The Art of Happiness (Penguin Classics)

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The Anglican bishop Joseph Butler's anti-Epicurean polemics in his Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel (1726) and Analogy of Religion (1736) set the tune for what most orthodox Christians believed about Epicureanism for the remainder of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. [143] Nonetheless, there are a few indications from this time period of Epicurus's improving reputation. [143] Epicureanism was beginning to lose its associations with indiscriminate and insatiable gluttony, which had been characteristic of its reputation ever since antiquity. [143] Instead, the word "epicure" began to refer to a person with extremely refined taste in food. [143] [144] Examples of this usage include "Epicurean cooks / sharpen with cloyless sauce his appetite" from William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra (Act II. scene i; c. 1607) [144] and "such an epicure was Potiphar—to please his tooth and pamper his flesh with delicacies" from William Whately's Prototypes (1646). [143] As a result of Gassendi's modifications, his books were never censored by the Catholic Church. [141] They came to exert profound influence on later writings about Epicurus. [141] Gassendi's version of Epicurus's teachings became popular among some members of English scientific circles. [141] For these scholars, however, Epicurean atomism was merely a starting point for their own idiosyncratic adaptations of it. [141] To orthodox thinkers, Epicureanism was still regarded as immoral and heretical. [141] For instance, Lucy Hutchinson (1620–1681), the first translator of Lucretius's On the Nature of Things into English, railed against Epicurus as "a lunatic dog" who formulated "ridiculous, impious, execrable doctrines". [141]

Strodach, George K. (2012), "Introduction", The Art of Happiness, New York City, New York: Penguin Classics, ISBN 978-0-14-310721-7 Epicurus was first to assert human freedom as a result of the fundamental indeterminism in the motion of atoms. This has led some philosophers to think that, for Epicurus, free will was caused directly by chance. In his On the Nature of Things, Lucretius appears to suggest this in the best-known passage on Epicurus' position. [107] In his Letter to Menoeceus, however, Epicurus follows Aristotle and clearly identifies three possible causes: "some things happen of necessity, others by chance, others through our own agency." Aristotle said some things "depend on us" ( eph'hemin). Epicurus agreed, and said it is to these last things that praise and blame naturally attach. For Epicurus, the "swerve" of the atoms simply defeated determinism to leave room for autonomous agency. [108] Theology [ edit ] First-century AD Roman fresco from Pompeii, showing the mythical human sacrifice of Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon. Epicurus's devoted follower, the Roman poet Lucretius, cited this myth as an example of the evils of popular religion, in contrast to the more wholesome theology advocated by Epicurus. [109] The German philosopher Karl Marx (1818–1883), whose ideas are the basis of Marxism, was profoundly influenced as a young man by the teachings of Epicurus [145] [146] and his doctoral thesis was a Hegelian dialectical analysis of the differences between the natural philosophies of Democritus and Epicurus. [147] Marx viewed Democritus as a rationalist skeptic, whose epistemology was inherently contradictory, but saw Epicurus as a dogmatic empiricist, whose worldview is internally consistent and practically applicable. [148] The British poet Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892) praised "the sober majesties / of settled, sweet, Epicurean life" in his 1868 poem "Lucretius". [143] Epicurus's ethical teachings also had an indirect impact on the philosophy of Utilitarianism in England during the nineteenth century. [143] Soviet politician Joseph Stalin (1878–1953) lauded Epicurus by stating: "He was the greatest philosopher of all time. He was the one who recommended practicing virtue to derive the greatest joy from life". [149] In keeping with this sentiment, Epicurus disparages the “crass hedonism” which emphasizes physical pleasure, and instead claims that the philosophical pursuit of wisdom with close friends is the greatest of pleasures; Happiness is Pleasure; all things are to be done for the sake of the pleasant feelings associated with themEpicurus’s natural philosophy of atomist materialism, later admired by Galileo, Newto During the Middle Ages, Epicurus was remembered by the educated as a philosopher, [134] but he frequently appeared in popular culture as a gatekeeper to the Garden of Delights, the "proprietor of the kitchen, the tavern, and the brothel." [134] He appears in this guise in Martianus Capella's Marriage of Mercury and Philology (fifth century), John of Salisbury's Policraticus (1159), John Gower's Mirour de l'Omme, and Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. [134] Epicurus and his followers appear in Dante Alighieri's Inferno in the Sixth Circle of Hell, where they are imprisoned in flaming coffins for having believed that the soul dies with the body. [134] Renaissance [ edit ] Epicurus is shown among other famous philosophers in the Italian Renaissance painter Raphael's School of Athens (1509–1511). [138] Epicurus's genuine busts were unknown prior to 1742, so early modern artists who wanted to depict him were forced to make up their own iconographies. [139]

a b "Epicurus". Epicurus - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. 2018.No extant writings of Epicurus contain this argument. [119] However, the vast majority of Epicurus's writings have been lost and it is possible that some form of this argument may have been found in his lost treatise On the Gods, which Diogenes Laërtius describes as one of his greatest works. [119] If Epicurus really did make some form of this argument, it would not have been an argument against the existence of deities, but rather an argument against divine providence. [119] Epicurus's extant writings demonstrate that he did believe in the existence of deities. [110] Furthermore, religion was such an integral part of daily life in Greece during the early Hellenistic Period that it is doubtful anyone during that period could have been an atheist in the modern sense of the word. [110] Instead, the Greek word ἄθεος ( átheos), meaning "without a god", was used as a term of abuse, not as an attempt to describe a person's beliefs. [110] Politics [ edit ] The Dalai Lama does not just refer to caring for each other; he also finds relationships very important and differentiates them in two ways.(111) The first is when you are in a relationship with someone because of wealth, power or position (material) – when these things disappear, the relationship normally ends. The second way is based on true human feelings (spiritual). The Dalai Lama also informs about sexual relationships. You can have a sexual relationship with no respect for each other. Usually it is just temporary satisfaction. Or sexual relationships bonded with a person who we think is kind, nice and gentle.(101–102)

God, he says, either wishes to take away evils, and is unable; or He is able, and is unwilling; or He is neither willing nor able, or He is both willing and able. If He is willing and is unable, He is feeble, which is not in accordance with the character of God; if He is able and unwilling, He is envious, which is equally at variance with God; if He is neither willing nor able, He is both envious and feeble, and therefore not God; if He is both willing and able, which alone is suitable to God, from what source then are evils? Or why does He not remove them? Bakalis, Nikolaos (2005). Handbook of Greek Philosophy from Thales to the Stoics. Analysis and fragments. Victoria: Trafford. ISBN 978-1-4120-4843-9.In the seventeenth century, the French Catholic priest and scholar Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655) sought to dislodge Aristotelianism from its position of the highest dogma by presenting Epicureanism as a better and more rational alternative. [141] In 1647, Gassendi published his book De vita et moribus Epicuri ( The Life and Morals of Epicurus), a passionate defense of Epicureanism. [141] In 1649, he published a commentary on Diogenes Laërtius's Life of Epicurus. [141] He left Syntagma philosophicum ( Philosophical Compendium), a synthesis of Epicurean doctrines, unfinished at the time of his death in 1655. [141] It was finally published in 1658, after undergoing revision by his editors. [141] Gassendi modified Epicurus's teachings to make them palatable for a Christian audience. [141] For instance, he argued that atoms were not eternal, uncreated, and infinite in number, instead contending that an extremely large but finite number of atoms were created by God at creation. [141] The Epicurean paradox or riddle of Epicurus or Epicurus' trilemma is a version of the problem of evil. Lactantius attributes this trilemma to Epicurus in De Ira Dei, 13, 20-21: Getting through suffering is a very difficult thing to accomplish but there are people out there who can help you overcome you losing a loved one or whatever you may be suffering from. Everyone has to go through suffering sometime in their life, but how people get over it shows how strong that person is. How someone perceives life as a whole plays a huge role in a person's attitude about pain and suffering. There is a possibility of freedom from suffering. That is possible by removing the causes of suffering and living a happier life. Rosenbaum, Stephen E. (2004), "Chapter 11: How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus", in Benatar, David (ed.), Life, Death & Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions, Lanham, Maryland, Boulder, Colorado, New York City, New York, Toronto, Canada, and Oxford, England: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., ISBN 978-1-442-20169-9 Naragon, S. "Letter to Herodotus" (PDF). manchester.edu. Manchester University, Indiana . Retrieved 13 June 2021.

a b Apollodorus of Athens (reported by Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 10.14–15) gives his birth on the fourth day of the month February in the third year of the 109th Olympiad, in the archonship of Sosigenes First step is learning. Analyse thoughts and emotions to determine if they are beneficial or hurtful. Try not to "want." If you know something may tempt you avoid it. Positive desires are good. Sellars expertly expounds documentable Epicurean ideas, especially on friendship and pain, and he knows Greek and Latin Epicurean texts thoroughly. Not that they are voluminous. Any attempt to revive Epicureanism is hampered by the dearth of textual evidence. Of Epicurus’s own 300 or so works, only three substantial letters have survived, reproduced by his unreliable biographer Diogenes Laertius, and two collections of aphorisms called the Principal Doctrines and the Vatican Sayings. Sellars handles these adroitly, and chooses some inspiring individual sayings that reward contemplation: “Friendship dances round the world, summoning each one of us to waken our blessedness.” True to his philosophy, Epicurus claimed to spend the last few days of life in pleasure, despite all the physical pain he was in. As he writes in his Letter to Idomeneus: Epicurus writes in his Letter to Herodotus (not the historian) [91] that " nothing ever arises from the nonexistent", indicating that all events therefore have causes, regardless of whether those causes are known or unknown. [92] Similarly, he also writes that nothing ever passes away into nothingness, because, "if an object that passes from our view were completely annihilated, everything in the world would have perished, since that into which things were dissipated would be nonexistent." [93] He therefore states: "The totality of things was always just as it is at present and will always remain the same because there is nothing into which it can change, inasmuch as there is nothing outside the totality that could intrude and effect change." [93] Like Democritus before him, Epicurus taught that all matter is entirely made of extremely tiny particles called " atoms" ( Greek: ἄτομος; atomos, meaning "indivisible"). [94] For Epicurus and his followers, the existence of atoms was a matter of empirical observation; [95] Epicurus's devoted follower, the Roman poet Lucretius, cites the gradual wearing down of rings from being worn, statues from being kissed, stones from being dripped on by water, and roads from being walked on in On the Nature of Things as evidence for the existence of atoms as tiny, imperceptible particles. [95]Throughout this chapter the Dalai Lama gives examples of how different people dealt with losing a loved one. The Dalai Lama states that he believes it is a good idea to prepare yourself ahead of time for the kinds of suffering you might encounter, because sometime in life you are going to experience some type of suffering, so if you prepare yourself you will know what to expect. He goes on about how everyone is going to face suffering sometime in their life and if we view suffering as something natural then we can begin to live a happier life. If you can prepare yourself for the fact that in your life you're going to experience a traumatic event, for example a death of a family member, you can face the fact that everybody in life eventually passes on and you'll be able to get over the grieving process sooner and carry on with a happier life knowing that they're in a better place. The Buddhist recognizes the possibility of clearing the mind and achieving a state in which there is no more suffering in people's lives. If you come to the fact and realize you are suffering you'll overcome it faster rather than denying that everything is all right. Jones, Howard (2010), "Epicurus and Epicureanism", in Grafton, Anthony; Most, Glenn W.; Settis, Salvatore (eds.), The Classical Tradition, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, pp.320–324, ISBN 978-0-674-03572-0 Epicurus was an extremely prolific writer. [121] [119] [64] [68] According to Diogenes Laërtius, he wrote around 300 treatises on a variety of subjects. [119] [64] Although more original writings of Epicurus have survived to the present day than of any other Hellenistic Greek philosopher, [68] the vast majority of everything he wrote has still been lost, [121] [119] [64] and most of what is known about Epicurus's teachings come from the writings of his later followers, particularly the Roman poet Lucretius. [64] The only surviving complete works by Epicurus are three relatively lengthy letters, which are quoted in their entirety in Book X of Diogenes Laërtius's Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, and two groups of quotes: the Principal Doctrines (Κύριαι Δόξαι), which are likewise preserved through quotation by Diogenes Laërtius, and the Vatican Sayings, preserved in a manuscript from the Vatican Library that was first discovered in 1888. [64] In the Letter to Herodotus and the Letter to Pythocles, Epicurus summarizes his philosophy on nature and, in the Letter to Menoeceus, he summarizes his moral teachings. [64] Numerous fragments of Epicurus's lost thirty-seven volume treatise On Nature have been found among the charred papyrus fragments at the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum. [64] [68] Scholars first began attempting to unravel and decipher these scrolls in 1800, but the efforts are painstaking and are still ongoing. [64] Epicurus strongly favored naturalistic explanations over theological ones. [61] In his Letter to Pythocles, he offers four different possible natural explanations for thunder, six different possible natural explanations for lightning, three for snow, three for comets, two for rainbows, two for earthquakes, and so on. [62] Although all of these explanations are now known to be false, they were an important step in the history of science, because Epicurus was trying to explain natural phenomena using natural explanations, rather than resorting to inventing elaborate stories about gods and mythic heroes. [62] Ethics [ edit ] Marble relief from the first or second century showing the mythical transgressor Ixion being tortured on a spinning fiery wheel in Tartarus. Epicurus taught that stories of such punishment in the afterlife are ridiculous superstitions and that believing in them prevents people from attaining ataraxia. [63] [64]