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Epicurus (341 – 270) &. HEDONISM. Like all Greeks… Always look for the GOOD. The Basic Premise:. “Pleasure is the SOLE good.” “Pleasure is the ABSENCE of pain.” (negative definition) “Pleasure is the beginning and the end of a blessed life.”.
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Epicurus (341 – 270) & HEDONISM
Like all Greeks… Always look for the GOOD
The Basic Premise: “Pleasure is the SOLE good.” “Pleasure is the ABSENCE of pain.” (negative definition) “Pleasure is the beginning and the end of a blessed life.”
“No act should be undertaken except for the PLEASURE in which it results… & …no act should be rejected except for the PAIN it produces”
Different Kinds of Pleasure: • Natural Desires – Necessary food, sleep, etc. Unnecessary sex, money, rock & roll, etc. • Vain Desires – wealth, fame, exotic food, decorative clothing
Necessary Desires – a must – result in max. pleasure little pain • Vain Desires – not a must – not easy to satisfy no natural limits become obsessive lead to painful consequences
+ SEX
NATURAL INTENSE PLEASURE INVOLVES RELATIONSHIPS WHICH BRING MORE PAIN THAN PLEASURE
Epicurus believed in traditional Greek values • beauty, honesty, prudence, honor, justice, courage • WHY? they led to intense pleasure & little pain
How Is This Different Than Modern Hedonism??? • MODERATION ALWAYS WHY? • EPICUREAN HEDONISM VERY DISCIPLINED PHILOSOPHY WHY?
Negative Definition: • “Pleasure is the absence of pain. Taken to its logical conclusion… • …the absence of life is better than any life at all.”