Over the years, you’ve probably heard at least a few people casually describe themselves as Epicureans. As used today, the label can refer to as little as enjoying the occasional expensive restaurant meal. The bar was a bit higher in the second century, as explained by ancient-history YouTuber Garrett Ryan in the new video above from his channel Told in Stone. But there is, at least, one major aspect of the original doctrine laid out by Epicurus (341–270 BC) with which most any of his self-styled followers in our time would agree: that pleasure is the greatest good. Whether they would follow that premise all the way to the conclusions Epicurus did is another matter.
For that ancient Greek philosopher, Ryan explains, “happiness was the sole legitimate goal of human existence. The essence of happiness is freedom from anxiety. Since the greatest source of mental disturbance is fear about death and the afterlife, it is necessary to understand the true nature of the universe.”
Thereafter come the principles about atoms drifting through the infinite void, a subject of less interest to many twenty-first century “Epicureans” than the mechanics of the Williams-Sonoma rewards program. Still, they would do well to learn at least one relevant Greek term: ataraxia, or the “tranquility that comes from being sufficient in oneself.”
Achieving ataraxia is not a matter of merely indulging the senses. Rather, “all sources of unnecessary mental disturbance should be removed.” That means no politics and probably no marriage, though friendship is acceptable. Though fairly ascetic in its original form, Epicureanism drew quite a few high-profile Romans as adherents — and as detractors. No less a figure than Cicero, for example, attacked both its opposition to traditional Roman religion and, perhaps predictably, its isolation from public life. Plutarch went so far as to write anti-Epicurean treatises, including one titled “It Is Not Possible to Live Pleasurably According to the Doctrines of Epicurus.” That may or may not be true by our modern standards, but the question is worth contemplating over a good dinner.
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Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. He’s the author of the newsletter Books on Cities as well as the books 한국 요약 금지 (No Summarizing Korea) and Korean Newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter at @colinmarshall.
