Epicurus

Now on to one of my favorite philosophers, Epicurus. Little is known about him and his literature, some 300 volumes, is completely lost to us (though fragments by other writers remain.) He was born around 342 BC and grew up in Samos in modern day Greece. He was the son of a poor Athenian colonist and suffered from chronic pain throughout his life. He said he began studying philosophy at age 14 and he shared his ideas with those who came to hear him speak in a garden near where he lived. The chronic pain he experience greatly shaped his philosophy. By not being distracted by money or good health, he was able to form his ideas based on what aspects of the "good life" he believed should be pursued. He was an unfortunate and pursued how he could live a better, happier life. His idea was one picked up later by the utilitarians. Life is best lived pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain. For Epicurus, it wasn't a random ideology that he found interesting. He HAD to do it or he would be in such pain that he couldn't go on. This view of human behavior harkens to both Buddhist philosophy and practical measures designed to recover from addiction. Epicurus defined two types of pleasure: Dynamic and Static. Dynamic pleasures are those born from a cycle of pain. We crave something and we satisfy that craving. Later, we feel the craving again and spend our time trying to satisfy it again. The pain then occurs again and we're caught in the pleasure/pain cycle. This is not the path to happiness in the opinion of Epicurus. he pursued static pleasures, defined as non-hedonistic things that make us happy. They're pleasures that stay in a middle ground area (and are, thus, static.) Living a life of moderation and staying in a happy zone was how Epicurus lived. Epicurus' pleasures included conversations with good friend and children, simple meals of bread and water (which he took great pleasure in) and living a life virtually free of materialism expressed by this demand for only enough money to stay alive on. Free of fear, he faced death joyfully. It is being free from what most people define as pleasure, the hedonistic pursuits such as drinking too much or having too much sex or eating to excess, that Epicurus considered anti-pleasures. In that way, his views fit the Buddhist ideas of meditation. Not letting our minds drift, staying happy in the moment and being at peace in that happy zone. It is also the only ideology for a recovering drug addict. Abstinence from the dynamic pleasures of drugs are the only way an addict can recover and find true happiness, the happiness that comes from the freedom of the pain of withdrawal.