The essence of the doctrine of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus is contained in the quote “Enjoyment is the beginning and end of a blessed life.” A true atheist recognized the existence of higher powers, but denied their influence on man. The works of the founder of the worldview of the Hellenistic era have practically not survived, but his ideas have interested scientists for two millennia.
Fate
Information about the fate of Epicurus is contained in the works of Diogenes Laërtius and Lucretius Carus. These are the only reliable sources, thanks to which not only his ideas, but also photos of sculptures have been recreated.
The great thinker was born on the island of Samos in 342-341 BC in the family of a school teacher Neocles. Interest in science and the search for the meaning of life arose at the age of 12-13, after reading the works of Democritus. In 324 BC, the son and father moved to Athens.
At the age of 32, the young man opened his own school on the island of Lesbos. In 308 BC, he and his students returned to Athens, bought a plot of land with gardens, and remained there until the end of his days. That is why the followers of his dogmas are called the philosophers of Sade.
According to Diogenes Laërtius, the founder of the school lived to be 70 years old. The cause of death was kidney stones.
Philosophy
The school of Sade gave birth to the movement of Epicureanism, whose followers were called freethinkers during the Renaissance. Despite the fact that the essence of the theory was compared with the ideas of its predecessors, the basis for the formation of the concept was polemics and opposition to authoritative opinions.
During the life of the founder of the school, Sade’s teaching became an opponent of Stoicism, in which the leading role in knowledge was given to reason. The divine was also studied from the point of view of the material world. Three main aspects are covered by Diogenes Laërtius.
The first of them is ethics. This theory of knowledge comes down to the position that pleasure is the beginning and end of life, as well as the measure of good. However, one should strive not to satisfy super-needs, but to get rid of “ataraxia” – suffering. Epicurus believed that those who torment themselves with unnecessary desires are unhappy. True pleasure will be received by those who are content with little.
The next aspect was called canonics. Ancient Greek thinkers and sages interpreted the concept of truth in different ways. The author of the materialistic concept took sensory perceptions and sensations as the criterion for evaluation. Thus, the Epicurean believed that material objects consist of particles that penetrate the senses. Thanks to the systematic nature of perception, anticipations arise, which become true knowledge.
But reason, in contrast to the theories of Plato and Aristotle, becomes an obstacle to study, since it brings a subjective picture into judgment. This concept became the main opponent of Stoicism in the Hellenistic era.
And finally, the aspect called physics. The goal of natural philosophy is to find an explanation for the origin of the world in order to get rid of the fear of non-existence. Epicurus preached the idea that the Universe was not created by higher powers. It’s all about atoms that move in an endless void. Unlike previous theories, his ideas gave the main role to the deviation from the trajectory of these particles. Due to chaos, atoms combine into complex bodies – people and gods.
Therefore, there is no need to fear death – molecules are carried throughout the Universe, and the soul ceases to exist along with the body. There are no forces that could influence the fate of a person. Everything arises and disappears by chance without deep meaning.
The dogmas of the founder of the materialistic doctrine of gods are interesting. He claimed that higher powers exist in the border worlds. But, according to natural philosophy, they have no influence on human life, therefore, the fear of them is groundless.
Memory
The works of the ancient Greek sage number at least 300 compositions, but only fragments reached his contemporaries. These are three letters-appeals to Pythocles, Herodotus, Menoeceus, as well as quotes set out in the work of Titus Lucretius Carus.