This document provides an overview of the philosophy of Epicurus, including his views on epistemology, physics, the soul, death, and the best life for humans. According to the summary: 1) Epicurus was an empiricist who believed that knowledge comes from sensory experience and introspection. He viewed reality as consisting of material bodies and void. 2) Epicurus believed that the gods did not control the universe and that the soul was made of atoms. He argued in his Letter to Menoeceus that we should not fear death. 3) Epicurus viewed pleasure, particularly static pleasure and the lack of pain, as the highest good and goal of life. He advocated cultivating natural

1. 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

2. 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

3. Epicurus: physics
• Reality is made up only of material bodies and void
o 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

4. 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

5. Epicurus on death
Groups: 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

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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)

10. 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 pleasure
o Can one really have good friendships then?
Unspoken, Flickr photo by Marina del Castell, licensed CC BY 2.0

11. 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?

12. Intro to Stoics
Epictetus: 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

13. 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?

14. 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

15. 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)