Hedonism

Hedonism

1. Why does Epicurus think that the only thing that is intrinsically valuable is one’s own pleasure?

-Epicurus thinks that pleasure directly correlates with one living a well and just life, as he states: “It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living pleasantly.” When one lives with absolute pleasure, they are completely without pain. Pain can be viewed as physical or emotional in Epicurus’ idea, as it could be illness, bodily injuries, anxiety, fear of death, or any other thing which prevents true pleasure in one’s life. An individual lives a just life when he/she has reached maximum pleasure with the elimination of all pain as Epicurus quotes: “The magnitude of pleasure reaches its limit in the removal of all pain. When pleasure is present, so long as it is uninterrupted, there is no pain either of body or of mind or of both together.” Epicurus really emphasizes that to live with pain is viewed as having trouble in one’s life, and one could not possibly live in pleasure (all that is just) and have trouble.

2. According to Epicurus, what is the relationship between being virtuous and being happy?

-Through his doctrines, Epicurus tells us that one who lives a happy life is, in theory, also living a virtuous life. He states: “A happy and eternal being has no trouble himself and brings no trouble upon any other being; hence he is exempt from movements of anger and partiality, for every such movement implies weakness.” In my understanding, one who lives a troubled life, with movements of anger and partiality, is not living a virtuous life. He also believes that the happiest people consist of those who have nothing to fear from those around them as he mentions in his last doctrine: “Those who were best able to provide themselves with the means of security against their neighbors, being thus in possession of the surest guarantee, passed the most agreeable life in each other’s society; and their enjoyment of the fullest intimacy was such that, if one of them died before his time, the survivors did not mourn his death as if it called for sympathy.” To me, this