The Epicureans

The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell

Chapter XXVII - The Epicureans

Zeno, founder of Stoicism and Epicurus, the founder of the Epicureans were contemporaries of each other in Athens.

Epicurus was born circa 342-1 B.C. to a poor colonist in Samos. Epicurus traveled to Athens at age 18 and then lived as a refugee in Asia Minor. In 311 he began teaching and moved his school to Athens in 307 where he taught until he died in 271-70 BC.

Epicurus lived a poor life, partly on principle, partly on a lack of resources. While he was friendly and cheerful with people in his community, he was extremely harsh against other philosophers.

"The philosophy of Epicurus, like all those of his age (with the partial exception of Scepticism),
was primarily designed to secure tranquility" (Russell, 243).

Epicurus considered pleasure to be the good, noting, "the beginning and the root of all good is the pleasure of the stomach; even wisdom and culture must be referred to this".

The pleasure of the mind is the contemplation of pleasures of the body.

He considered virtue to be an empty name unless it was prudence in the pursuit of pleasure.

Epicurus distanced himself from some of the earlier hedonists by pursuing a static pleasure, an equilibrium that was free from pain. This he preferred to dynamic pleasures which always involve an element of pain.

The wise man's goal is absence of pain, not the presence of pleasure.

Epicurus considered prudence to be the most precious gift.

Philosophy was a practical system aimed at securing a happy life.

"The safest of social pleasures, in the opinion of Epicurus, is friendship. Epicurus, like Bentham,
is a man who considers that all men, at all times, pursue only their own pleasure, sometimes
wisely, sometimes unwisely; but, again like Bentham, he is constantly seduced by his own
kindly and affectionate nature into admirable behaviour from which, on his own theories, he
ought to have refrained." (Russell, 245).

Epicurus' teachings sought to live in such a way as to avoid fear.

Two great fears were religion and the dread of death. He taught that the gods did not interfere in human life so that religion was unnecessary and that the soul died with the body so there was nothing to fear in the afterlife.

Epicurus had no real need for science. He didn't care what was used to explain natural phenomena as long as it didn't refer to the gods. Figuring out which explanation was best was just idle curiosity and did nothing to promote the happiness of man so Epicurus thought it unimportant.

The only major disciple of Epicurus was Lucretius, a contemporary of Julius Caesar (99 - 55 BC). Towards the end of the Roman Republic free thinking was fashionable. When Augustus reinvigorated ancient religion and virtue Lucretius' work, On the Nature of Things became unpopular until the Renaissance.

Unlike Epicurus who was prudent by nature, Lucretius looked to the philosophy of Epicurus as salvation from his passions. Unfortunately, it didn't work and he committed suicide.

Lucretius put the philosophy of Epicurus into poetic form. This poem is what has opened Epicurus to most readers since the Renaissance. "What has most impressed them, when they were not
professional philosophers, is the contrast with Christian belief in such matters as materialism,
denial of Providence, and rejection of immortality. What is especially striking to a modern
reader is to have these views--which, now-a-days, are generally regarded as gloomy and
depressing-presented as a gospel of liberation from the burden of fear" (Russell, 250).

The philosophy of Epicurus was too gloomy to garner widespread appeal. As the world became more oppressive seekers of consolation through philosophy and religion demanded a stronger medicine that what Epicurus had to offer. "The philosophers took refuge, with few exceptions, in Neoplatonism; the uneducated turned to various Eastern superstitions, and then, in continually increasing numbers, to Christianity, which, in its early form, placed all good in the life beyond the grave, thus offering men a gospel which was the exact opposite of that of Epicurus. Doctrines very similar to his, however, were revived by the French philosophers at the end of the eighteenth century, and brought to England by Bentham and his followers; this was done in conscious opposition to Christianity, which these men regarded as hostilely as Epicurus regarded the religions of his day" (Russell, 251).