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Philosophical doctrine of Epicurus. Epicurus, ancient Greek philosopher, founder of Epicureanism in Athens. A libertine or a humble sage? What is known about the life of Epicurus

Introduction

philosophy epicureanism spiritual atomist

Many philosophers from various historical periods have been pursuing the pursuit of happiness. One of them was the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus.

Epicurus is characteristic of that era when philosophy begins to be interested not so much in the world as in the fate of a person in it, not so much in the mysteries of the cosmos, as in attempts to find out how, in the contradictions and storms of life, a person can find the calmness, serenity that he needs so much and so desired by him, equanimity and fearlessness. To know not for the sake of knowledge itself, but just as much as is necessary to preserve the bright serenity of the spirit - this is the goal and task of philosophy, according to Epicurus.

Atomists and Cyrenaics were the main predecessors of the Epicureans. Atomic materialism, borrowed from Leucippus and Democritus, undergoes a profound transformation in the philosophy of Epicurus, it loses the character of a purely theoretical, contemplative philosophy, only comprehending reality, and becomes a teaching that enlightens a person, freeing him from oppressive fears and rebellious excitements and feelings. From Aristippus, Epicurus adopts hedonistic ethics, which he also subject to significant changes. His ethical teaching is based on a reasonable human striving for happiness, which he understood as inner freedom, health of the body and serenity of the spirit.

The doctrine of Epicurus was developed by him quite comprehensively and published in its final form. She did not have the inclinations for her development, so the students were able to add very little to the teacher's ideas. The only outstanding follower of Epicurus was the Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus, who in his poetic work "On the Nature of Things" brought to us many of Epicurus' thoughts.

Due to the extensibility and uncertainty, the teachings of Epicurus were very vulnerable and made it possible to use his ideas in order to justify any vices and virtues. So a voluptuous person could see in the teachings of Epicurus an encouragement to his inclinations, and for a moderate person, it provided a scientific justification for abstinence. It so happened that both in ancient times and in our days, the concept of "epicureanism" is usually used in a negative sense, meaning by it a special addiction to sensual life and the desire to achieve personal good. Even though it is now proven that Epicurus himself led an impeccable and virtuous life, and in his teachings insisted on the need for moderation and abstinence, the prejudice against the Epicureans, apparently, will persist for a long time.

The philosophy of Epicurus was called upon to alleviate the suffering of people “The words of that philosopher are empty, which does not heal any suffering of a person. Just as there is no benefit from medicine if it does not expel diseases from the body, so it is from philosophy if it does not expel diseases of the soul. ”[(5) p.315]

In the modern world, there are quite a few people suffering, for various reasons, the inability to enjoy life ("ahedonia"). Representatives of various segments of the population are susceptible to such ailment: from the disadvantaged to the well-to-do. Moreover, among the latter, there are much more patients with "anhedonia".

Perhaps the knowledge of such a philosophical trend as "Epicureanism" would greatly facilitate the life of most people of our time.

Let us turn directly to the teachings of Epicurus with the aim of:

Determine the true views of Epicurus on the concept of happiness;

Identify useful ideas in it for modern society.

1.Biography of Epicurus

Epicurus was born in 342 (341) BC, in Samos or Attica - not established. His parents were poor; his father was engaged in teaching grammar. According to Epicurus, he began to study philosophy very early, in the thirteenth year of his life. This should not seem strange, because it is at this age that many young men, especially those who are not devoid of talent, begin to really worry about the first serious questions. Speaking about the beginning of his studies in philosophy, Epicurus, apparently, had in mind the time of his adolescence, when he baffled his teacher with some unbearable question for him. So, according to legend, having heard the verse of Hesiod, which says that everything came from chaos, young Epicurus asked: "Where did chaos come from?" There was also a legend according to which Epicurus's mother was a priestess-healer, about which Diogenes Laertius says: “They (apparently Stoics) claim that he usually wandered from house to house with his mother, who read cleansing prayers, and helped his father in teaching the basics of knowledge for a pittance. ”[(4) p.300] If this legend is true, then it is likely that Epicurus at a very early age was imbued with the hatred of superstition, which later became such a vivid, outstanding feature of his teaching. 18 years old, at about the time of Alexander's death, he went to Athens, apparently in order to establish citizenship, but while he was there, Athenian settlers were expelled from Samos.

The Epicurus family took refuge in Asia Minor, where he joined his family. In Taos, he was taught philosophy by a certain Navzifan, apparently a follower of Democritus. It is known that Epicurus zealously studied the philosophical works of Democritus, visited recognized experts in philosophy, seeking to expand his philosophical education and get answers to his questions. However, all of Epicurus's searches for a satisfactory philosophical system ended in nothing: everywhere, instead of truth, he found only hints and half-answers. Not satisfied with this, he subsequently developed, on the basis of what he learned, his own system, which does him credit as a self-taught.

In 311 BC. Epicurus founded a school, first in Mytilene, then in Lampsacus, and from 307 - in Athens, where he died in 271 (270) BC.

After the difficult years of his youth, his life in Athens was calm, and the peace was disturbed only by illness. Epicurus suffered all his life from poor health, but he learned to endure it with great perseverance. (It was he who first argued that a person can be happy on a rack.) He owned a house and a garden, it was in the garden that he taught, which perfectly corresponded to the very spirit of his teaching. At the entrance to the garden was the following inscription: “The hospitable owner of this dwelling, where you will find pleasure - the highest good, will offer you plenty of barley cakes and give you fresh water from the spring.

In this garden, artificial treats will not irritate your appetite, but you will satisfy it. in a natural way... Do you want to have a good time? " The three brothers of Epicurus and some others were at school from the very beginning, but in Athens his school increased not only at the expense of students of philosophy, but also at the expense of friends and their children, slaves and getters. This last circumstance was the reason for the slander on the part of his enemies, apparently completely unjust. The life of the community was very simple and modest - partly out of principle and partly because of the lack of money. Their food and drink consisted mainly of bread and water, which Epicurus considered quite satisfactory: unpleasant consequences them. ”[(4) p.302] Financially, the community depended, at least in part, on voluntary donations.

Epicurus was probably the most prolific of the ancient Greek philosophers. And although none of his works have survived in their entirety, there are many passages from them, and, therefore, a very definite idea can be formed about the true views of Epicurus.

According to Epicurus' hedonistic ethics, the goal of human life is happiness, understood as pleasure. The highest good Epicurus recognized bliss, pleasure (hedone). It consists in the satisfaction of natural and necessary needs and leads first to the achievement of a certain emotional balance - peace of mind ("ataraxia"), and then to happiness ("eudemonia").

The starting point and goal of the philosophy of Epicureanism was the same as that of other philosophical systems of Hellenism: the starting point was the thesis that happiness is the highest good, and the goal was to explain what happiness is based on and how it can be achieved. The explanation given by Epicurus was the simplest of all explanations: happiness is based on enjoying pleasure, and unhappiness in enduring suffering. This explanation was not a tautology, since the Greeks understood happiness as best life(eudaimonia), in which perfection accessible to man is achieved. Perfection itself Epicurus understood in an absolutely hedonistic way, while other schools saw the perfection of life in something other than pleasure. Hedonism was firmly connected with the name of Epicurus, although it was not his invention, for it had long been known from Aristippus. Epicurus gave hedonism an original look, which was very far from the ordinary hedonism of Aristippus.

Epicurus' main thought was that the absence of suffering is sufficient for happiness; we already feel the absence of suffering as pleasure. This is explained by the fact that a person is good by nature, but suffering makes him unhappy. The natural state of a person is that he does not meet anything good and nothing bad on his life path, and this is already a pleasant state, since the very process of life, life itself is a joy. This is an innate joy that does not need to be taken care of, we carry it with us. Inborn, it is independent. Let only the body be healthy and the soul calm, then life will be wonderful.

This is an essential place in Epicureanism, since here hedonism is associated with the cult of life. Life is a blessing, the only one that is given to us as our own. The Epicureans in the form of a religious cult worshiped life, it was like a sect of devotees of life. However, they realized that this blessing is limited and short-lived. In comparison with nature, which is endless, stable and reborn every time again, human life is an episode. Epicurus considered it a mistake to believe in metempsychosis and the periodic return of the soul. It so happened that ancient philosophy realized the value of life for herself simultaneously with the awareness of its insignificance. The conclusion drawn from this discovery was as follows: the good that we comprehend must be appreciated and immediately used, since it is temporary and transient. It is necessary to use it immediately, not hoping for future existence. It was a thoroughly earthly ethical doctrine.

3 external pleasures

The joy of life is the main element of happiness, but not the only one. Besides this inner joy, there are pleasures caused by external causes. They (the only ones to which Aristippus paid attention) are generally of a different kind than this spontaneous pleasure of life. The impact of positive causes is required if the absence of suffering is sufficient for them (they can be called “positive” as opposed to “negative”), despite the fact that any feelings are positive. We carry the “positive” ones in ourselves, and the “negative” ones depend on the circumstances and therefore influence the fate of happiness; therefore, they are not constant. To achieve positive pleasures, two conditions must be met: it is necessary to have needs and it is necessary that they be satisfied. At the same time, the joy of life is manifested not through needs and their satisfaction. Moreover, some pleasures are manifested in the absence of a need, while others - when they are satisfied. Negative pleasure is experienced by the one whose calmness does not require stimulus and cannot change, while positive pleasure can only be obtained by the one who is exposed and changed.

The above two types of pleasure are not equal. Only when pleasure is denied, in the absence of needs, is a person invariably free from suffering. Where there are needs, there is always a threat of their dissatisfaction; however, satisfaction itself is associated with suffering. The one who has the least needs experiences the most pleasure. Hence, the denial of pleasure is more significant. In this case, it constitutes the goal of life. In order to achieve this goal, you do not need to worry about pleasure, you just need to avoid suffering; not to satisfy needs, but to get rid of them. Positive pleasure is not a goal, but only a means, just a means to muffle suffering when it bothers a person. It is necessary to break with the original instinct that prescribes that it is necessary to avoid any pleasure that can be obtained; it is necessary to develop in oneself the art of moderation in pleasures and to choose those of them that do not entail suffering.

There are two kinds of positive pleasures: either physical or spiritual. Their ratio is such that physical pleasures are more significant, since spiritual ones cannot exist without them; food (as the pleasure of satiety) is associated with the maintenance of life, while life is the first condition for happiness. Epicurus said that the pleasure of the stomach is the basis and source of any good. At the same time, spiritual benefits are the highest, for they give more pleasure; and this is due to the fact that the soul contains not only modernity, but the power of imagination inherent in it, to the same extent, both the past and the future.

Epicurus did not recognize the qualitative differences between pleasures. There are no more or less significant pleasures; there are only more or less acceptable ones. He understood that if he allowed high-quality

distinction between them, then consistent hedonism could not be carried out. “If you do not break the law, do not violate good customs, do not offend your neighbor, do not damage your body, then you will not lose the necessary means for life and you can satisfy your desires.” [(4) p.304] However, he recognized a certain lifestyle: he strove for satisfaction of spiritual joys, raising the cult of pleasure and sophistication of life (this sophistication of life is now called epicureanism). “It is not games and holidays, the luxury of love and the luxury of appetite at tables laden with food that make life sweet, but a sober mind that discards erroneous opinions and most of all worries an active soul.” [(3) p.184] The most modest pleasures are a circle of friends and flowers in the garden - were the highest pleasures for the Epicureans.

.Media for happiness

There are two main ways to be happy: to be virtuous and to be reasonable. "There is no pleasant life that is not reasonable, morally perfect and just, but there is also no rational life, morally perfect and just, which is not pleasant." [(1) p.241] The life examples given by the hedonist Epicurus were, apart from a very different starting point, identical with the definitions of the idealists. At the same time, their justification by Epicurus was different. According to him, one should strive for virtue, because virtue is a means to happiness. At the same time, it would be nonsense to perceive it as a value in itself, and it would be nonsense for it to do anything as such.

5. Reason - necessary condition for happiness

The source of unhappiness is prejudice, and the condition for happiness is the presence of an enlightened mind. Happiness requires a culture of thought and the use of logic. But deepening in particular is in vain: Epicurus did not deal with the theory of concepts and judgments, syllogism, proof, definition, classification - everything that since the time of Aristotle was the sphere of logic. It was only about the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood. Thus understood logic acted as criterionology, which he called canon (from the Greek word "canon" or measure, criterion).

The direction that Epicurus took in logic was sensualistic, since through sensory impressions and only, in his opinion, with their help, one can discover the truth. Feelings reflect reality as it is, clarifying it gives us a sense of reality. About things that we do not perceive, we can only judge indirectly, on the basis of other impressions; sensation is the measure of any knowledge and is its criterion.

And that goes for every experience. If even in relation to one of them there is a suspicion that it is mistakenly reproducing things, sensations would cease to be a criterion. Epicurus did not even retreat before the absurd gaze, according to which the dreams and hallucinations of madmen are also true. No one has ever pushed sensationalism so far in the theory of knowledge. However, Epicurus did not interpret the essence of the matter so naively, because he knew that we are prone to errors and delusions. He resolved the difficulties in the following way: errors and delusions attributed to feelings, he attributed exclusively to reasoning; because of this, he could not recognize immediate sensations as infallible. Nevertheless, the fact remained that one and the same real object gives rise to completely different impressions. In order to explain this, he turned to Democritus' theory of "similarity". The transition from similarity to an object can only be accomplished with the help of reasoning. And here a mistake threatens the one who does not consider the fact that the similarities: a) change along the way; b) collide with similarities of other objects, creating a mixture that does not correspond to any of the objects; c) the senses, in their structure, do not perceive any similarities. This theory, from which Democritus made a conclusion about the subjectivity of sensations, served his students to explain their objectivity. Epicurus's sensationalist theory also embraced feelings. Sensory feelings, pleasures, and grievances are never wrong; a mistake can occur only when we build a judgment on its basis, when, on the basis of a feeling of pleasure and grief, we judge good and evil. Sensualist theory gave Epicurus what he needed — the foundation for hedonistic ethics.

6 friendship as a means to happiness

Epicurus attached great importance to friendship “Of all the things that wisdom supplies us for long-term happiness, there is nothing more important than friendship.” [(3) p.187] For ethics based on selfish feelings, such a statement may seem strange, but The great importance that the Epicureans attached to friendship is based on selfish calculations. Without friendship, a person will not be able to live a safe and calm life, and besides, friendship gives pleasure "You cannot live carelessly and calmly without being in friendship with people, and you cannot, in turn, live with dignity without living calmly and carelessly." (4) p.306] Nevertheless, friendship is only a means, and the end - always and exclusively - is pleasure. And only personal (individual pleasure). Despite the fact that in theory Epicurus' ethics is inherently selfish or even self-centered, because it is based on individual pleasure, in practice it was not as selfish as it might seem at first glance. Thus, the Epicureans believed that it is much more pleasant to do good than to receive it, and the founder of this school became famous for his peaceful character. "Most happy people- these are those who have reached such a state that they have nothing to fear from the people around them. Such people live in harmony with each other, having the most solid grounds to trust each other to the full, enjoying the benefits of friendship and mourning the premature death of their friends, if such happens. ”[(3) p.186]

7 safety and justice are conditions for happiness

Epicurus strove for a sober philosophy, on the basis of which he thought to build human actions, morality, law, social structure and good relationship between people. Epicurus teaches that a person should (insofar as it depends on him) avoid such negative emotions as hatred, envy and contempt. Society arose artificially - from an agreement concluded among themselves initially, as it were, by atomic people, i.e. living in solitude, guided by natural law, the knowledge of good and evil (animals are deprived of this). This is a treaty of mutual benefit and its purpose is not to harm each other and not to suffer harm from each other. Naturally, all people have the same idea of justice. Justice is in the benefits that people get from mutual communication with each other. But this general view in different geographic locations and under different circumstances gives rise to different specific norms. Hence the variety of customs and laws by which individual human communities differ so much from each other. At the same time, people tend to forget about the original: all customs and laws should serve mutual benefit and they are replaceable - after all, at the heart of societies is the free will of people, their agreement. Pleasure and personal advantage are central to the Epicurean theory of law. “Anyone who wants to live in peace, not being afraid of other people, must make friends; with the same people with whom one cannot befriend, he must treat in such a way that at least he does not turn them into enemies; and if it is not in his power, he should, as far as possible, avoid communication with them and keep them at a distance, for it is in his interests. " [(3) p.186] It is much more pleasant to live in a society where the law rules, and rights are respected, than in the conditions of “bellum omnium contra omnes” (War of all against all. Lat.)

8 obstacles to happiness

Reason is necessary for happiness, but only in order to successfully choose between pleasures, as well as to control thoughts. Thoughts are often erroneous and cause delusions and fears that most disturb a person's peace and make his happiness impossible. There is no fear worse than that which evokes the thought of omnipotent gods and imminent death. But maybe this fear is unfounded? Maybe we are afraid in vain? In order to be convinced of this, it is necessary to investigate the nature of things, and for this purpose Epicurus was engaged in physics.

According to Epicurus, nature should not be investigated for its own sake. "If we were not embarrassed by suspicions whether celestial phenomena or death have anything to do with us, and if ignorance of the limits of suffering and desires were not embarrassing, then there would be no need for us even to study nature." [(1) p.242] Research is necessary in order to make human happiness possible and, above all, peace of mind. And he can be reassured only when we say that nature does not threaten man. With this thought, Epicurus built his theory of nature.

9 fear of the gods

Choice by Epicurus physical theory determined by a practical goal, namely the desire to free people from the fear of the gods. Epicurus was convinced that the true explanation of nature is only a causal explanation, and therefore he turns to the Democritian theory of nature. Epicurus' theory of nature was materialistic: it postulated that nothing exists but bodies and empty space. Epicurus believed that bodies are composed of many atoms independent of each other.

Epicurus' theory in understanding the causes was mechanistic. He explained the motion of atoms exclusively by their mechanistically interpreted weight; that is why their movement occurs in the "up-down" direction. If all atoms fell uniformly in the same direction, then their structure would not undergo changes. In order to explain the changes taking place in the surrounding world, Epicurus assumed that atoms fall, deviating vertically; he believed that the presence of this deviation is enough to explain all the diversity in the system of the world and its history. At the same time, he introduced freedom through the deviations of atoms, making exceptions for it from the rigidly determined, mechanistic concept of the world.

In addition to this, the only exception to a rigidly determined system, Epicurus believed that he explains the world as the result of mechanically acting material forces. This position was the most important, because from it he concluded that nature can be explained from itself, without the participation of the gods. Epicurus was not an atheist, he firmly believed in their existence, because he could not otherwise explain the widespread dissemination of the idea of God. In his opinion, the gods exist, are eternal, happy, free from evil, but they live in the other world - in a good and indestructible peace. They do not interfere with the fate of the world, for interference presupposes effort and excitement, and this does not correspond to the perfect and happy existence of the gods; short-sighted is the endowment of them with a function that is not inherent in them. The gods are just an example for the world. People may honor the gods for their superiority and take part in the customary ceremonies of worshiping them, but fear of the gods is completely inappropriate, as well as attempts to win their favor with sacrifices. True piety consists in righteous thoughts.

Thus, the teachings of Epicurus freed man from one of the greatest fears - the fear of the gods.

.Fear of Death

The greatest difficulty for the materialist system was the explanation of psychic phenomena, and Epicurus, like the vast majority of the ancients, did not quite cope with this difficulty. He was convinced that the soul, as really existing and acting, should be corporeal. She is corporeal, but, in accordance with the view widespread in antiquity, she is of a different nature than the body. Epicurus understood it as a kind of colloid, as matter uniformly distributed throughout the body, like heat. Soul and body are two matters, two kinds of atoms, mutually influencing each other. The soul, like everything bodily, is in motion, and the result of its movement is life and consciousness, while sensations are changes that occur in the soul as a result of the influence of external objects on it. Epicurus could not explain the variety of mental functions otherwise than by admitting that the soul is made up of different matters: one matter is the cause of rest, the second is the cause of motion, the third is the cause of warmth that sustains life, and the fourth, the most subtle matter, is the cause of mental activity.

The soul is a complex bodily structure subject to destruction, since its existence ends with death. Belief in immortality is a mistake. But the fear of death is unfounded, it is a source of anxiety, and because of this, all human misfortunes. “Death will not escape us, since evil and good are only where one can feel something with feelings - death is the end of sensory sensation.” [(1) p.239] Anyone who understands this is devoid of fear of death , I am convinced that there are no endless prospects of suffering in front of him and, concentrating his attention on earthly life, the only one that is given to us, will be able to dispose of it accordingly and achieve happiness, for which immortality is not needed.

Just as the physics of Epicurus, which dispensed with the intervention of the gods in nature, freed from the fear of deities, so his psychology, deprived of an immortal soul, was able to free a person from another fear - the fear of death.

11 fear of celestial phenomena

Epicurus's doctrine of nature includes both general, worldview issues, and private ones. In "Letter to Pithocles", the subject of which is celestial, astronomical and meteorological phenomena, Epicurus asks the question not only about the origin of the world - he is also interested in concrete knowledge. He talks about the rising and setting of the luminaries, about their movement, about the phases of the moon and about the origin of moonlight, about solar and lunar eclipses, about the reasons for the correct movement of celestial bodies and about the reasons for changing the length of the day and night. His focus is on weather forecasting, the origin of clouds, thunder, lightning, vortices, earthquakes, winds, hail, snow, dew, ice. He is interested in rings around the moon, comets, and the movement of stars.

But at the same time Epicurus does not strive for the only correct explanation. He admits, as it were, epistemological pluralism, that each phenomenon can have several explanations (for example, Epicurus thinks, eclipses of the Sun and Moon can occur both as a result of the extinction of these luminaries, and as a result of their obscuration by another body). For Epicurus, one thing is important here - to prove that, whatever the causes of natural phenomena, they are all natural. It is important for him that the explanation does not resort to fictitious divine powers.

The natural explanation of celestial phenomena is possible because what happens in the sky does not fundamentally differ from what happens on the Earth, which itself is a part of the sky, because our world itself is an area of the sky that contains the luminaries, the Earth and all the heavenly phenomena. Epicurus defends the material unity of the world. Here he sharply contrasts science and mythology. Only this kind of physics can free people from the widespread fear of the sky and remove the burden of anxiety from their souls.

12 hope as an obstacle to happiness

Hope is a stronger enemy: a person always hopes that life will be better tomorrow, that he will get or win a lot of money, that the new ruler will be softer and smarter, and people will stop being so cruel and stupid. Nothing in this world will change, Epicurus believed, everything will remain the same as it has always been “What the universe is now, it has always been and will always be, because it has nothing to change, - because, apart from the universe, there is nothing that could enter it by making a change. ”[(1) p.226] You yourself must change. You must achieve equanimity (ataraxia), and then you will not care about smart or stupid rulers, about the wealth or stupidity of other people.

According to Epicurus, four problems make a person unhappy, four fears: 1) before the impossibility of achieving happiness; 2) before suffering; 3) before the gods; 4) before death. The "quadruple cure" for these four sufferings should be the philosophy of Epicurus: the first two fears were treated by his ethics; the last two are physics. A) Joy, which is the only good, is easy to obtain if a person lives reasonably; B) suffering, which is the only evil, is easy to endure, because when it is strong, it is short-lived, and when it is long-term, it is not strong; and, finally, it is not suffering that bothers people, but the fear of suffering; C) there is nothing to be afraid of the gods, because they do not interfere in the life of people; D) there is no death, since “the greatest evil, death, does not concern us at all: as long as we exist, there is no death, and when there is death, we are not.” [(1) p.239] Humanity, thanks to the culture that it has created should have already received a certain amount of happiness.

The disciples extolled Epicurus as the first philosopher who knew that it is not because of fictitious conditions that man is happy; that happiness lies not in conditions, but in the person himself. There are no higher powers that would take care of his fate; no one harms him, but also does not help; but he can only rely on himself, and he is responsible for his own happiness. Epicurus was not only a scientist, but also - even more so - an apostle happy life; his school was more a sect than a scientific union, whose members sought to lead a life devoid of prejudice, being confident that it would be serene and happy.

Epicureanism, mainly, is an ethics that recognizes only earthly blessings, considers a person responsible for his own happiness and unhappiness, values peace as the most perfect state of a person; the enlightenment of the mind acts in it as the only means against the forces that disturb its peace, being the result of its own stupidity, finally sees the paradoxical in the rational, in the cultural style of life the best means to achieve egoistic happiness, and in the egoistic basis - the surest way to happiness as such.

Conclusion

The philosophy of Epicurus is the greatest and most consistent materialistic teaching Ancient Greece after the teachings of Leucippus and Democritus.

Epicurus differs from his predecessors in understanding both the problem of philosophy and the means leading to the solution of this problem. The main and final task of philosophy Epicurus recognized the creation of ethics - the doctrine of behavior that can lead to happiness. But this problem can be solved, he thought, only under a special condition: if the place that man - a particle of nature - occupies in the world is investigated and clarified. True ethics presupposes true knowledge of the world. Therefore, ethics should be based on physics, which contains, as its part and as its most important result, the doctrine of man. Ethics is based on physics, anthropology is based on ethics. In turn, the development of physics should be preceded by research and the establishment of a criterion for the truth of knowledge.

The Epicurean ideal person (sage) differs from the sage in the depiction of the stoics and skeptics. Unlike the skeptic, the Epicurean has strong and thoughtful convictions. Unlike the Stoic, the Epicurean is not dispassionate. Passions are known to him (although he will never fall in love, for love enslaves). Unlike the Cynic, the Epicurean will not defiantly begging and despise friendship; on the contrary, the Epicurean will never leave a friend in trouble, and if necessary, he will die for him. An Epicurean will not punish slaves. He will never become a tyrant. The Epicurean does not subservience to fate (as the Stoic does): he understands that in life one thing is really inevitable, but the other is accidental, and the third depends on ourselves, on our will. The Epicurean is not a fatalist. He is free and capable of independent, spontaneous actions, being similar in this respect to atoms with their spontaneity.

As a result, the ethics of Epicurus turned out to be a doctrine opposed to superstition and all beliefs that degrade human dignity. For Epicurus, the criterion of happiness (analogous to the criterion of truth) is the feeling of pleasure. Good is that which gives rise to pleasure, evil is that which gives rise to suffering. Eliminating everything that stands in the way must precede the development of the doctrine of the path that leads man to happiness. With all this, the ethics or practical philosophy of Epicurus became, first of all, worldly wisdom. His philosophy was that of a sick person, designed to advise a world in which risky happiness was hardly possible. He must have felt a strong sense of pity for the suffering of humanity and an unshakable conviction that it would be greatly alleviated if people accepted his philosophy. Eat little - for fear of indigestion, drink little - for fear of a hangover; avoid politics and love, and all actions associated with strong passions; do not put your destiny at stake by getting married and having children; in your intellectual life, learn to contemplate pleasure rather than suffering. Physical suffering is undoubtedly a great evil, but if it is acute, then it is short, and if it is long, then it can be endured with the help of mental discipline and the habit of thinking about pleasant things in spite of this pain. Above all, live in such a way as to avoid fear.

In my opinion, in the modern world, the ideas of Epicurus have not lost their relevance, since nothing has changed since the time of this outstanding thinker. And this very fact confirms the opinion of Epicurus about the immutability of the Universe. Although no one today has any fears either of gods or of heavenly phenomena due to their education, many people consider religion as a consolation or as a tribute to fashion, observing rituals just in case. However, there are still rich people suffering from satiety; also, many strive for fame and honor and suffer from the inability to satisfy these needs; there are also many people who lead a beggarly lifestyle, who do not know the joy and do not see the meaning in their existence; there is also a huge mass of people suffering from physical and mental pain. Therefore, knowledge of such an ethical direction as Epicureanism could well make life easier for many people due to a reassessment of values. Thanks to the development of enlightenment, for which Epicurus stood up, such a direction in medicine as psychotherapy appeared, treating both mental ailments and helping to endure physical suffering, for example, with the help of self-hypnosis and meditation.

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.Chanyshev A.N. A course of lectures on ancient and medieval philosophy: Textbook. manual for universities. - M .: Higher school, 1991. - 512s.

Biography of Epicurus

Epicurus is an ancient Greek philosopher, founder of Epicureanism in Athens. Of the almost three hundred works that were written by Epicurus, only a few fragments have survived. One of the sources of knowledge about this philosopher are the works of Diogenes Laertius, including: "On the life, teachings and sayings of famous philosophers" and Lucretius Kara "On the nature of things."

According to the records of Diogenes Laertius, the Athenian Epicurus is the son of Neocles and Herestrata, originally from the island of Samos, and from the age of 14 he began to show an interest in philosophy. At the age of 18, he moved to Athens, when the Athenians were expelled from the island of Samos after the death of Alexander the Great, Epicurus went to Colophon to his father, where he lived for some time and gathered himself followers.

At the age of 32, he founded his own philosophical school, originally located in Mytilene and Lampsac, and from 306 BC. - in Athens. Epicurus in Athens settled with his disciples in the garden he bought, therefore the Epicureans were called "the philosophers of the Garden." Epicurus, as Diogenes Laertius wrote, died of a kidney stone in 271 or 270 BC.

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Epicurus's relationship with other philosophers

The surviving works of Epicurus boil down to three significant letters to his friends, eighty aphorisms called "main thoughts", and several dozen extracts from his surviving works.

Epicurus argued with Plato. As F. Solomsen believed, Epicurus created his own philosophical system as opposed to the academic one.

Some ancient authors reproached Epicurus for plagiarism. For example, Ariston in the book "The Life of Epicurus" argued that Epicurus copied his "Canon" from the "Tripod" of Navsiphanes, and the Stoics claimed that Epicurus appropriated the teachings of Democritus about atoms and the teachings of Aristippus the Cyrenaicus about pleasure as the highest good. Epicurus himself spoke quite scornfully of other philosophers, one might even say contemptuously.

Epicurus' teachings

Epicurus divided his own philosophy into three parts:

canon;
physics;
ethics.

Epicurus called his theory of knowledge "canon", since its basis was the doctrine of the criteria or canons of truth. Disagreeing with Aristotle and Plato, he considered the primary and main criterion of truth to be the sensations in which life is given to a person. Reason, according to Epicurus, is completely dependent on sensations. Since sensory cognition is infallible, errors in cognition or delusions arise from erroneous judgments about what is given in sensations.

In the canon of Epicurus, secondary criteria of truth are also highlighted, which include anticipation, enduring, and a figurative throw of thought.

Anticipation is a concept or general idea that arises on the basis of sensory perception from a single representation.

Enduring is more a criterion of attitude to a thing than a criterion of truth. Endurance serves as the basis for moral assessments that are consistent with ethical principles.

A figurative throw of thought is intuition, and the main sign of perfect knowledge is the ability to quickly use a throw of thought.

Epicurus in his teaching strove to give a practical guide for life, for which he needed physics, and for her - logic.

In accordance with the teachings of Epicurus about nature, the Universe is the result of the collision and separation of atoms, except for which there is nothing. The universe, according to Epicurus, is infinite.

In the spaces between the worlds, happy and immortal gods live who do not care about the world and people.

Remark 1

Natural phenomena Epicurus explained in a similar way to the physicists of modern times, therefore he is considered the father of empirical natural science.

For Epicurus, the ideal of man is a sage. Knowledge of nature is not an end in itself, it frees a person from the fear of superstition, as well as from the fear of death. For Epicurus, death is the absence of sensations.

Epicurus singled out natural desires and empty ones. Natural desires may be necessary. But not every desire is worthy of being satisfied, since some of them can lead to suffering. Therefore, a sage needs a certain amount of discretion.

Epicurus, unlike the Stoics, was not interested in politics, as this led to trouble. He was friendly to the public, but reserved. Epicurus spoke of the need to live inconspicuously, one must not draw attention to oneself in life. You don't need to strive for fame, power and wealth, you need to enjoy small pleasures - friends, delicious food, etc.

Epicurus spoke about the idea of justice as a social contract, about not tolerating and not causing harm. Such a contract is necessary to reap the full benefits of living together in an orderly society. According to Epicurus, society arose precisely from such a contract of people living in solitude and guided by natural law. Such an agreement was concluded so as not to harm each other.

Epicurus associated the development of speech with conditions environment... So, he believed that people in different geographic areas, under the influence of the same things, they made different sounds, due to the different effect of environmental conditions on the lungs and larynx of a person. In other words, the first words spoken by a person were different, therefore the languages in the world are also different.

There are several provisions that correspond to the holistic teaching of Epicurus:

a person owes his appearance to himself and his parents;
man is the result of the development of nature;
gods can exist, but cannot interfere in the life of people and affairs on Earth;
human fate does not depend on the gods, but only on the person himself;
the human soul dies with the body;
the ability to live well and die well are one and the same science.

Remark 2

According to Epicurus, God is an immortal and blissful being. He argued that the kind in which the gods exist does not show any interest in people, they do not know anything about the existence of people, which means that they cannot punish a person either in life or after death.

The main views of Epicurus on the gods can be summarized as follows:

gods exist;
true knowledge of the gods is formed by anticipation;
philistine ideas about gods are false;
the gods are immortal and blessed, they are in the interworld.

1. Introduction

2. Life and writings of Epicurus

3. Philosophy of Epicurus

4. Conclusion

5. List of used literature

Introduction

Epicurus is characteristic of the era when philosophy begins to be interested not so much in the world as in the fate of a person in it, not so much in the mysteries of the cosmos, as in an attempt to indicate how, in the contradictions and storms of life, a person can find the calmness, serenity, equanimity that he needs so much and so desired by him. and fearlessness. To know not for the sake of knowledge itself, but just as much as is necessary to preserve the bright serenity of the spirit - this is the goal and task of philosophy, according to Epicurus. Materialism had to undergo a profound transformation in this philosophy. It had to lose the character of a purely theoretical, contemplative philosophy, only comprehending reality, and become a teaching that enlightens a person, freeing him from oppressive fears and rebellious emotions and feelings. It is precisely this transformation that atomic materialism underwent in Epicurus.

The life and writings of Epicurus

Epicurus was born in 341 BC. on the island of Samos. His father Neokles was a schoolteacher. Epicurus began to study philosophy at the age of 12. In 311 BC. he moved to the island of Lesvos, where he founded his first school of philosophy. After another 5 years, Epicurus moved to Athens, where he led a philosophical school known as the "Garden of Epicurus" until his death in 271 BC.

Epicurus worked literally until the last day of his life. He wrote more than 300 works, of which are mentioned, in particular: 37 books "On Nature", then "On Atoms and Emptiness", "On Love", "Doubt", "On Preference and Avoidance", "On the Ultimate Goal", "On the Gods", 4 books "On the Way of Life", then "On Sight", "On the Angles in Atoms", "On the Touch", "On Fate", "On Representations", "On Music", "On Justice and other virtues "," Opinions about diseases "," On the royal power ", etc. As Diogenes testifies:" They do not contain a single extract from the outside, but everywhere the voice of Epicurus himself. "

None of these books have reached us: they, along with many works of antiquity, were destroyed by Christian fanatics in the 4th and subsequent centuries. The same fate befell the books of his students. As a result, only three letters (to Herodotus, Pythocles and Menekeus), as well as a short treatise "Main Thoughts", have come down to us from Epicurus' own texts.

Philosophy of Epicurus

Apart from these few surviving passages, we can judge the philosophy of Epicurus from the retellings and expositions of his ideas by other philosophers. However, it should be remembered that often these retellings are very inaccurate, and some authors generally attribute their own inventions to Epicurus, contradicting the statements of the Greek philosopher that have survived to this day.

So, it is customary to think that Epicurus considered bodily pleasure to be the only meaning of life. In reality, Epicurus's views on pleasure are not so simple. By pleasure, he understood primarily the absence of displeasure, and emphasized the need to take into account the consequences of pleasure and suffering:

"Since pleasure is the first and innate blessing to us, therefore we do not choose every pleasure, but sometimes we bypass many pleasures when they are followed by a big trouble for us. We also consider many sufferings better than pleasure when more pleasure comes for us, after how we endure suffering for a long time. Thus, all pleasure is good, but not all pleasure should be chosen, just as all suffering is evil, but not all suffering should be avoided. "

Therefore, according to the teachings of Epicurus, bodily pleasures should be controlled by reason: "It is impossible to live pleasantly without living reasonably and justly, and it is also impossible to live reasonably and justly without living pleasantly."

And to live rationally, according to Epicurus, means not to strive for wealth and power as an end in itself, being satisfied with the minimum necessary in order to be satisfied with life: “The voice of the flesh is not to starve, not to thirst, not to chill. Who has it, and who hopes to have it in the future, he can argue with Zeus himself about happiness ... The wealth required by nature is limited and easily obtained, and the wealth required by empty opinions extends to infinity. "

Epicurus divided human needs into 3 classes:

1) natural and necessary - food, clothing, housing;

2) natural, but not necessary - sexual satisfaction;

3) unnatural - power, wealth, entertainment, etc.

The easiest way to satisfy needs (1), somewhat more difficult - (2), and needs (3) cannot be fully satisfied, but, according to Epicurus, it is not necessary.

“Among our desires,” he writes to Menekei, “some should be considered natural, others as idle; and among the natural, some are necessary, others are only natural; for life. If in this consideration no mistakes are made, then any preference and any avoidance will lead to bodily health and mental serenity. "

Epicurus believed that "pleasure is achievable only by dispelling the fears of the mind," and expressed the main idea of his philosophy in the following phrase: "Gods do not inspire fear, death does not inspire fear, pleasure is easily achievable, suffering is easily endured."

Contrary to the accusations made against him during his lifetime, Epicurus was not an atheist. He recognized the existence of the gods of the ancient Greek pantheon, but had his own opinion about them, which differed from the views prevailing in modern Greek society.

"Let us assume that the suffering of the world interests the gods. The gods may or may not, want or do not want to destroy the suffering in the world. If they cannot, then they are not gods. If they can, but do not want, then they are imperfect, which is also not befitting of the gods And if they can and want to - then why haven't they done it yet? "

Another famous saying of Epicurus on this topic: "If the gods listened to the prayers of people, then soon all people would perish, constantly praying a lot of evil to each other."

At the same time, Epicurus criticized atheism, believing that gods are necessary in order to be a model of perfection for man.

But in Greek mythology the gods are far from perfect: human traits and human weaknesses are attributed to them. That is why Epicurus was opposed to traditional ancient Greek religion: "Not the one who rejects the gods of the crowd, but the one who applies the ideas of the crowd to the gods."

Epicurus denied any divine creation of the world. In his opinion, many worlds are constantly born as a result of the attraction of atoms to each other, and the worlds that have existed for a certain period of time also disintegrate into atoms. This is consistent with the ancient cosmogony, which asserts the origin of the world from Chaos. But, according to Epicurus, this process is carried out spontaneously and without the intervention of any higher powers.

Epicurus developed the doctrine of Democritus about the structure of the world from atoms, while putting forward assumptions that only after many centuries were confirmed by science. So, he stated that different atoms differ in mass, and, therefore, in properties. Epicurus builds amazing guesses about the properties of microparticles: "The atoms of bodies, indivisible and continuous, of which everything complex is composed and decomposed, are immensely diverse in appearance ... place, if they accidentally interlock or are engulfed in entangled atoms ... atoms have no other properties than type, size and weight; as for color, it changes depending on the position of the atoms ... "

Unlike Democritus, who believed that atoms move along strictly specified trajectories, and therefore everything in the world is predetermined in advance, Epicurus believed that the movement of atoms is largely random, and, therefore, various scenarios are always possible.

Based on the randomness of the movement of atoms, Epicurus rejected the idea of fate and predetermination. "There is no expediency in what is happening, because a lot is not happening as it should have happened."

But, if the gods are not interested in the affairs of people, and a predetermined fate does not exist, then, according to Epicurus, there is no need to be afraid of both. "One who does not know fear himself cannot inspire fear. The gods do not know fear, because they are perfect." Epicurus was the first in history to declare that the fear of people before the gods is caused by the fear of natural phenomena that are attributed to the gods. Therefore, he considered it important to study nature and find out the real causes of natural phenomena - in order to free man from a false fear of the gods. All this is consistent with the proposition about pleasure as the main thing in life: fear is suffering, pleasure is the absence of suffering, knowledge allows you to get rid of fear, therefore, without knowledge there can be no pleasure - one of the key conclusions of the philosophy of Epicurus.

The cosmological ideas of Epicurus deserve special discussion: “What is the Universe now, it has always been and will always be, because it has nothing to change, - because, apart from the Universe, there is nothing that could enter it by making a change. are countless, and some are similar to ours, and some are dissimilar.In fact, since atoms are innumerable, they are carried very, very far, for such atoms, from which the world arises or from which it is created, are not completely spent on any to a limited number of them, whether similar to ours or dissimilar. Therefore, nothing prevents the countless worlds. " Explaining his opinion, he writes to Herodotus: “It should be assumed that the worlds and, in general, any limited complex body of the same kind as the objects that we observe all the time - all originated from infinity, standing out from separate clots, large and small; and they all decompose again from one reason or another, some faster, others slower. "

Adhering to this principle, he comes to the universal law of conservation: "Nothing arises from the non-existent, otherwise everything would arise from everything, not needing any seeds, and if the disappearing disintegrated into the non-existent, everything would have perished long ago, for what comes from destruction, would not exist. "

At the time of Epicurus, one of the main topics for discussions of philosophers was death and the fate of the soul after death. Epicurus considered disputes on this topic meaningless: "Accustom yourself to the idea that death has nothing to do with us. After all, all good and bad consists in sensation, and death is deprivation of sensation. Therefore, the correct knowledge that death has nothing to do with us. relationship, makes the mortality of life delightful, not because it adds to it an infinite amount of time, but because it takes away the thirst for immortality. life is not terrible.Thus, he is stupid who says that he is afraid of death, not because it will cause suffering when it comes, but because it causes suffering with what comes: after all, if something does not disturb the presence, then it is in vain grieve when it is still expected.Thus, the most terrible of evils, death, has nothing to do with us, since when we exist, death is not yet present; and when death is present, then we do not exist. Thus, death has nothing to do with the living or the dead, since for some it does not exist, while others no longer exist. People of the crowd sometimes avoid death as the greatest of evils, then they yearn for it as a respite from the evils of life. And the sage does not shy away from life, but he is not afraid of non-life, because life does not bother him, and non-life does not seem to be some kind of evil. As he chooses food not more abundant, but the most pleasant, so he enjoys not the longest, but the most pleasant ... "

According to Epicurus, people are afraid not so much of death itself as of death throes: “We are afraid to languish with illness, to be struck by a sword, torn apart by the teeth of beasts, turned into dust by fire - not because all this causes death, but because it brings suffering. Of all evils, the greatest is suffering, not death. " He believed that a person's soul is material and dies along with the body.

"The soul is a body of fine particles, scattered throughout our entire composition ... it should be assumed that it is the soul that is the main cause of sensations; but it would not have had them, had it not been for it closed in the rest of the composition of our body. As long as the soul is contained in the body, it does not lose sensitivity even with the loss of a member: with the destruction of its cover, complete or partial, particles of the soul also perish, but as long as something remains of it, it will have sensations ... when our entire composition is destroyed, then the soul is scattered and no longer has the same forces or movements, but likewise and sensations. we clearly see that both of these properties are inherent in the soul. " In other words, Epicurus, through simple observations, made a conclusion about the necessary presence of a nervous system that determines mental activity.

Epicurus can be called the most consistent materialist of all philosophers. In his opinion, everything in the world is material, and spirit, as a kind of entity separate from matter, does not exist at all. In many ways, it was he who laid the foundations of the modern scientific method of cognition. Thus, in a letter to Pythocles, Epicurus explains the principle of alternative hypotheses: “Having carried away one explanation, you cannot idly reject all the others, as happens when you don’t think about what is knowable for a person and what is not, and therefore you strive to study the inaccessible. And no celestial phenomenon. will not elude an explanation if you remember that there are many such explanations, and if we consider only those assumptions and reasons that fit with these phenomena, and which do not fit, they should be left unattended, attempts at a uniform explanation. For any celestial phenomena should not deviate from this path of investigation. "

Epicurus considers direct sensations, not judgments of reason, to be the basis of knowledge. In his opinion, everything that we feel is true, sensations never deceive us. Delusions and mistakes arise only when we add something to our perceptions, i.e. the source of error is the mind.

Perceptions arise from the penetration of images of things into us. These images are separated from the surface of things and move with the speed of thought. If they enter the senses, then they give a real sensory perception, if they penetrate the pores of the body, then they give a fantastic perception, including illusions and hallucinations.

Epicurus owns a clear formulation of the scientific style of discussing problems: "You should understand," he writes to Herodotus, "what is behind the words, so that all our opinions, searches, bewilderments can be reduced to them for discussion, so that in endless explanations they do not remain unconsidered and the words were not empty. "

As Diogenes Laertius writes about Epicurus: "He called all objects by their proper names, which the grammarian Aristophanes considers a reprehensible feature of his syllable. His clarity was such that in his" On Rhetoric "he did not consider it necessary to demand anything but clarity."

In general, Epicurus was against abstract theorizing, not related to facts. In his opinion, philosophy should have a direct practical application - to help a person avoid suffering and life mistakes: "Just as there is no benefit from medicine if it does not expel the suffering of the body, so there is no benefit from philosophy if it does not expel the suffering of the soul."

The most important part of the philosophy of Epicurus is his ethics. However, the teachings of Epicurus about the best way of human life can hardly be called ethics in modern sense this word. The question of fitting the individual to social attitudes, as well as all other interests of society and the state, occupied Epicurus least of all. His philosophy is individualistic and aimed at enjoying life regardless of political and social conditions.

Epicurus denied the existence of universal human morality and common concepts of goodness and justice, given to humanity from somewhere above. He taught that all these concepts are created by people themselves: "Justice is not something in itself, it is a kind of agreement between people about not to harm and not to suffer harm."

In the same way, he approaches the foundations of law: "Natural law is a contract about benefits, the purpose of which is not to cause or suffer harm. Justice does not exist in itself; it is a contract on not to cause or suffer harm, concluded in communication people and always in relation to the places where it is. In general, justice is the same for everyone, since it is a benefit in the mutual communication of people, but when applied to the peculiarities of place and circumstances, justice is not the same for everyone.

Of those actions that the law recognizes as just, only that is really fair, the benefits of which are confirmed by the needs of human communication, whether it will be the same for everyone or not. And if someone issues a law that will not prove useful in human communication, such a law will already be unjust by nature ... Where, without any change of circumstances, it turns out that laws that are considered just entail consequences that do not correspond to our anticipation of justice, there they are and were not fair. Where, with a change of circumstances, the previously established justice turns out to be useless, there it was just as long as it was beneficial in the communication of fellow citizens, and then it ceased to be fair, having ceased to be beneficial. "

Epicurus devoted a large role in the relationship of people to friendship, opposing it to political relations as something that brings pleasure in itself. Politics, however, is the satisfaction of the need for power, which, according to Epicurus, can never be fully satisfied, and therefore cannot bring true pleasure. In the "Main Thoughts" Epicurus states: "Security, even in our limited existence, thanks to friendship is most fully realized." Epicurus argued with the followers of Plato, who also put friendship at the service of politics, considering it as a means of building an ideal society.

In general, Epicurus does not set before a person any great goals and ideals. We can say that the goal of life according to Epicurus is life itself in all its manifestations, and knowledge and philosophy are the path to obtaining the greatest pleasure from life.

Humanity has always been prone to extremes. While some people greedily strive for pleasure as an end in itself and cannot get enough of it all the time, others torment themselves with asceticism, hoping to get some mystical knowledge and enlightenment. Epicurus proved that both are wrong, that getting pleasure from life and knowing life are interconnected. The philosophy and biography of Epicurus is an example of a harmonious approach to life in all its manifestations. However, Epicurus himself said it best of all: "Always have in your library new book, in the cellar - a full bottle of wine, in the garden - a fresh flower. "

Conclusion

The philosophy of Epicurus is the greatest and most consistent materialistic teaching of ancient Greece after the teachings of Leucippus and Democritus. Epicurus differs from his predecessors in understanding both the problem of philosophy and the means leading to the solution of this problem. The main and final task of philosophy Epicurus recognized the creation of ethics - the doctrine of behavior that can lead to happiness. But this problem can be solved, he thought, only under a special condition: if the place that man - a particle of nature - occupies in the world is investigated and clarified. True ethics presupposes true knowledge of the world. Therefore, ethics should be based on physics, which contains, as its part and as its most important result, the doctrine of man. Ethics is based on physics, anthropology is based on ethics. In turn, the development of physics should be preceded by research and the establishment of a criterion for the truth of knowledge.

New and original was the thought of Epicurus about the closest connection between ethics and physics, about the theoretical conditionality of ethics by physics.

The central concept connecting the physics of Epicurus with his ethics was the concept of freedom. Ethics of Epicurus is the ethics of freedom. Epicurus spent his entire life in the struggle against ethical teachings that are incompatible with the concept of human freedom. This put Epicurus and his entire school in a state of constant struggle with the Stoic school, despite a number of concepts and teachings common to these two materialist schools. According to Epicurus, the doctrine of the causal necessity of all phenomena and all events of nature, developed by Democritus and accepted by Epicurus, should in no case lead to the conclusion that freedom is impossible for man and that man is enslaved by necessity (fate, fate, fate). Within the framework of necessity, the path to freedom must be found and indicated for behavior.

The teachings of Epicurus were the last great materialistic school of ancient Greek philosophy. Her authority - theoretical and moral - was great. Late antiquity highly esteemed the structure of thought, character and strict, abstinent, bordering on asceticism, the way of life and behavior of Epicurus. Even the harsh and irreconcilably hostile polemics that the Stoics have always waged against the teachings of Epicurus could not cast a shadow on them. Epicureanism stood unshakably under the hail of their attacks, and its teachings were strictly preserved in their original content. It was one of the most orthodox materialistic schools of antiquity.

List of used literature

1. Foundations of philosophy. Tutorial. Almaty. Daneker. 2000.

2. Spirkin A.G. Philosophy. Textbook. M., 1999.

3. Radugin A.A. Philosophy. M., 1996.

4. Introduction to philosophy. T1. M., 1991.

5. Ortega - i - Gasset H. Dehumanization of Art. M., 1990.

6. Fromm E. To be or to have? M., 1986.

1. Vernadsky V.I. The beginning and eternity of life. M., 1989.

2. Chanyshev A.N. Philosophy of the Ancient World: Textbook for Universities.-M.: Higher School, 2001

3. V.F. Asmus. Ancient philosophy.

4. Losev A.F. Philosophy. Mythology. Culture. M., 1990.

5. Site www.phylosofy.ru: letters from Epicurus to Menekeus, Herodotus

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

Mechnikov Odessa National University

Abstract on the topic:

Philosophy of the Epicureans

2nd year students

Correspondence department

Specialties

"Culturology"

Zimina Marina

Odessa 2012

Philosophy of Epicurus

Epicurus was born in 341 BC. on the island of Samos. He began studying philosophy at the age of 14. In 311 BC. he moved to the island of Lesvos, where he founded his first school of philosophy. After another 5 years Epicurus moved to Athens, where he founded a school in the garden, where on the gate there was an inscription: “Guest, you will be well here; here pleasure is the highest good. " Hence the very name of the school "Garden of Epicurus" and the nickname of the Epicureans - the philosophers "from the gardens" later arose. He led this school until his death in 271 BC. It is generally accepted that Epicurus considered bodily pleasure to be the only meaning of life. In reality, Epicurus's views on pleasure are not so simple. By pleasure, he understood primarily the absence of displeasure, and emphasized the need to take into account the consequences of pleasure and suffering:

"Since pleasure is the first and innate blessing to us, therefore we do not choose every pleasure, but sometimes we bypass many pleasures when they are followed by a big trouble for us. We also consider many pains better than pleasure when more pleasure comes for us, after how we endure suffering for a long time. Thus, all pleasure is good, but not all pleasure should be chosen, just as all suffering is evil, but not all suffering should be avoided. "

Therefore, according to the teachings of Epicurus, bodily pleasures should be controlled by the mind: "It is impossible to live pleasantly without living reasonably and justly, and just as it is impossible to live reasonably and justly without living pleasantly." And to live rationally, according to Epicurus, means not to strive for wealth and power as an end in itself, being satisfied with the minimum necessary in order to be satisfied with life: “The voice of the flesh is not to starve, not to thirst, not to chill. Whoever has it, and who hopes to have it in the future, can argue with Zeus himself about happiness ... The wealth required by nature is limited and easily obtained, but the wealth demanded by empty opinions extends to infinity. "

Epicurus divided human needs into 3 classes: 1) natural and necessary - food, clothing, housing; 2) natural, but not necessary - sexual satisfaction; 3) unnatural - power, wealth, entertainment, etc. The easiest way is to satisfy needs (1), somewhat more difficult - (2), and needs (3) cannot be fully satisfied, but, according to Epicurus, it is not necessary. Epicurus believed that "pleasure is achievable only by dissipating the fears of the mind", and expressed the basic idea of his philosophy with the following phrase: "The gods do not inspire fear, death does not inspire fear, pleasure is easily attainable, suffering is easy to endure." Contrary to the accusations made against him during his lifetime, Epicurus was not an atheist. He recognized the existence of the gods of the ancient Greek pantheon, but had his own opinion about them, which differed from the views prevailing in modern Greek society.

According to Epicurus, there are many inhabited planets like Earth. The gods live in space between them, where they live their own lives and do not interfere with the lives of people. Epicurus proved this as follows: "Let us assume that the suffering of the world interests the gods. The gods may or may not, want or do not want to destroy the suffering in the world. If they cannot, then they are not gods. If they can, but do not want, then they are imperfect, which is also not appropriate gods. And if they can and want - then why haven't they done it yet? "

Another famous saying of Epicurus on this topic: "If the gods listened to the prayers of people, then soon all people would perish, constantly praying a lot of evil to each other." At the same time, Epicurus criticized atheism, believing that gods are necessary in order to be a model of perfection for man.

But in Greek mythology, the gods are far from perfect: human traits and human weaknesses are attributed to them. That is why Epicurus was opposed to traditional ancient Greek religion: "Not the wicked one who rejects the gods of the crowd, but the one who applies the ideas of the crowd to the gods."

Epicurus denied any divine creation of the world. In his opinion, many worlds are constantly born as a result of the attraction of atoms to each other, and the worlds that have existed for a certain period of time also disintegrate into atoms. This is consistent with the ancient cosmogony, which asserts the origin of the world from Chaos. But, according to Epicurus, this process is carried out spontaneously and without the intervention of any higher powers.

Epicurus developed the doctrine of Democritus about the structure of the world of atoms, at the same time put forward assumptions that only after many centuries were confirmed by science. So, he stated that different atoms differ in mass, and, therefore, in properties. Unlike Democritus, who believed that atoms move along strictly specified trajectories, and therefore everything in the world is predetermined in advance, Epicurus believed that the movement of atoms is largely random, and, therefore, various scenarios are always possible. Based on the randomness of the movement of atoms, Epicurus rejected the idea of fate and predetermination. "There is no expediency in what is happening, because a lot is not happening as it should have happened." But, if the gods are not interested in the affairs of people, and there is no predetermined fate, then, according to Epicurus, there is no need to be afraid of both. One who does not know fear himself cannot inspire fear. Gods do not know fear because they are perfect. Epicurus was the first in history to declare that the fear of people before the gods is caused by the fear of natural phenomena, which are attributed to the gods... Therefore, he considered it important to study nature and find out the real causes of natural phenomena - in order to free man from a false fear of the gods. All this is consistent with the proposition about pleasure as the main thing in life: fear is suffering, pleasure is the absence of suffering, knowledge allows you to get rid of fear, therefore there can be no pleasure without knowledge- one of the key conclusions of the philosophy of Epicurus. At the time of Epicurus, one of the main topics for discussions of philosophers was death and the fate of the soul after death. Epicurus considered disputes on this topic pointless: "Death has nothing to do with us, because as long as we exist, death is absent, but when death comes, we no longer exist." According to Epicurus, people are afraid not so much of death itself as of death throes: "We are afraid to languish with illness, to be slain by the sword, torn apart by the teeth of beasts, turned to dust by fire - not because all this causes death, but because it brings suffering. Of all evils, the greatest is suffering, not death." He believed that a person's soul is material and dies along with the body. Epicurus can be called the most consistent materialist of all philosophers. In his opinion, everything in the world is material, and spirit, as a kind of entity separate from matter, does not exist at all. Epicurus considers direct sensations, not judgments of reason, to be the basis of knowledge. In his opinion, everything that we feel is true, sensations never deceive us. Delusions and mistakes arise only when we add something to our perceptions, i.e. the source of error is the mind. Perceptions arise from the penetration of images of things into us. These images are separated from the surface of things and move with the speed of thought. If they enter the senses, they give a real sensory perception, if they penetrate the pores of the body, they give a fantastic perception, including illusions and hallucinations. In general, Epicurus was against abstract theorizing, not related to facts. In his opinion, philosophy should have direct practical application - to help a person avoid suffering and life mistakes: "Just as medicine is useless if it does not drive out the suffering of the body, so philosophy is useless if it does not drive out the suffering of the soul." The most important part of the philosophy of Epicurus is his ethics. However, the doctrine of Epicurus about the best way of human life can hardly be called ethics in the modern sense of the word. The question of fitting the individual to social attitudes, as well as all other interests of society and the state, occupied Epicurus least of all. His philosophy is individualistic and aimed at enjoying life regardless of political and social conditions. Epicurus denied the existence of universal human morality and common concepts of goodness and justice, given to humanity from somewhere above. He taught that all these concepts are created by people themselves: "Justice is not something in itself, it is a kind of agreement between people about not to harm and not to suffer harm"... Epicurus devoted a large role in the relationship of people to friendship, opposing it to political relations as something that brings pleasure in itself. Politics, however, is the satisfaction of the need for power, which, according to Epicurus, can never be fully satisfied, and therefore cannot bring true pleasure. Epicurus argued with the followers of Plato, who also put friendship at the service of politics, considering it as a means of building an ideal society. In general, Epicurus does not set before a person any great goals and ideals. We can say that the goal of life according to Epicurus is life itself in all its manifestations, and knowledge and philosophy are the path to obtaining the greatest pleasure from life. Humanity has always been prone to extremes. While some people greedily strive for pleasure as an end in itself and cannot get enough of it all the time, others torment themselves with asceticism, hoping to get some mystical knowledge and enlightenment. Epicurus proved that both are wrong, that getting pleasure from life and knowing life are interconnected.

The philosophy and biography of Epicurus is an example of a harmonious approach to life in all its manifestations. However, Epicurus himself said it best of all: "Always have a new book in your library, a full bottle of wine in your cellar, a fresh flower in your garden."

Introduction

The very word "philosophy" arose on the basis of two ancient Greek words: "love" and "wisdom". Literally translated, "philosophy" means "love for wisdom" (or "wisdom", as it was called earlier in Russia).

According to legend, the first words "philosophy" and "philosopher" ("loving wisdom") were used by Pythagoras. He said that wisdom is inherent only in gods, and all that a person can is to strive for wisdom, to love it.

Philosophy was born in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. in three ancient civilizations: Ancient Greece, Ancient India and Ancient China, and this happened in these countries independently of each other. In all regions, philosophy arose out of mythology. Attempts to rationalize the world and man led to the formation of first pre-philosophy, and then philosophy itself.

During its inception, philosophy included all scientific knowledge; it can be said that she was the science of everything. Later, they began to form as independent separate scientific disciplines: already in the IV century BC. in ancient Greece, logic was formed as a theoretical discipline, by the II century BC. formed mathematics (geometry of Euclid and arithmetic), astronomy (with astrology), later - philosophy, and some others. Thus, the process of differentiation of sciences began: first, the separation of various disciplines within the framework of philosophy, and then their separation from philosophy as independent sciences. In different eras, in different philosophical teachings, there were different points of view on the structure of scientific knowledge. So, in era Hellenism Stoics and epicureans singled out in philosophy logic, physics and ethics. At the same time, all problems of the theory of knowledge (including those related to language) were attributed to logic, and physics related to the study of nature (i.e. astronomical, physical, biological, etc.). Ethics (the science of human behavior) was considered the "core" of philosophy, as it was supposed to indicate the path to happiness or to proper behavior.

At different times, in different eras, there were different philosophical approaches - depending on which problematics is central in a particular teaching.

Hellenistic period of ancient philosophy

The Hellenistic period of ancient philosophy covers a huge period of time: from the middle of the 4th century BC (ie, from the emergence of the "world of Hellenism" occupying the territories conquered by Alexander the Great) to the end of the ancient era, i.e. before the fall of Rome in 476, captured by the barbarians-Germans. But by this time the Roman Empire had already split into two parts - Western and Eastern (Byzantium), but even after the fall of Rome, Byzantium continued to exist. Therefore, the end of ancient philosophy in general and its Hellenistic period in particular is usually associated with 529, when the last pagan philosophical school was closed by the decree of the Byzantine emperor Justinian: the Academy of Plato in Athens.

In the era of Hellenism, on the one hand, the development of the philosophical teachings of previous periods continued (neo-Pythagoreanism, neoplatonism, peripatetism, etc.), and on the other, on the basis of previous teachings or as a reaction to them, a whole series of new teachings appeared (cynicism, stoicism, epicureanism, skepticism, etc.).

In the II century BC, Greece was conquered by Rome. At the same time, the conquered Greeks, in a certain sense, "conquered" their conquerors, exerting a tremendous influence on all spheres of Roman culture: religion, literature, architecture, art etc. The development of Roman philosophy began under the influence of Greek philosophy. But since the Romans did not create their original teachings, although they made a great contribution to the development of a number of Greek teachings, in the period from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD, we can talk about the existence Greco-Roman philosophy.

Ethical issues were central to most of the philosophical teachings of the Hellenistic era. The goal of philosophy was most often understood as finding happiness, which is possible only with proper behavior. However, the question of how a person should behave can only be solved by understanding what people are and what place they occupy in the universe (space). Therefore, the analysis of ethical problems was inextricably linked with the doctrine of nature.

Classification of schools of the Hellenistic period

*Sources of*	*Philosophical* *direction*	The most prominent representatives
Sophistry Democritus	Skepticism	*Pyrrho* *Sextus* *Empiricus (Roman)*
Heraclitus and Cynism	Stoicism	*Zeno* *from* *Kition* *Seneca* *(Roman)* *Mark* *Aurelius* *(Rome.)*
Democritus	Epicureanism	*Epicurus* *Sextus* *Empiricist* *(Rome.)*
	Cynicism	*Antisthenes,* *Diogenes* *Sinopsky,* *Cratet*
	Pythagoreanism, neopythagoreanism	*Philolaus,* *Lycon*
Aristotle	Aristotelianism (peripateticism)	*Theophrastus*
	Platonism	*Arkesilaus,* *Carnead,* *Plutarch* *Athenian*
Platonism Pythagoreanism	Neoplatonism	*Plotinus,* *Porfiry,* *Iamblichus* *Proclus*

Sources of Epicureanism

Source Epicureanism is an - Atomism. Leucippus is considered the founder of atomism, but almost nothing is known about him. Therefore, under ancient Greek atomism, first of all, it means the doctrine Democritus.

Atomic Theory

The approximate lifetime of Democritus is about 460 - 370 years. BC. Democritus was born in the city of Abdera (Hellas). He traveled a lot, was in Egypt, Babylon, possibly in India and Ethiopia. For a long time he lived in Athens. Since Democritus constantly laughed at the imperfection of man, he bore the nickname Laughing.

The main works of Democritus: wrote about 70 essays on various fields of knowledge, but none of them reached us. The problems of atomism were presented in the works "Bolshoy Domostroy", "Maly Domostroy" and others.

Philosophical views . The origins of being are atoms and emptiness, in which the atoms are and move. Atoms ("indivisible") are the smallest, indivisible particles of matter. Each atom is eternal and unchanging; atoms do not arise or disappear. The number of atoms is infinite. They differ in size, shape (spherical, pyramidal, hook-shaped, etc.) and position in space. Atoms are mobile, hover and "dance" in emptiness, like dust particles visible in a sunbeam.

All things in the world are made up of atoms and emptiness. The emergence and destruction of things is the result of the cohesion and separation of atoms. All things die over time, and the atoms that make up them continue to exist. Democritus considered the four traditional elements to be "middle stages" from which everything else is composed. Air, water and earth are made of atoms of various shapes, and fire is only spherical.

Teaching O primary and secondary qualities. The atoms themselves are devoid of such qualities as color, smell, warmth, etc. All these qualities are the result of the perception of atoms by our senses. After all, says Democritus, what one person perceives as sweet, another can perceive as bitter. Hence it is necessary to distinguish between the primary, i.e. objectively existing, properties of atoms (shape, size, position in space) and secondary - our subjective perception of these primary properties.

Cosmology and cosmogony. The world as a whole is an infinite emptiness in which there is an infinite number of worlds consisting of atoms. Where there are many atoms in the void, they often collide with each other, which forms a cosmic vortex. In its center, heavier atoms are concentrated, lighter ones are forced out to the edges. This is how the earth and the sky appear. The worlds are spherical, closed and surrounded by a shell ("skin"). The center of our world is the Earth; The sun, the moon, the stars refer to the sky. The number of worlds is infinite; some of them are just emerging, others are flourishing, others are dying; our world is in a state of prosperity. Some worlds are similar to each other, others are different.

Determinism. Democritus was the founder of mechanical determinism. Nothing that happens in the world arises for no reason, everything appears out of necessity (after all, everything that happens in the world is the result of movement, collision, cohesion, etc. of atoms). People invented randomness to justify their own ignorance.

Origin life and person. Living things arise from non-living things without the intervention of the gods and without any purpose. From the earth and moisture, first amphibians were born, and then land animals. Unviable creatures (blind and deaf, legless and armless) perished, only viable ones survived; they gave birth to offspring; among these last creatures were people.

The source of movement for people and animals - soul; it, like everything else, consists of atoms (spherical, as having the greatest mobility). With the death of the body, the soul disintegrates and perishes.

Epistemology. There is a distinction between sensory cognition ("dark") and rational (through logical reasoning). When comprehending the world, our senses first act (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch). Their images are constantly separated from things (flow out) - they are like shells consisting of rarefied atoms. When these images enter the human senses, he perceives them. At the same time, like is perceived like.

But sensory knowledge is suitable only up to a certain limit, since the senses are not able to comprehend too subtle and small essences (such as atoms). Then the mind begins to act, giving us true knowledge.

Origin religions and atheism. The source of faith in the gods is the fear of the forces of nature, which man cannot explain. Everything that happens in the world is the result of the movement of atoms.

Fate atomism. The doctrine of Democritus had a significant impact on Epicurus (although Epicurus himself denied this), and through him - on the Roman philosopher Lucretius Cara. However, in general, atomism was not very popular in antiquity (for example, Stoicism took over Epicureanism in the first centuries of our era).

In the Middle Ages, he was practically unknown in the Christian world, but some of his ideas received a kind of use in Muslim philosophy (Kalam and Sufism).

In modern times, atomism turned out to be the philosophical basis of Newton's physics, deism and materialism of subsequent eras - right up to our time.

Thanks to the development of the physics of the microworld (quantum mechanics) in the 20th centuries, serious doubts arose that the substance is based on indivisible particles ( elementary particles or quarks that make up elementary particles). But this problem has not been finally resolved to date.

Epicureanism

Epicureanism - a philosophical trend named after its founder Epicurus. The largest representative of Epicureanism in Roman philosophy is Titus Lucretius Carus (99 - 55 BC), whose poem "On the Nature of Things" is currently the main source of information about Epicureanism. Epicureanism in general can be characterized as the atomism of the Hellenistic era.

In 307 BC Epicurus in Athens founded the "Epicurus Garden" school. On the gates of the school there was an inscription: “Wanderer, you will be well here; here the highest good is pleasure. "

Epicurus's motto was: "Live imperceptibly!"

The philosophy of Epicurus represents the development of the ancient atomism, but Epicurus himself always denied the influence of Democritus on his philosophical doctrine and spoke extremely negatively about Democritus, however, like many other philosophers.

Major works. Epicurus wrote about 300 books, but only a few letters and fragments survived. Basically, the teachings of Epicurus are known from the poem of Lucretius "On the nature of things."

Philosophical views. The main goal of philosophy is to achieve happiness.

Classification sciences. Epicurus divided sciences into physics, epistemology(in the terminology of Epicurus - canon) and ethics... “Without natural science it is impossible to acquire unclouded pleasures,” said Epicurus, hence the need to study nature.

Physics . Everything in the world is made of atoms and emptiness. The number of atoms is infinite, but the number of their types is limited, although immense. Atoms differ not only in shape, size and position (as was the case with Democritus), but also in weight. The void is infinite, but it is not the same in all directions, as atoms fall from top to bottom.

Epicurus is not satisfied with the fatalism of Democritus, following from the thesis about the cause of the conditioning of all phenomena (determinism). To substantiate the possibility of free will in humans, Epicurus admits that when atoms move, they can spontaneously deflect, and this leads to collisions of atoms and gives rise to randomness. (indeterminism).

All things existing in the world arise and disintegrate, but atoms are eternal and unchanging. The number of worlds is infinite, one of them is similar to ours, others are not. Epistemology (canon). All things are constantly flowing out of their images (rarefied copies). Images of objects penetrate our senses and evoke sensations.

Things are comprehended by the soul, which consists of especially subtle and mobile atoms. Since the soul is "poured" throughout the body, sensations cause movements of the soul particles that are nearby, and they transmit it to others. The image of an object in the soul remains in thought. Memory is the preservation of this pattern; the process of cognition consists in the mental comparison of one image with others. In this case, the individual features of objects are erased, the general remains - this is how concepts are formed.

Atheism. Epicurus did not deny the existence of gods, but argued that they exist in the inter-world space, where they enjoy bliss and do not interfere in the affairs of people, since any interference would disturb their serene state. Belief in the gods arose from the fear of man before the forces of nature that he did not understand and the inability to explain them, in addition, because of the fear of punishment in the afterlife. Knowledge of the true structure of the world, the nature of the gods and the fact that the soul is mortal, allows you to do without religion.

Ethics. The highest good in life is pleasure. Pleasure, before Total, there is absence suffering ... The best means for this is to withdraw from all worries and anxieties, from public and state affairs, maximum independence from external conditions, refusal from unnecessary desires. Desires fall into several categories.

Types of desires and due regard to them

Fate epicureanism. By the end of the Hellenistic era, the influence of Epicureanism had seriously fallen: it was supplanted by its main rival - stoicism. Interest in the ethical teaching of Epicureanism reappears in the Renaissance (Lorenzo Vallo, Montaigne), and in the 17th-18th centuries it became widespread among French enlighteners (Gassendi, Diderot, Lametrie, Holbach, etc.). This was due not only to the fact that atomism became the basis of Newtonian physics, but also to the manifestation of interest in epistemology, ethics and atheism of Epicurus.

Biographical sketch of the life of Epicurus

The son of the klerukh Neokles.

Cleruch Neocles was a native of the Attic village of Gargetta. Some of the ancient writers believed that the ancestors of Neocles were noble people, but, as the poet Euripides argued, "Angry poverty drowned out glory name ", and Neocles was so strapped for money that he barely managed to feed his four sons, Epicurus, Hyridem, Neocles and Aristobulus, processing his allotment and, in addition, teaching local children to write and count. The eldest of these sons was, apparently, Epicurus, born on the 7th of the month of Gameleon, at the end of 342 - beginning of 341 BC.

Not very strong in health, from a poor family, Epicurus, as those who wrote about his life believe, early recognized need and suffering, and it can hardly be said that "He was raised in wealth and raised in the hall." But beautiful nature Samosa, mild climate and lush vegetation, the charm of a sophisticated ancient culture - everything that gave birth to inspired poets here in the past - all this, of course, had a profound impact on the formation of the spiritual world of the extraordinary son of the cleruch Neocles, laying the foundations of his great conviction that neither poverty, neither illness, nor the vicissitudes of history, no matter how catastrophic they may turn out at times, cannot and should not overshadow for a person the enduring beauty of the world, the intrinsic value of being.

Ancient authors believe that Epicurus studied at his father's school, and was distinguished by outstanding abilities. After breakfast with a couple of cakes with olives and goat cheese, he came early to class to help his father wipe the benches and board with a wet rag and prepare everything for class. For all the modesty of his position, Epicurus' father was an educated man. Neokles read to them the poems of Homer, "Works and Days" by Hesiod, and the children repeated the incorruptible lines after him, memorizing them.

Meanwhile, events in Greece unfolded in such a way that Neocles had every reason to worry about the future of his sons. He saw that he would hardly be able to send his sons to Athens for several years to replenish his education, but it would be necessary, especially Epicurus, whose outstanding abilities and thirst for knowledge (everything that would have filled him before, like any father, with pride and admiration ) in their present life they were simply frightened. Epicurus persistently questioned him about what Neocles himself knew much less. Epicurus's father tried to recall everything he knew, but he was convinced that his knowledge was too small to saturate the inquisitive mind of his son, and thought that he would still have to send him to study with some philosopher, at least for a short while.

As the ancient writers testify, from an early age Epicurus was destined for the dual life that some other philosophers of antiquity lived as well: the life of a poor man, preoccupied with his daily livelihood, and a thinker eager to penetrate into the mysteries of the Universe, and so he lived until almost forty years. He talked with his father about the "Theogony" of Hesiod, the philosophical symbolism of which he discerned as a child, and then helped him clean the premises for classes, cultivate their land plot. As ill-wishers later laughed, "he walked around the shacks with his mother, reading spells, and with his father he taught the alphabet for a negligible fee." And indeed, on certain days his mother, Hayrestrata She went from house to house to make cleansing sacrifices, to cast out spirits, to cast spells against all evil, she took Epicurus with her. All these people seemed disgusting enough and at the same time completely defenseless in front of the host of dark forces.

The son of Neocles went to bed, and then one of the following days puzzled (as the ancient writer Apollodorus wrote about this in his essay "On the Life of Epicurus") his school teacher with the question of the origin of Hesiod's Chaos, and poor Neocles probably could not answer nothing intelligible to a twelve-year-old son. And he decided to finally scrape together some money to send him to study philosophy in some of the schools.

The first teacher of the thirteen-year-old boy was the Platonist Pamphilus, who lived right there on Samoseya. It is not known how long Epicurus "listened to the Platonist Pamphilus" (perhaps still too young to appreciate the grandiose beauty of the Platonic world of ideas), but it can be said with complete certainty that the constructions of the great idealist did not have any noticeable influence on his own understanding of the world, and maybe even contributed to the strengthening of the negative attitude of Epicurus to everything otherworldly and transcendental.

In 328 BC, Neokles decides to send his eldest son to study in the Asia Minor city of Theos, where Praxiphanes and Navsiphanes lectured on philosophy at that time. The last of them, according to the testimony of ancient writers, was a follower of Democritus, and from him Epicurus heard what he had long sought to hear, as confirmation of his own reflections and that gave the final direction to his own search.

Most likely, Epicurus was a short-lived listener to the Theosian Democritus, it is unlikely that his father could pay for his education for several years. In addition, he, who from a young age preferred independence of thought and was proud of the fact that “he owes everything only to himself,” did not develop friendly relations with Navsifan.

Meanwhile, Epicurus turned eighteen and, as an Athenian citizen, he had to go to Athens for military service - the so-called ephebia, the original meaning of which was increasingly lost as the once rich and powerful city turned into a provincial province. But the son of Neocles was going with pleasure to Athens, this most beautiful (as he thought then) of the cities.

And here is Epicurus in Athens, where he arrived as unknown and not interesting to anyone, as in his time his immortal teacher Democritus.

It is unlikely that the ephebia occupied all the time of Epicurus, who used this first stay in Athens in order, according to ancient authors, to attend the classes of Academician Xenocrates. What Epicurus listened to during these years in Athens, with which he for the most part did not agree and subject him to meticulous analysis in his subsequent works, was, nevertheless, the soil thanks to which his own works and his philosophy itself became possible. Having joined the scholarship, appreciating all of them, the son of Neocles did not, in the end, become anyone's student, from a young age he felt the strength and vocation to become the teacher of all those who suffer and reject what the inexorable history imposed on them.

The two years in Athens, which meant for Epicurus, perhaps as much, if not more, than the five previous years. Having served as an ephebe, he was now considered a full-fledged Athenian citizen, like his great-grandfather, grandfather and father, but for him, who had nothing either in Attica itself or (as it turned out soon) beyond its borders, this citizenship was an empty phrase.

Returning home, Epicurus learned the following: “Alexander ordered all Greek cities, and above all Athens, to allow the exiles to return to their ancestral lands. The decree about this was to be announced before the start of the 114th Olympiad in July 324, and about 20 thousand exiles rushed to Olympia. And in the presence of a huge number of people gathered from all regions of Hellas, the islands and from Asia Minor, the stagirite Nikanor, authorized by the king, ordered the reading of the long-awaited decree. According to this decree, the klerukh on the dependent islands were to give up their land to their former owners. " And therefore, two years later, in 302, among those who were to leave Samos, was the father of Epicurus. Having lost everything at once - a plot of a house, fruit trees grown by him, a teaching place, he went with his household and a modest belongings to a ship, heading for the nearby Ionian shores. He decided to settle in the Colophon, the very "resin-rich Colophon" that Xenophanes once glorified. Twenty-year-old Epicurus also goes there, after completing his military service.

Information about this period of his life is scarce. It is known that, after spending some time with his father in Colophon, Epicurus settled in Mytilene, on the island of Lesvos, getting a job as a teacher at a school, so that for almost eighteen years later he could earn his daily bread with this hard work. After Mytilene, he taught in Lampsak, and the vague reports of ancient authors suggest that, driven by need, Epicurus visited other cities in Asia Minor during these years (from 322 to 306).

For many years, in different schools, the son of Neokles taught children to read, write and count, re-read the poems of Homer and Hesiod with them, as his father once in their very school, talked about the old days, about distant peoples and lands, but all this did not occupy and could not occupy entirely his mind. For many years he cherished the cherished idea of opening a school someday, another, a real school of philosophy.

The centuries-old history of the Epicurean school is known mainly from the surviving fragmentary information of its largest representatives, and this information is in many cases contradictory. So, regarding the time of the birth of the school itself, ancient authors report differently: some believe that Epicurus began to teach his philosophy already in Colophon, while others write that he was “thirty-two years old, founded his school first in Methylene in Lampsac where she existed for five years. " Here, the son of Neocles begins to really, seriously teach people who are close in spirit to his "science of human life." From here, from Lampsak, his first, most faithful students were born.

This is, first of all, Germarchus, the son of Agemort, "who came from a poor family and at first was engaged in rhetoric." Turning to philosophy, he achieved significant success in it, writing several works, of which the most famous and valued contemporaries were twenty-two books "Letters to Empedocles", as well as the works "On the Sciences", "Against Plato" and "Against Aristotle". He was connected with Epicurus by a deep understanding, community of interests and a warm feeling of spiritual kinship that they carried through their whole life, and it was Germarchus who was the one whom the Savior of people called his successor and successor, completing his life path.

The third (after Epicurus and Germarchus himself) in the "famous quaternity of Epicurean leaders" was Metrodorus of Lampsac, known for his works on philosophy, from which only the names and very few fragments have survived to our time. He was also the author of several works in which he recreated the personality and peculiarities of the worldview of Epicurus himself: "On Epicurus 'help", "On Epicurus' soreness", "On the nobility of origin", "On generosity." There is reason to believe that Metrodorus was the most gifted of the early Epicureans. Twenty years younger than his teacher, Metrodorus met him in Lampsak and then no longer parted, seeing in the son of Neokles the closest and dearest person to himself. According to the testimony of his contemporaries, Metrodorus was "an excellent man in all respects", distinguished by crystal honesty, disinterestedness and fearlessness, about which Epicurus wrote in his book "Metrodorus". The authority of Metrodorus among the Epicureans was second only to the authority of the founder of the school himself, and his works (such as "Against the Sophists", "On Sensations", "On Change", "On Wealth", "On the Path to Wisdom") formed the basis of the philosophical system epicureanism.

The fourth of them was Polienus, the son of Athenodorus, about whom it is known that he was "a decent and kind man", and from whom even the titles of his works did not come down to us (the enemies of the Epicurean school recognized him even as one of the most outstanding mathematicians of that time).

It seems possible to say that in these years in Lampsak, all of them, young, full of strength and unspent hopes, sociable and inquisitive, were still far from that last state of thought and spirit, when the only correct way of life seems to be the one about which with a deep and many years later their teacher, who dared to save the human race, will say with hopeless bitterness: "Live in hiding."

Those who gathered in the "early garden" (as the ancient authors called this initial period in the development of the Epicurean school) in this sad age, when, on the one hand, the Greeks fell more and more into poverty and insignificance, and on the other, greed for things, money grew unstoppably, when hoarding began to be considered the most correct way of life, and greed became the most common vice, Epicurus proclaims, along with his followers, that it is better not to be afraid of lying on the straw than to be in anxiety, having a golden bed and an expensive table.

Epicurus and his followers began the creation of their own philosophical system with a meticulous analysis of the previous teachings, borrowing from them what corresponded to their own ideas about the world order, and mercilessly debunking what seemed to them contrary to the laws of nature.

According to the testimony of Diogenes Laertsny, “Epicurus was the most abundant writer and surpassed all of his many books: they comprise about 300 scrolls. In them there is not a single extract from the outside, but everywhere is the voice of Epicurus himself ”- and this greatly distinguished his work from the works of contemporary Platonists and Peripatetics, who were mainly engaged in endless commentary on the great founders of their schools. The best works of Epicurus were considered: "On Atoms and Emptiness", "Brief Objections to Physicists"; “Doubts”, “On Preference and Avoidance”, “On the Ultimate Goal”, “On the Gods”, “On Goodness”, “On the Way of Life”, “On Love”, “Metrodor”, “Main Thoughts”. His main work - "On Nature" consisted of 37 books and, as Epicurus himself said, not even all of his students were able to fully study this book.

In the spring of 306 BC Epicurus arrives in Athens. He disembarks from the ship in Piraeus to the ancient land of Attica, a tall thirty-six-year-old man with a short wavy beard and a hard, mocking gaze from deep-set eyes. He returned to the homeland of his great-grandfathers in order to never leave it again. With him were his faithful friends - Germarchus, Metrodorus and Polienus, as well as, probably, the brothers Neocles, Hyridem and Aristobulus, who already in Ionia began to study philosophy "according to his conviction."

It has been five or six years since Epicurus instructed the people of his wisdom. He put forward three main criteria for true knowledge: sensation, concept and affect (that is, a strong feeling that determines our moods and judgments), and also introduced a new concept "prolepsis", which had not been encountered in Greek philosophy before him, Epicurus introduces as a necessary intermediate link between immediate sensation and feeling. Prolepsis is, in essence, a memory of a sensation never received, on the one hand, it is generated outside world, and on the other hand, once formed, this memory seems to acquire independence and begins to live its own life. Thus, the Epicurean prolepsis are, first of all, memories, solid, established ideas about what comes to a person from the outside, although, according to Cicero, the Epicureans had a thesis about some innate ideas, in particular, about the rudimentary ideas of shame and truth. inherent in all from birth.

The most difficult times came, but the Sadoslovist did not leave Athens (all the ancient authors who turned to the description of his life emphasize), only for all forty years of his stay in Athens, he only left Attica two or three times to see friends in Ionia. One of these trips is mentioned in a note that has come down to us to a certain child - a touching little message permeated with warmth so characteristic of Epicurus: “We arrived in Lampsak in good health. I, Pithocles, Erimarch and Ctesipus, found Philistus and other friends there, in good health. It's so good that you are healthy and your mother, and that you, as before, obey your father and Matrona (the slave who accompanied the child to school). Be sure, the reason why I and everyone else love you is that you obey them in everything. "

Over time, Epicurus apparently became that "famous Gargettian who excited not only Greece and Italy, but even the entire barbarian world," as Cicero said about him. By this time, two people had left the Sadoslov: one of them was a certain Metrodorus of Stratonicea, who seemed to be "weighed down by the immeasurable kindness of his mentor," and the second Timocrat, who later, in his works "On the Youth of Epicurus" and "Entertainment" spoke very hostilely about the school he had abandoned.

The life of the son of Neokles was coming to an end, he felt it. He had a huge world, the whole Universe, towards the "fiery walls" of which he was used to rushing with his mind through space and time.

Everything was as before, and only their life, and Epicurus himself, and his beloved friends, gradually went further and further. The first to leave was Polienus, the famous "quaternary" thinned out, friends gathered on one of the days of the month of Metageitnion to honor his memory, and Epicurus and Germarchus replaced him with their father's orphans. Then Metrodorus, the cleverest of the Epicureans, left, and again the friends could only remember him on the day of his death, at a modest commemoration. They left one by one, sharing a grievous fate with their teacher.

Epicurus died in 241 BC at the age of seventy-two. Before that, for fourteen days he was tormented by severe bouts of vomiting, stones came from the kidneys, "suffering during urination and bloody diarrhea." And although the son of Neocles wrote at one time that "the one who has many good reasons for leaving life is absolutely insignificant," there is every reason to assume that he himself put an end to the unbearable sufferings of his last days... This, as we see it, is evidenced by his letter to Hermarchus, where Epicurus himself defines the day of writing this letter as his "last" and at the same time "happy" day, happy, apparently, because on this day he decides to implement the decision already made: “Greetings to Germarch from Epicurus. When I wrote this to you, I was experiencing a happy day, which is together and my last day: I was tormented by such torment Bladder and bodily suffering, that nothing, it seems, could be added to their strength. But I contrasted the suffering of the body with the joy of the spirit that emanated from the memories of my reasoning and my philosophical system. "

He leaves the garden and everything belonging to it to Germarch, so that his schoolmates "spend time there, as befits philosophers." He bequeaths his books to Germarch, and also asks him to "take care of the children of Metrodorus" and the son of Polienus for four or five years, so that they can study philosophy and live in his, Germarchus, house. Epicurus sets free the slaves Misa, Nikias, Lycon and the slave Fedriya. He leaves funds for the performance of accepted sacrifices for his deceased parents and brothers, as well as funds so that the students of the school created by him can celebrate annually his birthday, the tenth day of the month of Gameleon, and the day of remembrance of Metrodorus. At the same time, he was not at all thinking about the posthumous exaltation of his own person, but, first of all, about the fact that the Epicureans, no matter how things and circumstances developed in Athens, had another reason to gather all together, here, in his Garden.

As Germarchus recounts in his letters, tormented by the most severe pains, Epicurus “lay in a copper bath with hot water”, Asked for undiluted wine, drank it, wished his friends not to forget his teachings, and so he passed away.

Conclusion

The building he erected may someday collapse, but the figure of the creator himself will remain untouched in the midst of the ruins.

Only those who truly did not know or did not hear about him can disagree with these words. After all, Epicurus was not just an ordinary person, but a humane person. As A. Bonnard writes about him with deep respect and enduring admiration, Epicurus always wanted to be only a friend for the suffering and seeking humanity, and therefore he always remains them.

It seems to me that you can endlessly list his works in philosophy, physics and other areas, but for me, as a future specialist in psychology, it was interesting to know that he also touched upon the psychological field of knowledge.

The concepts of "prolepsis" and "affect", which he introduced, undoubtedly prove that even in ancient antiquity Epicurus and other philosophers were worried about such questions as "What motivates a person." And I think that is why it was important for Epicurus to show people by his own example how to live and relate to the world and to other people.

I believe that he did it, although he could not change the attitude of all people, but his inner circle has certainly changed. The Epicureans view the world with kindness.

Literature

1. Goncharova T.V., "Epicurus", 1988, a series - "Life of Remarkable People"

2. Grinenko G.V., "History of Philosophy" textbook, Moscow 2004

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