The Philosophy Of Epicurus, Epictetus, And Aquinas

Epicureanism is a philosophy developed the teachings and ideals of a man named Epicurus. Epicureanism is defined by Epicurus as the pleasure for the end of all morality and that real pleasure is attained through a life of prudence, honor, and justice. Epicurus introduced this philosophy around 322 B.C, and two schools established in Athens. Epicurus taught the ethics of his philosophy in his school, that a person should live by "the art of making life happy", and that "prudence is the noblest part of philosophy"(newadvent.org). Epicurus ideals for life intrigued people and they began to think that perhaps the ethics of Epicureanism had some truth behind it; a person should live his/her life to the fullest in order to become happy. Epicurus

25. Epicurean teachings and politics were based on individual pleasure. The highest of all pleasures is the serenity of the soul, in complete absence of mental and physical pain. This can be achieved by eliminating fear.

The principal Doctrines, are written by Epicurus who lived from 341B.C. to 270 B.C. His theory is hedonism, which is rooted in pleasure. The book speaks of pain as being only temporary, and that it is only a pleasure over pain (V). This is a way of life to see the pleasures that life offers are what Epicurus is saying. And although, “no Pleasure is a bad thing in itself,” The results of obtaining the pleasure can bring greater displeasures (VIII). He is looking for the most pleasures one can get, and I suppose if he was not happy with his job, that he would quit. I can see Epicurus, avoiding a lot of things within his life because they would bring pain and frustration, like driving in rush hour. The idea sounds like he is living the simple life, or a hermit’s life.

‘Something rather than nothing refers to’ the cosmological argument for the existence of God claiming that all things in nature; ‘something’ are dependent on something else for their existence. As Lucretius puts it in his first book De Rerum Natura, “by observing nature and her laws…her first principle: that nothing’s brought forth by any supernatural power out of naught” hence we arrive at nihil fit ex nihilo ‘nothing comes from nothing’

Epicurus believed that the idea of pleasure was important but had to restrained. He contributed to modern hedonism. He created the garden a sort of ancient Utopia that he used as a base for his teachings and claimed that all were welcome but must reject their old lives and society. His guide to the good life included the use and creation of Tetrapharmakos, which had four points that people should live by to attain the good life. These included, God is nothing to fear, one if Epicurus’ biggest idea was in his riddle, if god is so powerful and willing to help others, then why does evil exist? And if is not so powerful and is not willing then why are they called gods and why are they worshipped? Death is nothing to worry about, there is not immoral

In the “Letter to to Menoeceus,” Epicurus explains his principle doctrines and prescripts on how one can live the best life possible. His letter argues two distinct beliefs to reconsider. The first argument suggests that we do not need to fear the gods as the fear of punishment from the gods will deteriorate one’s overall happiness. The second argument suggests that the fear of death is an irrational fear as one will no longer feel sensations after death. In this paper, I will defend these two arguments made by Epicurus and show that the removal of these beliefs will allow an individual to live a more fulfilling life with happiness and less fear and anxiety.

Epicurus believes that pleasure leads to a good life and describes the most pleasant sort of life as one that is moderate and not filled with excess. While Epicurus says that it is pleasure that dictates whether a person has a blessed life or not, to him, pleasure means to be lacking needs. Furthermore, he considers pleasure to being in a state free of pain and fear in both mind and body. One of the biggest things that Epicurus says to not fear is death. If a person does not fear death, then they will have a more joyful life. Furthermore, Epicurus does not mean that pleasure is anything we want, when we want. Epicurus makes the argument that if a person is constantly surrounded by luxury, then they are no happier than someone who has enough

Epicurus believes pleasure is the greatest good because it is the only way to completely fulfill ones life on this earth. Epicurus is inclined to philosophize in this way as he believed that there was no after life or immortal soul, leading pleasure full self-fulfillment to be the only rational conclusion for the greatest good on earth. To comprehend Epicurus’ pursuit of pleasure one needs to understand that his version of hedonism is not full of lavish indulgences that have

Epicurus’ views are the views of a hedonist; the only thing that is intrinsically good is pleasure. By pleasure, Epicurus does not mean a sexual pleasure, but the “absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul” (Epicurus, n.d., p. 3), which means that pleasure is the absence of pain, so removal of pain equals pleasure. Epicurus believes that living a calm life is better than living a thrilling life. However, a calm life would be boring and without purpose compared to a thrilling life. A thrilling life does not necessarily mean creating excitement in everything you do, but living a meaningful life without being too precarious to avoid pain. Epicurus believes that we should live a calm life to avoid pain and therefore

Epicurus, held the belief that there was nothing more than the physical world. He believed that the entire world was comprised of microscopic bits of matter moving through the void. Epicurus taught that ordinary objects that we can see feel in touch are nothing more than conglomerates of these bits of matter that become entangled as they move through the void. Holding to the Greek believe that nothing in existence can come from nothing, Epicurus believe that the universe had no beginning, he believed the universe had always existed and that it would always continue to exist. But he also believed that anything that was in existence now was only a temporary binding of atoms and that someday they will become untangled and therefore things made

Epicurus believed that the individuals must be tranquil and prepared for the afterlife living a good life. The good life is composed of

In Letter to Menoecceous, Epicurus’ outlines the view that life should be and is about maximizing ones own pleasure. Epicurus importantly notes that pleasure is not necessarily one of a lavish lifestyle, but where pain is absent in body and soul (Epicurus (1), p. 32). This overarching notion filters into his ethical philosophies; in the way that one is and should be just while maintaining the aim of maximizing pleasure. This essay aims to explain the reasons behind Epicurus view that one’s life can maintain justice while focusing on pleasure.

Epicurus was one of the major philosophers of the Hellenistic time period. He helped to start the foundation for modern science and also human psychology. His main focus was that one should have happiness and can achieve this by not fearing death or even the gods. Epicurus made many different claims of ideas that were followed by many. His followers were known as Epicureans. They believed that there were three things that motivated people to be unhappy. These three things were hatred, envy, and contempt. Epicurus advice was to avoid these feelings as much as possible, but also knowing that this wasn’t always ideal.

Epicurus believed that in order to live a good life, humans should make life choices that fit their own desired nature. Like every other animal on earth, humans naturally seek pleasure and try to avoid pain. Epicurus suggests that we should try to pursue pleasure as rationally and intelligently as possible. To pursue pleasure rationally, Epicurus said before going forth with an action, we should first consider what pleasures this action or event might lead to. Ask yourself; is this going to cause me pain? If so, how much pain will this cause me? “If you do not, on every occasion, refer each of your actions to the goal of nature, but instead turn prematurely to some other [criterion] in avoiding or pursuing [things], your actions will not be

To Epicurus happiness was the same as pleasure. And pleasure was freedom from bodily pain and mental anguish. He lived a simple life, owning only two cloaks and only eating bread and olives. With the occasional slice of cheese for a treat. He believed desire was a form of pain and therefore should be eliminated, and thus one should be satisfied with the bare minimum of what is needed to be happy. Therefore, while it was not a life of many desires, it was filled with the only pleasures you would need to be happy. There was a certain joy he found, in pure existence. Today’s society could learn a thing or two from this philosophy, most of which being living simply. It was better to take pleasure in simple things, rather than to chase pleasure.