Epicurus (341-271

BCE)PHIL 102, UBC

Christina Hendricks Summer 2015

Bust of Epicurus from the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Captmondo, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0

Except images licensed otherwise, this presentation is licensed CC BY 4.0

Epicurus: epistemology

Epicurus is an empiricist

• the ultimate source information for knowledge comes from experience

o Either from sensation of things outside of us or experience of our own thoughts and feelings

Epicurus: physics• Reality is made up only of material bodies and

voido sense data shows us material bodies, and

void must exist for bodies to move or to be cut

o senses indicate nothing else

• Universe is eternal—you can’t get something emerging from nothing

• So some material must be eternal, but large bodies are not

• There must be smallest parts of matter (called “atoms”) that are not further indivisible (or else could dissolve into nothing), & they exist eternally

Epicurus on the gods & the soul

• The gods do not control the universe; it works on its own through principles of physics

•There is no such thing as an immaterial, immortal soul

o The soul does exist, but it’s made of atoms

Hermes, Dionysos, Ariadne & Poseidon, in the Louvre, from Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Epicurus on deathGroups: on this document http://is.gd

/PHIL102Epicurus

• outline Epicurus’ argument in Letter to Menoeceus, first paragraph under “Don’t fear death”• Discuss and

write down possible criticisms of this argument

With winter comes death, Flickr photo by Keith Trice, licensed CC BY 2.0

The best life for humans

• Best human life has the “highest good”:

o ultimate end/goal of all action

o that which is only ever sought as a good in itself (intrinsic good), not as good because it leads to something else (instrumental good)

• For Epicurus, highest good is pleasure (for oneself) (“Letter to M” p. 2)

o Can you think of anything else it could be? (LC)

Kinetic & static pleasures

• Kinetic pleasures (involve movement)

o pleasures gotten from fulfilling desires

o Problems with these/why they wouldn’t be the best pleasures?

• Static pleasure

o Pleasure felt when you don’t have unfulfilled desires, when you have well being, lack of pain

Goal of life: Ataraxia• having a life with a good deal of static

pleasure

• lack of physical or mental pain, not having unfulfilled desires, sense of peace and tranquility (“Letter to M,” p. 2)

Tabitha the Tabby, Flickr photo shared by Steve Johnson, licensed CC BY 2.0

Buddha statues at Hase-dera, Flickr photo by Andrea Schaffer, licensed CC BY 2.0

How to live the best life

Natural desires

Cultivate and fulfill mainly natural, necessary desires

Vain desires come from

“baseless opinion” (Pr Doct #29)

Unnecessary Always

unnecessary (e.g., power, wealth, fame, immortality

Necessary

Need not bring pain if not fulfilled, b/c can get rid of

desire fairly easily (Pr Doct #26) (e.g., luxurious

food & clothing, (sometimes) sex

Bring pain if not fulfilled; necessary

for happiness, health or life itself (Ltr M p. 2) (e.g.,

food, shelter, rest, friendship)

Friendship important for best life

• Principal Doctrines 27 & 28

• Why would friends be so important?

• If the highest good is pleasure for oneself, then one seeks friends for one’s own pleasureo Can one really have good friendships

then?Unspoken, Flickr photo by Marina del Castell, licensed CC BY 2.0

Virtues important for best life

• Principal Doctrines 5, Letter to M p. 3

• In another Epicurean text, the virtues needed include wisdom, temperance, courage, justice

• Epicurus’ view of justice, Pr. Doctrines 31-38

• Having these virtues is only good because leads to the kind of pleasurable life Epicurus describes—why/how would they?

Intro to StoicsEpictetus: ca. 55-135 C.E.

Roman cities in Greece, by Marsyas, Wikimedia Commons, Licensed CC-BY-SA

Diocesis Asiana 400 AD, wikimedia commons, public domain

Stoics don’t think pleasure is the greatest good

What might be some problems with saying that pleasure is the greatest good? 

• Is pleasure always good?

• Is there anything that might count as good in life that isn’t so because it is pleasurable or leads to pleasure?

The greatest good, acc. to Stoics

Must be:

• intrinsically good (good in itself), never instrumentally good (good only b/c it leads to something else good)

• always good; can’t be put to bad use

What could fulfill such conditions?

For the Stoics, moral virtue is the greatest (and indeed, the only) good thing

Readings for Tuesday• Epictetus, “Enchiridion” (handbook): a set of

short sayings meant to be memorized so you can more easily live by them

• Sellars, “Stoic Ethics” from his book Stoicism

o There’s a link to an ebook posted on weekly schedule for next week (need CWL)

o Or access on password-protected page (password given in class)