Liberation from fear is possible through the cognition of reality

April 3, 2024 4:25 AM

"Epicurus, who taught philosophy in Athens in a large backyard garden purchased around 306 BC, like other philosophers at the end of the Classical era and the beginning of Hellenistic times, gave priority to ethical thought in his teaching, treating physics and logic as auxiliary disciplines to facilitate understanding of the human behaviour, attitudes and aspirations he postulated.According to him, the aim of all human actions was to strive for ataraxia (ἀταραξία), that is, a state of inner peace, indifferent to pain and suffering, and to strive for freedom from fear, especially the fear of death and wrath of the gods." Krystyna Bartol on Epicurus.

This post brought to you by a near-lifelong admiration for the Castor and Pollux of Classical philosophy, Epicureanism and Stoicism. You may not be able to step into the same river twice... but how do you feel about it?

posted by cupcakeninja (8 comments total)

from the article: “Death is nothing to us; for the body, when it has been resolved into its elements, has no feeling, and that which has no feeling is nothing to us."


...which leads to the Epicurean epitaph:

Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo (“I was not; I was; I am not; I do not care”).

This is inscribed on the gravestones of his followers and seen on many ancient gravestones of the Roman Empire. This quotation is often used today at humanist funerals.
posted by lalochezia at 5:01 AM on April 3, 2024 [7 favorites]

"By pleasure we mean the absence of pain in the body and the trouble in the soul. It is not an unbroken succession of drinking-bouts and of revelry, not sexual love, not the enjoyment of the fish and other delicacies of a luxurious table..."

Whatever, dude. My life is all about having sexual love and enjoyment of the fish.

Wait, I phrased that poorly.
posted by AlSweigart at 5:36 AM on April 3, 2024 [9 favorites]

As long as you enjoy moderately, you are probably OK.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:43 AM on April 3, 2024 [2 favorites]

Good article! But it doesn't seem to mention the Tetrapharmakos:

Don't fear god,
Don't worry about death;
What is good is easy to get,
What is terrible is easy to endure.

Another short article on the New Statesman: Why Epicureanism, not Stoicism, is the philosophy we need now.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 7:12 AM on April 3, 2024 [5 favorites]

As long as you enjoy moderately, you are probably OK.

if something looks, smells, tastes, and feels fishy, it's probably fishy
posted by elkevelvet at 11:05 AM on April 3, 2024 [2 favorites]

Everything in moderation, including moderation.
posted by deadwax at 11:59 PM on April 3, 2024 [4 favorites]

@deadwax, you beat me to it...
posted by aldus_manutius at 5:35 AM on April 4, 2024

especially moderation
posted by Reverend John at 8:13 AM on April 4, 2024