Epicurus - Ancient Greek philosopher, founder of Epicureanism in Athens ("The Garden of Epicurus"). Over the years of his life, he wrote almost 300 works, which have survived to this day only in the form of fragments.
In the biography of Epicurus there are many interesting facts related to both his philosophical views and life as such.
So, before you is a short biography of Epicurus.
Biography of Epicurus
Epicurus was born in 342 or 341 BC. e. on the Greek island of Samos. We mainly know about the life of the philosopher thanks to the memoirs of Diogenes Laertius and Lucretius Cara.
Epicurus grew up and was brought up in the family of Neocles and Herestrata. In his youth, he became interested in philosophy, which at that time was extremely popular among the Greeks.
In particular, Epicurus was impressed by the ideas of Democritus.
At the age of 18, the guy came to Athens with his father. Soon, his views on life began to form, which differed from the teachings of other philosophers.
Philosophy of Epicurus
When Epicurus was 32 years old, he formed his own school of philosophy. Later he bought a garden in Athens, where he shared various knowledge with his followers.
An interesting fact is that since the school was in the garden of a philosopher, it began to be called the "Garden", and the followers of Epicurus began to be called - "philosophers from the gardens."
Above the school entrance there was an inscription: “Guest, you will be fine here. Here pleasure is the highest good. "
According to the teachings of Epicurus, and, therefore, Epicureanism, the highest blessing for man was the enjoyment of life, which meant the absence of physical pain and anxiety, as well as deliverance from the fear of death and the gods.
According to Epicurus, the gods existed, but they were indifferent to everything that happened in the world and the lives of people.
This approach to life aroused the interest of many of the philosopher's compatriots, as a result of which he had more and more followers every day.
Epicurus's disciples were freethinkers who often entered into discussions and questioned social and moral foundations.
Epicureanism quickly became the main opponent of Stoicism, founded by Zeno of Kitia.
There were no such opposite trends in the ancient world. If the Epicureans sought to get the maximum pleasure from life, then the Stoics promoted asceticism, trying to control their emotions and desires.
Epicurus and his followers tried to know the divine from the point of view of the material world. They divided this idea into 3 categories:
- Ethics. It allows you to know pleasure, which is the beginning and end of life, and also acts as a measure of good. Through ethics, one can get rid of suffering and unnecessary desires. Truly, only one who learns to be content with little can become happy.
- Canon. Epicurus took sensory perceptions as the basis of the materialistic concept. He believed that everything material consists of particles that somehow penetrate the senses. Sensations, in turn, lead to the appearance of anticipation, which is real knowledge. It is worth noting that the mind, according to Epicurus, became a hindrance to the knowledge of something.
- Physics. With the help of physics, the philosopher tried to find the root cause of the emergence of the world, which would allow a person to avoid fear of non-existence. Epicurus said that the universe consists of the smallest particles (atoms) moving in infinite space. Atoms, in turn, combine into complex bodies - people and gods.
In view of all of the above, Epicurus urged not to feel fear of death. He explained this by the fact that atoms are scattered across the immense Universe, as a result of which the soul ceases to exist along with the body.
Epicurus was sure that there was nothing that could affect human destiny. Absolutely everything appears by pure chance and without deep meaning.
An interesting fact is that Epicurus's thoughts had a great influence on the ideas of John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Jeremy Bentham and Karl Marx.
Death
According to Diogenes Laertius, the cause of the death of the philosopher was kidney stones, which gave him excruciating pain. Nevertheless, he continued to be cheerful, teaching the rest of his days.
During his lifetime, Epicurus said the following phrase:
"Do not be afraid of death: while you are alive, it is not, when it comes, you will not be"
Perhaps it was precisely this attitude that helped the sage leave this world without fear. Epicurus died in 271 or 270 BC. at the age of about 72 years.
