Welcome¶
Welcome to The EpicureanFriends Handbook, a guide to the philosophy of Epicurus.
Consider how numerous are the fantasies which the priests and poets invent to confound your calculated plans for life and cloud your fortunes with fear. They concoct those lies for a reason: for if people realized that there was a limit set to their tribulations, people would find the strength to defy them and their irrational beliefs and threats. - Lucretius 1:105
Almost everyone knows that Epicurus taught that the goal of life is "pleasure," but Epicurean philosophy is much more sweeping in its worldview than that, and even "pleasure" entails much more than meets the eye at first." It is the purpose of this guide to jump-start your understanding of Epicurus so you can decide for yourself whether the wisdom of Epicurus is for you. If you decide that it is, we can point you to many additional resources to assist you in meeting other Epicureans and learning how to apply the philosophy to your own life.
Why Study Epicurus?¶
Why study a philosopher who lived more than two centuries ago? Because Epicurus provided life-altering answers to the same questions that concern us today. For example:
- From where did the universe come? Was it created by a god? Does everything happen randomly, or mechanically?
- What happens to us when we die? Do we have souls that survive after death to be rewarded or punishment for our choices in life?
- How do we know how to live? Is there a difference between "right" living and "wrong" living? Does a god tell us? Does reason or logic tell us?
- Is the goal of life to be a "good person," or to be "virtuous," or to be "happy?" What does "happiness" really mean?
- Is there really any way to answer these questions, or to be confident about anything?
How Can The EpicureanFriends Handbook Help?¶
At the EpicureanFriends forum, we have identified many frequently-asked questions Epicurus and their best-documented answers. Here at EpicurusToday.com, we present those answers to you in distilled form.
But Be Careful...
Those who come to Epicurus seeking the equivalent of a tranquilizer pill will be disappointed. The Epicurean worldview rejects many "comfortable" modern beliefs, such as the existence of supernatural gods, life after death, determinism, and skepticism. Therefore we will do our best not to waste your time. Right from the beginning we will explain the fundamentals of Epicurus in stark terms. Many will not agree with what they read, and they will move on, but here you can quickly find out if you agree or disagree with what Epicurus really taught.
Where Do I Start?¶
Epiurean philosophy is not difficult, but truly understanding it requires that you free yourself from orthodoxies and reliance on authorities and commentators. Ultimately there is no substitute for reading the surviving texts yourself,but before you tackle any of the ancient texts we can tell you what to expect to find.
The ancient Epicureans divided their philosophy into "Physics," "Canonics," and "Ethics." "Physics" refers to "The Nature of Things," or The Way Things Are. "Canonics involves "The Nature of Knowledge," or The Way We Know. "Ethics," tells us "The Nature of Human Life," or The Way To Live. For much more detail, open up The Epicurean Way menu (to the left) and get more detail about each section: "The Way Things Are," "The Way We Know," and "The Way We Live."
Here's what you really came here to read and need to know: the basic "take-home" principles of Epicurus that apply today just as they did 2300 years ago:
Key Principles of Epicurean Philosophy
The issues in this list are by no means the only issues Epicurus' discusses, but they are among the most important to begin to get oriented for understanding the rest.
- Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing.
- There Are No Gods Over Nature.
- Death Is Nothing To Us.
- It is Important To Have A Proper Understanding Of "Divinity."
- There Is No Necessity To Live Under The Control Of Necessity.
- He Who Says "Nothing Can Be Known" Knows Nothing.
- Virtue Is Not An End In Itself - All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation.
- By The Term "Pleasure" We Mean All Experience That Is Not Painful.
- Pleasure is the Natural Goal and Guide of Life.
- Life Which Affords The Opportunity For Pleasure Is Desirable, But An Unlimited Life Contains No Greater Pleasure Than A Limited Life.
Of course each of these principles needs further explanation, which we can address in greater and greater levels of detail. First, although there is much crossover in application let's divide these up roughly between Canonics, Physics, and Ethics:
The Way We Know¶
Canonics - Principles of Knowledge
"Canonics" is what the Epicureans called the science of the nature of knowledge and how to obtain it.
- He Who Says "Nothing Can Be Known" Knows Nothing.
- There Is No Necessity To Live Under The Control Of Necessity.
Key Takeaways:¶
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About many important things knowledge is possible. It is absurd for radical skeptics to argue that nothing at all can be known, because he who argues that nothing can be known is making an argument that is self-contradictory.
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The conclusions about which we are confident are those which are validated by evidence obtained through the primary faculties given us by Nature, which are (1) the five senses, (2) the feelings of pleasure and pain, and (3) the pattern-recognizing faculty called "anticipations" (from the Latin) or "prolepsis" (from the Greek).
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These natural faculties are reliable sources of knowledge because they report to us honestly without adding any opinions of their own.
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The phrase "All sensations are true" is correct from the perspective that the senses report "truly," in the sense of "honestly" without bias or prejudice.
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If we lose the courage to trust our senses as the basis of our knowledge, we lose our grasp not only on proper reasoning, but also our grasp on life itself.
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Where the evidence provided by the senses, feelings, and anticipations is conflicting or insufficient to arrive at a single conclusion, it is appropriate to "wait" before accepting any conclusion as true, and where multiple conclusions are consistent with the evidence, it is appropriate to hold all of them as possibly true until evidence becomes available by which only one can be selected as true.
The Way Things Are¶
Physics - Principles of Nature
"Physics" is how the Epicureans referred to their positions on the nature of the universe. This involves much more than simple discussion of atoms and void, but also includes the Epicurean position on the nature of the gods and the infinite size and eternal age of the universe as a whole.
- No Thing Can Be Created From Nothing.
- Nature Has No Gods Over Her.
- A Proper Understanding Of The True Nature Of Divinity Is Necessary For A Happy Life.
- Death Is Nothing To Us. :::
Key Takeaways:¶
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The starting point of all reasoning about the universe, which we gather through observation, is that nothing is ever created from that which does not exist, nor is anything ever destroyed to nothing, either at the command of gods of through any other cause.
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Based on our observation that nothing comes to or goes to nothing, we conclude that the universe operates totally on natural processes which involve the movement of unchanging elemental particles (known to Epicurus as "atoms") through the void, and that everything - including all life itself - arises naturally.
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We deduce from the patterns of evidence that we observe, evaluated reasonably, that truly perfect beings would be self-sufficient in all things, and that such beings would have no need to interfere in the affairs of mortals.
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Although our world is constantly changing, the universe as a whole has existed eternally and will exist eternally.
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The atoms are always in motion and have the ability to swerve at no fixed time and no fixed place, and from this arises the ability of intelligent beings to be free from absolutely deterministic Fate.
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The universe as a whole is without boundaries, and thus there are no "gods" or anything else outside or above the universe or in any sort of non-natural other-worldliness.
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Nature never creates only a single thing of a kind, and from the existence of life on Earth we deduce that there are other worlds throughout the universe where life exists.
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All things which come together by the motion of atoms through void also eventually separate, which means that our souls are born with our bodies and cannot survive without it.
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Death is the end of all sensation, and there is no experience of pain or pleasure or anything else after death, when sensation no longer exists.
The Way We Live¶
Ethics - Principles of How To Life
"Ethics" is the application of Epicurean Canonics and Physics to determine the best way to live.
- Anyone Who Is Conscious Of His Own Condition Is Conscious Of Either Pleasure Or Pain.
- Whatsoever Is Free From Pain Is In Pleasure - "Freedom From Pain" Means The Same Thing As "Pleasure."
- Pleasure (Correctly Understood) is the Guide and Goal of Life.
- All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation.
- Life is Desirable Because It Offers The Opportunity For Pleasure.
- There Is No Such Thing As Absolute Justice Or Any Other Type of Virtue.
Key Takeaways:¶
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Nature gives us nothing other than pleasure and pain as guides to determine what to choose and avoid, and so we conclude that all "good" and "evil" comes to us through sensation.
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If we are alive and experience anything at all, that experience can be considered to be either pleasure or pain. There is no neutral or in-between feeling, because the experience of living without pain is pleasurable. While we can feel both pleasure and pain at the same time in different aspects of our experience, when we feel pleasure in that aspect of experience, we feel no pain in that aspect, and the reverse is true also. This means that the normal experiences of life where pain is not present are pleasurable, and thus that pleasure is the normal state of life and in most cases easy to obtain.
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The most desirable life is that in which we are experiencing only pleasures without any accompaniment of pains. While pain is difficult to avoid, and must sometimes be chosen, pain is by nature generally either manageable, if of long duration, or brief, if of high intensity, and thus unmanageable and intense pain is not to be feared.
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In a general sense we use the word "Pleasure" to describe what nature tells us to pursue and "Pain" to describe what nature tells us to avoid, but in the service of Pleasure we sometimes choose an immediate pain and avoid an immediate pleasure when the outcome of our choice will lead to greater pleasure as a result.
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In the selection of pleasures we also do not necessarily select those which are longest lasting, but instead we select those that are the most pleasant.
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No pleasure is intrinsically "bad" or "evil," but the desire for some pleasures produces more pain than pleasure, and such desires should be avoided.
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While all pleasure is desirable and all pain is undesirable prudence in choosing and avoiding involves primarily asking the question: "What will happen to me if I pursue this course of action?"
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It is also useful to ask whether the desire involves matters which are natural or necessary, with the principle of the distinction being that those things that are necessary are satisfied without much trouble or effort, since nature herself makes such wealth as will satisfy her both easy of access and moderate in amount, but as to those things that are neither necessary nor natural it is not possible to discover any boundary or limit.
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In human life, pain is generally either manageable, if of long duration, or brief, if of high intensity, and thus unmanageable and intense pain is not to be feared.
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Virtue is not an end in itself. Nature provides pleasure and pain as guides for choice and avoidance, but Nature does not provide absolute standards of goodness, virtue, piety, reason, or justice that apply to all people at all times and all places. Those things we think of as virtuous are good are choiceworthy only insofar as they contribute to bringing pleasure or avoiding pain.
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There is no heaven or hell after death in which to experience reward or punishment. Life is short, and we should not put postpone pursuing pleasure while we can.
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Because atoms can swerve, humans and other intelligent beings are not subject to complete determinism, and their lives are affected by their choices and avoidances. It would be better to commit the error of believing in a false religion than to commit the error of considering oneself to be a slave to hard determinism.
Do You Want To Know More?¶
To find out more about each topic, including cites to the ancient texts that support each of these statements, open up The Epicurean Way menu (to the left of this page) or go directly to the following sections:
Implementation¶
The Next Step Is Up To You!
The Next Step Is Up To You!
Epicurean philosophy does not change your life until you begin to implement it. Look for Epicurean friends at places like EpicureanFriends.com, and work together with them to live the best life possible for you.
As mountain-ranging hounds smell out a lair, and animals covert, hidden under brush, once they are certain of its track, so you, all by yourself, in matters such as these, can see one thing from another, find your way to the dark burrows and bring truth to light. - from Lucretius, On The Nature of Things, Book One (Humphries)
Try Our Navigation Map And Join Us For Discussion At EpicureanFriends.com¶
- Learn about the philosophy by discussing it with friends of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com. Set up a free account, and start reading in any of the following major topics, or just as questions!
Click HERE for a version of the map below which will take you to the discussion forum for each topic at EpicureanFriends.com!
Epicurean Philosophy Navigation Outline¶
The Epicurean Philosophy Navigation Outline is a resource designed to make it quick and easy to jump between higher and lower levels of key aspects of Epicurean philosophy. The bulleted view is available here and an expanded page view is available here:
Here's a test link [[Ref-PrincipleDoctrines#^ce705a]]
Foundations of Epicurean Philosophy¶
This slide presentation summarizes major aspects of Epicurean philosophy through excerpts from the ancient texts. The text portion is here: Foundations-2024. The main page for discussion of this at EpicureanFriends.com is here. You can view the presentation as an interactive slideshow here.
Navigation Map¶
The EpicureanFriends clickable Navigation-Map is here.
Navigation Links to Texts¶
The texts in the "Primary" section are annotated versions prepared from an original source (generally that of Cyril Bailey) with annotations.
The texts in the "Supplemental" section are copies of other translations and materials which are also of great value in the study of Epicurus.
| Primary Texts | Secondary Texts | Supplemental Material |
|---|---|---|
| Letter To Herodorus | Vatican List of Sayings And Other Surviving Fragments | Lucretius Finding Aid |
| Letter To Pythocles | Diogenes Laertius - Life Of Epicurus | Epicurus - The Extant Remains - Cyril Bailey |
| Letter To Meneoceus | [[Text-Cicero-OnEnds]] | Usener's Epicurea |
| Letter To Idomeneus | [[Text-Cicero-OnTheNatureOfTheGods]] | |
| The Will of Epicurus | Lucian of Samosata: Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4 | Perseus - Diogenes Laetius - Hicks) |
| Principle Doctrines | Perseus - Lucretius - Latin | |
| Lucretius - On the Nature of Things | Perseus - Lucretius - Emery | |
| Diogenes of Oinoanda |
[[Lucian-Volume-4#DIALOGUES OF THE HETAERAE|Dialogues of the Heterare]]
[[Ref-PrincipleDoctrines#^78a07d|PD10]]