1. Thank You For Visiting
- Thank you for visiting EpicureanFriends.com, the internet home of Classical Epicurean Philosophy.
- Over the next few minutes we will walk you through the most important teachings of Epicurus, and show you how you can learn more about Epicurus at our website.
- At EpicureanFriends we feature the most important teachings of Epicurus right at the top of our homepage. Let me tell you just a little more about each one:
2. Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing
- Epicurus taught that "Nothing can be created from nothing." This is the most important observation of Epicurean physics, and it leads to many important conclusions about how the world works in ways that are natural, and not supernatural.
3. The Universe Is Infinite And Eternal And Has No Gods Over It
- Epicurus taught that "Nature has no gods over her." In other words, the Earth was not created and isn't managed by supernatural gods, so it's up to us to figure out how Nature works so we can live most happily.
4. The Nature Of Gods Contains Nothing That Is Inconsistent With Incorruption And Blessedness
- Epicurus taught that while there are no supernatural gods, almost everyone feels a motivation to think about the possibility of beings higher than ourselves. Epicurus taught that the best way to approach the subject is to "Never assign anything to a god that is inconsistent with incorruptibility and blessedness." If you never deviate from that starting point, you'll realize that higher beings are nothing to be concerned about, and you will benefit from thinking about higher beings in the same way that a young athlete benefits from emulating the best examples of athletes in their field.
5. Death Is Nothing to Us
- Epicurus taught that "Death is Nothing To Us," and that means that when you're dead, you're dead, and you never experience anything after that, so there's no punishment to fear or reward to look for after you're dead. That means you should always remember that you're mortal, and you have a limited time to live, and therefore you need to be sure you're spending your time the best way you can.
6. There Is No Necessity To Live Under The Control Of Necessity
- Epicurus taught that "There Is No Necessity to Live Under the Control of Necessity." Many people today live their lives in hopelessness, told that they have no control over their choices whatsoever, and that an angry god or implacable fate has predetermined their every moment. Epicurus taught that such views are nonsense, and that there are some things that do in fact happen by accident, and some things that are predetermined by Nature, but that many things are within our control, so we should seek wisdom so we can make the right choices and live our lives as happily as possible.
7. He Who Says "Nothing Can Be Known" Knows Nothing
- Epicurus taught that "He who says 'Nothing Can Be Known" Knows Nothing." Just like we face today, two thousand years ago there we radical skeptics who said that impossible to know anything, and that you can never be confident of anything. Epicurus called that nonsense too, and taught a method of common sense reasoning based on evidence provided by nature by which we can be confident of our conclusions and organize our lives to live happily.
8. All Sensations Are True
- The method of thinking that Epicurus taught begins with the courage to understand how "All Sensations Are True." Epicurus was just as familiar with illusions and mistaken opinions as we are today, but he was smart enough to see that the way we escape from illusions and from mistakes is not to abandon our senses, but to study how the senses work and realize that the senses themselves are the only way we can hope to eventually find out the truth about anything.
9. Virtue Is Not Absolute Or An End In Itself - All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation
- In contrast to the Stoics and their modern counterparts in today's religious and humanist communities, Epicurus taught that "Virtue Is Not Absolute Or An End In Itself - All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation." Epicurus held that if virtue does not lead to pleasure and happiness, it is useless, and that the same things that are considered virtuous in Athens are often not considered virtuous in Rome, just like the things that were considered virtuous two thousand years ago are often not considered virtuous today.
10. Pleasure Is The Guide of Life
- Epicurus taught that since there are no supernatural gods or absolute rules of virtue to follow, we should follow the lead of Nature, and realize that "Pleasure Is The Guide Of Life." Of course Epicurus also taught that we do not pursue every pleasure at every moment, and we sometimes in fact choose pain, when choosing pain will lead us to a greater pleasure or lesser pain. This doctrine outraged the prudish in Epicurus' time just like it outrages the prudes today, but what they missed in Epicurus' day and often miss today is our next point of emphasis:
11. By Pleasure We Mean All Experience That Is Not Painful
- Epicurus taught that "By Pleasure we mean all experience that is not painful." Epicurus held that there are only two feelings in human life - pleasure and pain - and that we are always experiencing one or the other. Whereas the Prudes of the past and the present view "Pleasure" as limited to sensory stimulation - the modern equivalent of sex drugs and rock and roll - Epicurus taught that every experience of life that is not painful is pleasurable, and that we can and should select the activities of life that seem to us - under our own circumstances - most likely to lead to an overall happy life. This view of pleasure means that the health of the mind and of the body is of itself pleasurable, and that we should realize that mental activity or rest is just as pleasurable, and often more so, than bodily stimulation or rest. The choice among mental and bodily pleasures will be different according to your own personal circumstances. Every choice and avoidance has implications for your overall pleasure or pain - so choose wisely!
12. Life Is Desirable, But Unlimited Time Contains No Greater Pleasure Than Limited Time
- What do all of these doctrines lead up to? The final doctrine of Epicurus that we stress is that "Life is desirable, but unlimited time contains no greater pleasure than limited time." The one inevitability of human life - besides taxes, if you don't live on a desert island - is that at some point you will die. Is that a reason for you to forget everything that Nature has given you? The answer of course is "No," because if we think about it from the point of view of "Pleasure" as the highest good, and if we recognize that Epicurus was right in pointing out that everything in life that isn't painful is pleasurable, we can realize that in devoting our lives to Pleasure, rightly understood, we have fulfilled our Natures. We should not regret the pleasures that will not be available to us after we die any more than we regret the pleasures that were not available to us before we were born. If we focus our minds on what is possible for us, and we take satisfaction in the life of pleasure which is available to us in life, we can realize that seeking endless variation will not lead us to any greater pleasure than we have open to us in this single life.
13. There's Much More To Discuss
- There's much more to discuss about these and other doctrines of Epicurus, and that's what we do here at EpicureanFriends.com. We invite all friends of Epicurean philosophy to:
- Read our forums, where we have an active community of people from across the world who discuss the philosophy and help each other in the study of it;
- Consult our Frequently Asked Questions list, where we answer questions and point you in the direction to better understanding of Epicurus;
- Listen to our "Lucretius Today" Podcast, available from any major podcast source, where we have over two hundred episodes discussing the ancient Epicurean texts in a friendly and approachable way;
- Attend our Zoom meetings, where we use video get-togethers to meet with people from across the world and develop friendships based on Epicurean Philosophy;
- View our image gallery, where we produce and share graphics for our own enjoyment and to share with others on social media;
- Spend as much time on our site as you like, because we think you'll find the time pleasurable!
14. Thanks For Visiting
- Thanks for visiting Epicureanfriends.com. Remember that you are mortal, and you have a limited time to live, and in devoting yourself to discussion of the nature of time and eternity with like-minded friends, you will experience a taste, as Epicurus said to Menoeceus, of living as a "god among men."
