brings about pain and should be avoided, but rather a balance of pleasure and pain through a code of conduct. Epicureanism says that simple pleasures are the best and emphasizes that intellectual pleasures are favored to sensual pleasures because intellectual pleasures establish peace of mind. In the Epicurean system of philosophy, the most important virtues that a person should have are justice, hones

ty, and prudence. Epicurus' beliefs were largely grounded in scientific reason, being that he had a natural science background and was a believer in atomism. He held that through our sense perceptions we get images, from which arise concepts, which form our feelings. From feelings come two sensations: pleasure and pain. Pleasure is good and therefore an indication of what to choose, whereas pain is an indication of what to avoid. He taught to judge matters on whether they led to greater pain or greater pleasure, thereby holding feelings as the criteria for decision-making. Essentially, pleasure is freedom from pain, and through his teachings, Epicurus sought to free people from pain by removing fear of two things. He taught that true happiness is a result of the removal of the fear of death and the fear of gods, specifically divine retribution. Epicurus removed the fear of death by saying that "When we are, death is not; when death is, we are not." By this, he meant that death has no meaning to the living or to the dead because we never actually co-exist with death; even when we are dead: death exists separately from us. He believed that when the body dies, the soul dies with it, for it cannot exist apart from the body, thus resulting in no possibility of an afterlife, thereby eliminating the fear of death. Epicurus did believe in the gods, however he did not believe that they were at all interested in the doings of man, for the gods are so superior to men that it did not logically follow that the would give any attention to us, so there was no need to fear getting struck down by lightning by an perturbed god.

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Approximate Word count = 1101
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Religion