Epicurus Belief In Aristippus's Intellectual View Of

Epicurus Epicurus (342.-270 B.C), unlike Aristippus had a more intellectual view of pleasure, and he was mainly concerned with the pleasures of the mind. Epicurus felt that man's insecurity could be partly traced to his false opinions regarding God: "First of all, believe that God is a being incorruptible and happy, as the common opinion of the world about God dictates; and attach to your idea of him nothing which is inconsistent with incorruptibility or with happiness; and think that he is invested with everything which is able to preserve to him this happiness, in conjunction with incorruptibility .For there are Gods; though our knowledge of them is indistinct .But they are not of the character which people in general attribute
to them; for they do not pay a respect to them which accords with the ideas that they entertain of them. And that man is not impious who discards the Gods believed in by the many, but he who applies to the Gods the opinions entertained of them by the many. For the assertions of the many about the Gods are not anticipations, but false opinions":2
"We are not to fear death.
'Accustom yourself also to think death a matter with which we are not at all concerned, since all goods and all evil is in sensation, and since death is only the Privation of sensation. On which account, the correct knowledge of the fact that death is no concern of ours, makes the mortality of life pleasant to us, in as much as it sets forth no illimitable time, but relieves us from the longing for immortality. For there is nothing terrible in living to a man who rightly comprehends that there is nothing terrible in ceasing to live; so that he was a silly man who said that he feared death, not because it would grieve him when it was present, but because it did grieve him while it was future. For it is very absurd that that which does not distress a man when it is present, should afflict him when only expected. Therefore, the most formidable of all evils, death, is nothing to us, since, when we exist, death is not present to us, and when death is present, then we have no existence".
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Prudence is the greatest virtue, according to Epicurus. "Now, the beginning and the greatest good of all these things is prudence, on which account prudence is something more valuable than even philosophy, inasmuch as all the other virtues spring from it, teaching us that it is not possible to live pleasantly unless one also lives prudently, and honorably, and justly; and that one cannot live prudently, and honestly, and justly, without living pleasantly; for the virtues are connate with living agreeably, and living agreeably is inseparable from the virtues. Since, who can you think better than that man who has holy opinions respecting the Gods, and who is utterly fearless with respect to death, and who has properly contemplated the end of nature, and who comprehends that the chief good is easily perfected and easily provided; and the greatest evil lasts but a short period, and causes but brief pain. And who has no belief in necessity, which is set up by some as the mistress of all things, but he refers some things to fortune, some to ourselves, because necessity is an irresponsible power, and because he sees that fortune is unstable, while our own will is free and this freedom constitutes, in our case, a responsibility which makes us encounter blame and praise. Since it would be better to follow the fables about the Gods than to be a slave to the fate of the natural philosopher; for the fables are sketched as if it were possible to avert the wrath of God by paying him honor; but the other presents us with a necessity which is inexorable". And, he is not thinking fortune a goddess, as the generally esteem her (for nothing is done at random by a god), nor a cause which no man can rely on, for he thinks that good or evil is not by her to men so as to make them live happily, but that the principles of great goods or great evils are supplied by her, thinking it better to be unfortunate in accordance with reason, than to be fortunate irrationally; for that those actions which are judged to be the best, are rightly done in consequence of reason."4 How can we best enjoy life? How can we attain the maximum amount of pleasure according to Epicurus? We must cultivate an inward attitude of tranquility; above all we should avoid greed and envy. Riches are not necessary for a philosophic life, which prospers most amidst "cheerful poverty." For a pleasant life, friendship is indispensable; we are by nature gregarious and our outlook expands in the company of friends. Even when he was dying, Epicurus thought of his friends and was concerned about their welfare.
He sounds almost like Machiavelli when he discusses justice. "Justice is a covenant of what is suitable, leading men to avoid injuring one another, and being injured." Justice does not exist dependently.
It is the result of mutual contracts, so whenever there is a mutual engagement, there is justice to avoid doing or sustaining mutual injury: "Injustice is not intrinsically bad, it has this character only because there is joined with it a fear of not escaping those who are appointed to punish actions marked with that character. It is not possible for a man who secretly does anything in contravention of the agreement which men have made with one another to guard against doing or sustaining mutual injury, to believe that he shall always escape notice, even if he has escaped notice already ten thousand times; for, till his death, it is uncertain whether he will not be detected. In a general point of view, justice is the same thing to everyone; for there is something advantageous in mutual society. Nevertheless, the difference of place, and divers other circumstances, make justice
vary."5
Epicurus, like Buddha believed in peace of mind. We may have physical power, but without peace of mind it has no value. We must learn to be modest in our demands and to expect little from life. By reducing our wishes to a minimum, we become masters of our fate, and are not distressed when reverses overtake us. This does not mean that we should neglect our body; on the contrary, we should strive to maintain our health, see to it that we adopt a proper diet, and obtain enough physical exercise. We should avoid all forms of dissipation arid debauchery. The great pleasure is not that of the moment, but one which is lasting and which satisfies our mind. Epicurus did not promise future rewards .This life is our only existence; death means total extinction. There is no teleology; the gods do not intervene .The world can be explained mechanistically, according to the atomic hypothesis.