The term ‘Epicurean’ has now been associated with indulgence in pleasure. The name of a well-known caterer in for the school that my son used to study is “Epicurus.” This is perhaps due to the fact that the Greek philosopher Epicurus is known as one who teaches that pleasure is the most important thing in life. Perhaps not too long after he lived and taught in ancient Greece more than two thousand years ago, his name has been connected with a philosophical viewpoint known as ‘hedonism.’ The idea of hedonism is that one should spend one’s life, if one can, indulging in pleasure. This idea is thus in stark contrast with the prevailing Christian idea that pleasure in itself is sinful, something that one should avoid in order to get closer to God.
In fact, Epicurus did teach that pleasure is the most important thing, but he did not teach that sensual pleasure or indulgence of bodily pleasure at all cost was something to be sought after at all costs. His writings were rather few and far between, but from those that were left to us, it is clear that Epicurus did not emphasize the completely hedonistic idea that bodily pleasure is of supreme importance. The reason is not difficult to understand. If you indulge too much in bodily pleasure, for example, if you eat too much, then you suffer afterward. You might feel bloated or discomfort due to too much food in your system. It is possible that your food will have difficulty being digested and you suffer from heartburn or indigestion, which is not very pleasurable. After that, if you continue to eat too much, you could suffer from various illnesses such as diabetes and the like, and your weight will increase a lot. All of this does not translate to great happiness at all. Thus, Epicurus teaches that it is pleasure that counts, but it is moderate pleasure that is more important, since if you eat too much then you suffer from its effects. But if you don’t eat too much, but moderately, then you don’t suffer from the ill effects, you don’t suffer from diabetes and other illnesses either, then you gain more pleasure.
Epicurus lived between the bottom half of the fourth century and the first half of the third century before Christ (341-270 B.C.E) in Athens. This put him around eighty years after Plato and around forty years after Aristotle. He led a simple life, and it is said that his way toward happiness, the goal of living according to his teaching, consisted of very simple meals of bread and water, and a company of his friends. In fact, he valued his circle of friends the most, believing that they were the ones who brought him the greatest joy. So even though he thought that pleasure is the most important thing in life, it is a very simple kind of pleasure. Even a poor man can have all the pleasures that he needs. As long as he enjoys his friends and has something to eat to sustain himself, then he is all set. If he is satisfied with what he has and enjoys it to the full, then he has attained the best that life can offer him. In this sense, he is better than a very rich man who is not satisfied and who always seeks more and more things to satisfy his endless search for pleasure.
Epicurus’ philosophy has been neglected for more than two thousand years. His philosophy became very influential for a few centuries after his death. His outlook in philosophy is materialistic. This means that he believes that all things are made of matter and there is nothing to the world than its composition of various forms of matter. Even the soul is understood to be a delicate form of matter. Since everything is material, there is no question of life after death. This was a big deal in ancient times because most of everybody else believed then in some form of life after death. For Epicurus, however, as the soul consisted of this delicate matter, the soul thus dispersed into the material world when the body dies. Hence no life after death. Epicurus is well known for his saying that death is nothing to us, meaning that it has no relation, no bearing, to us who are now living at all. When we are living, death is so far away from us, so alien to us, that it has no relation whatsoever in our lives. But when we are actually dead, then we are nothing because we are already dead, so death cannot matter to us because there is no ‘us’ for death to matter too! This is a famous argument that has been cited and discussed throughout the ages.
Furthermore, in contrast to most of his contemporary philosophers, Epicurus believed that the gods did exist, but they were so remote from us that they did not have any relations with us at all. The gods did not care a bit about our welfare or our sufferings on this earth. They were like the stars in the sky. This did not provide any comfort to those who continued to believe in the gods, but it gave those who followed his philosophy a kind of inner strength to cope with any misfortunes that may come in our way.
Thus, we in Thailand who are interested in philosophy would then benefit to study Epicurus’ thought. His philosophy can be fruitfully compared with the Buddhist philosophy that most of us are familiar with. His emphasis on moderation in all things resonates well with Buddhist teaching. His materialism, on the contrary, might not resonate too well, especially because he teaches that there is no life after death. But at least studying his thought helps us broaden our horizon so that we can see beyond what is perhaps set for us, intending that we believe that there is nothing beyond it at all. And who knows? Perhaps Epicurus might have been right all along.
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