What are the central tenets of Epicurean philosophy and Stoic philosophy?

What are the central tenets of Epicurean philosophy and Stoic philosophy?

Where the Epicureans believed there was only atoms and void, the Stoics believed there was only inert matter (bodies) and logos (reason) that organized matter’s motions and fate. Logos was the structuring principle, the how and the why of matter, and, like a deductive argument, had its own inner necessity.

What is nature according to Epicurus?

From his analysis of human motivation, Epicurus concludes that desires can be divided into “natural” (arising from human nature) and “unnatural” (acquired as part of one’s society). Unnatural desires, such as the desires for power or fame or wealth, lead to pleasure which are very impurely mixed with inevitable pains.

What are the four elements of the Epicurean Tetrapharmakos?

The “tetrapharmakos” was originally a compound of four drugs (wax, tallow, pitch and resin); the word has been used metaphorically by Roman-era Epicureans to refer to the four remedies for healing the soul.

What were the basic elements of the philosophy of Epicurus?

The philosophy of Epicurus (341–270 B.C.E.) was a complete and interdependent system, involving a view of the goal of human life (happiness, resulting from absence of physical pain and mental disturbance), an empiricist theory of knowledge (sensations, together with the perception of pleasure and pain, are infallible …

What were the Epicureans known for?

Epicurus, (born 341 bc, Samos, Greece—died 270, Athens), Greek philosopher, author of an ethical philosophy of simple pleasure, friendship, and retirement. He founded schools of philosophy that survived directly from the 4th century bc until the 4th century ad.

What was the goal of epicureanism?

Although Epicureanism is a form of hedonism insofar as it declares pleasure to be its sole intrinsic goal, the concept that the absence of pain and fear constitutes the greatest pleasure, and its advocacy of a simple life, make it very different from “hedonism” as colloquially understood.

What is the Epicurean philosophy of life?

Epicureanism argued that pleasure was the chief good in life. Hence, Epicurus advocated living in such a way as to derive the greatest amount of pleasure possible during one’s lifetime, yet doing so moderately in order to avoid the suffering incurred by overindulgence in such pleasure.

In what way is Epicurus ethics based on his understanding of the nature of the world?

Epicurus developed an unsparingly materialistic metaphysics, empiricist epistemology, and hedonistic ethics. Epicurus taught that the basic constituents of the world are atoms, uncuttable bits of matter, flying through empty space, and he tried to explain all natural phenomena in atomic terms.

What is the four part cure?

The Fourfold Cure The Tetrapharmakos was an actual “fourfold drug” used in ancient Greece and Rome, a compound of wax, pine resin, pitch and fat. The word was used by Philodemus metaphorically as if the four chief doctrines of Epicurus were a prescription to cure our spiritual ills.

What are Epicurus four basic truths?

One can be loving, caring and nurturing, and perhaps even a spiritual, individual without fearing any god. And in the words of Epicurus: “Death means nothing to us… when we exist, death is not yet present, and when death is present, then we do not exist.”

What are the tenets of epicureanism?

Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based on the teachings of Epicurus, founded around 307 B.C. It teaches that the greatest good is to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquillity, freedom from fear (“ataraxia”) and absence from bodily pain (“aponia”).

What is the epicurean philosophy of life?