Epicurus's Beliefs

The first four Principal Doctrines, deal with anxiety in people’s lives, and how they should think. Epicurus, is telling people not to fear death, God, nor pains in one’s life because they do not last long and they are for the week. The problem with this way of thinking, is that it removes the true God from the person’s life. But, that is not what he is saying. He, “believed that the true life of pleasure consisted in an attitude of imperturbable emotional calm which needed only simple pleasures, a healthy diet, a prudent moral life, and good friends” (pg. 342). This is quit opposite of what people say of Epicureanism in today’s time.

In David Suits' article, An Epicurean Idea Suits addresses in detail the theory of Epicureanism. Suit begins by introducing the major fear humanity faces and explains to us how Epicurus would refute each fear. Suit then goes one step further to explain the different aspects of life that allow humans to achieve the ultimate goal in Epicurus’s mind ataraxia, which is peace of mind.

Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher who was credited with writing the famous quote “No great thing is created suddenly.” Stoicism is a form of ancient Greek philosophy that teaches self-control in order to overcome otherwise destructive moments. In 50 CE, Epictetus was born as a slave in Hierapolis, but in 130 CE, he passed away as one of the best-known philosophers. After being liberated from slavery in 68 CE, Epictetus began teaching Stoicism in Rome. Comparable to the “great thing” that was not created suddenly in Epictetus’ quote, Epictetus’ freedom from slavery was also not granted to him suddenly. Since Epictetus was a slave for eighteen years, he knew that it takes time for great things to happen.

He recommends that we should rid this irrational fear in order to maximize our pleasure and minimize our pain. In his letter, he writes “all things good and bad are experienced through sensation, but sensation ceases at death.” (Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus,1) What Epicurus means is that these sensations are only experienced by those that are alive and will cease once our bodies are dispersed back into tiny particles of atoms. What solidifies this argument is Epicurus’s belief of how we experience the sensory world. Epicurus believes that the soul is our bodies access to sense perceptions and experiences.

     Epictetus represents a myriad of concepts. One concept of which being that one should live with the awareness of human imperfection and finitude. He expresses the sentiment that one is able to relinquish the

The Journey to the West is a very well-known Chinese novel to people outside of the Confucian culture – it has an immediate appeal that transcends cultural differences. The Confucian principles, jen and li, are found within the interactions with the villagers, the woodcutter, and Patriarch Subodhi.

Epicurus was born on (341-271 B.C.) on the island of Samos, his parents were Athenians. So he had an Athenian citizenship, he joined the military as an obligation of the city. After the death of Alexander The Great, Athens was really in a political turmoil of who was going to replace him. Epicurus parents were evicted from Samos by the Macedonians, who had taken over the area, he and his family moved to Colophon in Asia minor and lived there for ten years. It was in Colophon under the tutelage of Nausiphanes, a philosophy that he learned a version of atomism. His version was quite different from his predecessors.

Born of different backgrounds, upbringings, and experiences, Epictetus and Seneca are Roman philosophers who outwardly appear very different. Epictetus spent most of his youth as a slave while Seneca was born into money and became a tutor of Nero. Although these two men seem to be very dissimilar, they each shared a common purpose in studying philosophy and teaching people on how to live well. Each suggested different paths for how to do so. Epictetus suggests in his book, The Discourses and The Enchiridion, that living a life in accordance with nature could be achieved by living moderately. Seneca suggests in his work, Letters from a Stoic, that a happy man is self-sufficient and realizes that happiness depends only on interior perfection. Despite the differences, both Epictetus and Seneca are considered Stoics because of their shared belief in the idea that character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness. The world outside ourselves will never give us happiness, nor will it be responsible for our unhappiness. It doesn’t matter what’s happening outside ourselves, Epictetus and Seneca claim that the only thing that matters is how we interpret those events. Further evaluating Seneca’s, Letters from a Stoic and Epictetus’s, The Discourses and The Enchiridion, we will clearly be able to differentiate the two in their ideas and opinions regarding stoicism and the keys to living a well, happy life.

Epicureanism is a religion that was formed in Ancient Athens from 307BC that followed the teachings of Epicurus, an Ancient Greek philosopher born in 341BC. His teachings focused the pursuit of true happiness and a content life. Epicurus rejected fear of the gods and any belief of the after world. Epicurus’ Philosophy’s taught that all matter is made up of atoms, they can’t be seen or felt but they do however have a shape size and weight. He believed and taught that there is no purpose in nature and that the soul was also made up of atoms, but of a different kind to the atoms that make up the body. According to Epicurus’ theory because the soul is made up of atoms so it decomposes with the body

Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher who wrote, The Enchiridion, a manual which instructed people on how to live their life ethically and honorably on a social level. His belief was that regardless of personal conditions, people could live with pride and discipline. Epictetus tells us differentiating between what is in our own power to control and what is not is the key to a noble life (281).

There is no pain, or frustration that an individual suffers from. Epicurus further denotes that in order to identify the differences between good and evil, it is important to look if pain and pleasure exists. Pain exists if there is fear of uncertainty, or retribution from spiritual beings and people. Death is uncertain to many people. On this note, Epicurus teaches that pleasure comes as a result of freedom from the fear of death.

Macbeth the play wrote by William Shakespeare is a tragedy from the Elizabethan era which is set in Medieval Scotland. The antagonist has inner battles between right and wrong when he is tempted with the idea of being King, Which is implanted in his brain when the Three Weird Sisters tell him his future. When Macbeth transitions in to a tyrant he loses most of his noble qualities; the only two qualities of determination and courage stay with him, but they are for selfish reasons. Contradicting the whole idea of being noble. He stays determined but to keep himself alive, he doesn’t lose his courage but his courage is to murder someone for his own benefits, and he loses his noble title through his actions as the play progresses.

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

Mona Lisa is wearing plain clothing which is particularly not quite the same as different ensembles painted at the time. She wears an abnormally dark, basic dress with a creased bodice, with gold weaving. The dress has a low-neck area that uncovered her chest. She is not wearing any adornments and a scarf dangles from her left shoulder. There is a cover hanging over her marginally muddled hair, accepted to be a grieving shroud.

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.