Epicurus developed a non-deterministic worldview to escape the fear of divine intervention, the inevitability of the universe, and the fear of death, and developed a philosophy to help humans live autonomous, subjective lives through free will. His ideas emphasized a hedonistic ethic and the value of friendship to show how to pursue true happiness.
The people of ancient Greece lived in a deterministic worldview that believed the universe was run by the gods, and they were afraid of the gods and of natural disasters and celestial phenomena that they thought were caused by the gods. Epicurus saw it as important to free his contemporaries from these false beliefs, and to do so, he developed his ideas based on natural science to help humans achieve happiness.
Epicurus acknowledges the existence of God but believes that the way God exists is not the way humans think it is, and he advocates a deistic view that God lives in an intermediate world between universes and does not intervene in human affairs. As an immortal being, he says, the gods are in a state of supreme happiness, inflicting no pain on anything else, and are free from all suffering, as well as from things like anger and favor. Thus, Epicurus sees the human world as not being determined by the gods, and human happiness as being achieved by humans themselves as autonomous beings.
Epicurus’ ideas are deeply connected to his ethics, which is based on his understanding of physics. He argued that all existence is made up of atoms and void, and this atomistic worldview allows him to explain the human soul as a material and finite entity. The soul is co-created with the body and interacts with it, and when the body is injured, the soul suffers. Furthermore, when the body dies, the soul dies with it, and humans are not judged by God after death, so while alive, humans have nothing to fear from the idea that there is a judgment after death. This idea is the basis for freeing humans from all fear of death.
Epicurean naturalism allows for a non-deterministic understanding of the universe and our world. This is evident in Epicurus’ explanation of the motion of atoms: he sees them as having a contingent motion that deviates from the law of vertical falling motion, falling at an angle, colliding and bouncing. Since the universe is made of these atoms, the universe is also a product of chance. Therefore, there is no divine involvement in the universe and the human world, and no divine providence in human life. Epicurus uses this idea as the basis for free will, which allows humans to live their lives without being bound by inevitability.
From this foundation, Epicurus develops an ethics that identifies the fundamentals of free life and leads to happiness, the ultimate goal of life. In the end, he frees humans from the fear of divine intervention, the inevitability of the universe, and the fear of an afterlife, paving the way for them to live their lives autonomously and in control. His hedonistic ethics provided a way to pursue the realization of happiness in a state of soul stability.
Epicurus’ philosophy is also based on a clear understanding of human desires and pleasures. He argued that not all pleasures are equal, and that we should seek lasting and stable pleasures rather than temporary and excessive ones. Epicurus believed that intellectual pleasure and a moral life lead to true happiness, and he emphasized that this requires controlling desires and focusing on fulfilling natural and essential needs. This approach helps humans free themselves from unnecessary desires and greed and find psychological tranquility and contentment.
Another important aspect of Epicurean philosophy is its emphasis on the value of friendship. He believed that true friendship plays an important role in human happiness. Friendship was seen as an important factor in providing trust and support to one another, as well as mitigating external threats and anxiety. Epicurus argued that relationships with friends are not merely a means of pleasure, but an essential element in helping humans achieve happiness.
In this way, Epicurus laid the philosophical foundation for human beings to lead autonomous, subjective lives, free from the fear of the gods, the universe, and death. His ideas are still relevant today and have contributed greatly to improving human happiness and quality of life.
