This is a philosopher who helps us think about money, capitalism, and our runaway consumer societies Epicurus was an Ancient Greek born in 341 BC. What made him famous was that he spent all his life trying to work out the largest puzzle there is: what makes people happy? Philosophers before him had discussed at length what could make people good Epicurus preferred to look at what is fun Unfortunately, the world was bitter and bitchy even then and when people heard that Epicurus had set up a school to study happiness the rumors went off the scale There were tales that the school hosted ten course feasts, and orgies every night Epicurus was said, by one critic, to have orgasmed 18 times in a single evening in a bed full of virgins It wasn't true Epicurus and his team were studying happiness, but they were doing it very soberly The philosopher owned only two cloaks, and lived on bread, olives, and for a treat, an occasional slice of cheese As for the bedroom, he merely responded demurely that he'd married philosophy Having patiently studied happiness for many years Epicurus came to a set of remarkable and revolutionary conclusions about what we actually need to be happy He proposed that we typically make 3 mistakes when thinking about happiness: Firstly, we think happiness means having romantic, sexual relationships but Epicurus looked around and saw so many unhappy couples their unions marred by jealousy, misunderstanding, cheating, and bitterness at the same time, he observed how much nicer friendships are: How people tend to be so decent and unpossessive with their friends Friendship seemed to be where human nature was at its sweetest The only problem Epicurus noted was that we don't see our friends enough The next thing we ordinary think that we need to be happy is a lot of money but we tend not properly to factually the unbelievable sacraficies we gotta have to make to get this money: The jealousy, the backbiting, the long hours What makes work really satisfying, Epicurus believed, ins't money but it was able to work alone, or in small groups, like in a bakery, or boat repair shop and when we feel we helping others in our own, minor way improving the world Isn't really large sums or status that we want deep down Its a sense of making a diference and lastely Epicurus observes how obsessive we are with luxury especially involving houses and beautiful serene locations but beneath our love of luxury there is really something else we trying to get out What we want is a feeling of calm We want our minds pure, free... Not full of the normal boredom and chaos But the great question is: Does luxury actually make us calm? Epicurus wasn't so sure... Having looked happiness in depth Epicurus anounces a revolution reset of insights That we really need only three things to be happy in this life Firstly You need your friends around No sex, no orgy, just your mates Enough of seen them only now and then Its regularity of contact that counts So he did that thing that most of us ocasionally dream of doing but never actualy get around do He bought a big house and start living with all his friends Everyone had your own quarters and there was pleasant share areas too There's always someone nice to talk to you in the kitchen Secondly Everyone downshifted All the members of the comune stop working for other people They took big pay cuts in return for doing their own stuff some farming, some cooking, some potring or writing And thirdly Epicurus and his friends stop thinking you could be calm just by having a beautiful view to look out to They devote themselfes to finding calm in their own minds To spending time on their own, reflecting, writing stuff down, reading things, meditating The experiment was so successful, the members of the comune so happy the idea spread like wildfire Epicurean communities open up all around the mediterranean at height of the movement there was four hundred thousand people living in comunes from Spain to Palestine It was only the christian church that ending things in the fifth century But in most of the respect to the community somehow cause they converted all in to monasteries what we know as monasteries are really just epicurean comunes with a christian top soil Another interesting fact: Karl Marx it's Ph.D thesis on Epicurus and what we call communism, a gigantic failed system it's really a grown up, corrupted, not very successful version of epicureanism The real Legacy of Epicurus is that human beings aren't very good make themselves happy especially because they think it's so easy We think we know, it's about sex, money, luxury We just want to how to secure all this but no, says Epicurus Reflect on the moments that truly bring you happiness and they are to do with this Have the courage to change your life, in accordance with the moments that actually delivery satisfaction You might end up living in a very different way Out in the country with just some cheese, a couple of clothes, a few philosophy books and some very good friends down the corridor
Cool video. Any good sources to learn more about Epicurians and related philosophy?
I don't agree with him, but the challenge of refuting these ideas would help define my own.
How can over 400,000 communities be wrong?
No wonder Hippies were happy in the 1960s. They were Epicurians.
Might as well repost here the comment I left on the video itself:
The video makes a very big overstatement in claiming epicurean communes were the origin of monasticism in Christianity; and Epicurean philosophy almost certainly had no influence on 5th century Christianity. Monasticism within Christianity traces its origin to early Christians known as the desert fathers, from the 3rd century CE; 2 centuries earlier than the video claims. Arising not out of imitating communes, but from solitary hermit asceticism that transitioned into communal asceticism as more Christians left to live ascetical lives in the deserts of Egypt and the middle east.
Moreover, the extant christian writings we have from the 3rd to 5th century consistently show Christians arguing against Epicurus. To understand this, first it's necessary to point out that Epicurus was a skeptic of god. He is famous also for the Epicurean paradox:
Is god willing to stop evil, but unable? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able but not willing? Then he is evil.
Is he willing and able? Then why is there evil?
Is he unable and unwilling? Then why is he god?
This is partially why Epicurus was interested in a philosophy of happiness. A philosophy premised on a world view that either there is nothing after death, or nothing better than the current life, is not a philosophy that's compatible with a christian world view that makes claims not only of an afterlife, but as well of resurrection to new life in a renewed cosmos.
By contrast the extant writings of the desert fathers outline a philosophy of developing personal holiness. A desire to live ascetic lives to imitate Jesus and develop agape: the unconditional love of the christian conception of god.ο»Ώ
I tried searching for modern epicurean type places.... no luck.
I would love to try that.
This sounds very similar to current research in positive psychology and Buddhism. I am very interested in this topic of 'happiness' and it seems that science has still little understanding of what happiness is.
They have them in Israel they are called kibbutzim
Thanks Chris Chins.
bruuuhh
I dunno... I'd be pretty happy with an orgy...