1. Decide whether pleasure is all that matters.
2. Understand the types of pleasure; aim for the static.
3. Understand the types of desire; aim for the natural and necessary.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Avoid sources of pain and anxiety.
6. Endure pain like a philosopher.
7. Try to be content with less.
One. First and foremost, if you are to follow the Epicurean way, you need to decide whether pleasure and the freedom from pain is all that really matters. I confess I have a biased view on this, and it would be very difficult for me to write this in a way that doesn’t allow that bias to leak through. So to avoid that I’ll assert it from the outset: To my mind, I side with Socrates and say that pleasure is not the most important thing in life. I think virtue is more important; I think wisdom is more important; I think that love holds more meaning for us than mere pleasure could provide. But that’s just me; you will have to decide for yourself.
If you decide that you agree with Epicurus and say that pleasure is the most important thing, then you can go ahead and follow Epicurus’s advice and see where it takes you.
If you do not find yourself agreeing with Epicurus on this one, perhaps because you’ve listened to the lessons of Socrates and find them more compelling, then you can still find a lot of valuable insight in the Epicurean way. Because even a virtuous and wise life must have its pleasures and pains, and if there is any way that philosophy can make these things better for us then it would be foolish not to take those lessons when they are offered.
The difference between the two views is only one of limits and where to draw the line. Love is a good example of this. If you agree with Epicurus that pleasure and pain is all that matters, then it is right to question the value of love and all that tends to follow from it, because many of the pleasures that ‘love’ brings can be gained without the pain: we can have friends or animals for companionship, hook-ups for sex (though really it would be better if you didn’t indulge such kinetic pleasures), or else find ways to be content alone. None of these options, done right, come with the excessive life-consuming burdens of grief or responsibility that are characteristic of a family life with romantic love. Because the Epicurean draws the limit of value in terms of pleasures and pains, there is no chance of any value beyond these terms, and on those terms (only) such a life looks like a bad bet.
But if you say that there is more to love than mere pleasure, then your judgement of its value does not need to be so limited. Love is not only a source of pleasure and pain: it deepens our lives; its meaning is resistant to explanation, and certainly doesn’t seem reducible to something as superficial as ‘pleasure’; its meaning makes our lives all-around better, fuller, more complete. But none of that means we can’t use Epicurus’s philosophy to make ourselves better able to appreciate the pleasure that love gives. Because love is a source of pleasure, for the most part, so cultivate your sensibilities to take as much pleasure as you can from it. Only exercise the caution that Epicurus would recommend.
Two. Understand the types of pleasure; aim for the static. If you would live a life that maximises pleasure over pain, it’s very important that you understand what is involved in certain pleasures. The question is simple: is it worth it? There are so many pleasures in life to choose from, but which of them are wise choices? Illustrative examples are easy to come by. Recreational drugs are very pleasurable, for example, but are they worth the costs? Financially, emotionally, physically, socially… This pleasure doesn’t come for free. You must see it for what it is and decide whether the pleasure is worth the cost to you. An Epicurean would say you would be a fool to choose to take that pleasure at the cost of so much pain.
Drug use is a paradigmatic example of ‘kinetic’ pleasures, and as with all kinetic pleasures, what’s important to recognise is that the pleasure is more dangerous for being more pleasurable. The more you allow yourself to indulge the desire, the more you want to indulge it and the more difficult it is to deny. Not only are you locked in a cycle of desire/satisfaction/frustration, but this cycle is adding to itself at every indulgence. First you want it, so you have it, then you want it more, so you have it more, then you want more and more and more until you cannot satisfy your desire at all and are left in a perpetual state of frustration.
Drug use is an easy allegory here for the other more ethereal temptations to which human beings are prone: things like wealth, status, glory, and approval. These things are pleasurable, but the more we allow ourselves to pursue these non-necessary desires, the more frustrated we become by our failure to satisfy them. We become insatiable; we always need more. And so the lesson is clear: until you try to be content with less, you will always be troubled with needing more.
Kinetic pleasures are always vulnerable to this cycle of frustration. Static pleasures are not. Static pleasures are constant and secure and mostly come at little cost if you are careful to limit your desires to the natural and necessary. And so once you understand the types of pleasures that there are, then you can see that it would be wise to choose static pleasures over kinetic pleasures.
Three. Understand the types of desire; aim for the natural and necessary. If you would live a life that maximises pleasure over pain, it’s very important that you understand what types of desire there are and which you allow to rule your life. There are so many things that human beings desire, so many things that we want: which are wise to want?
Many things that we want are necessary and unavoidable, such as the desire for anything that is required for our survival. We need food, water, shelter, and companionship. Since these are necessary, there is no reason to cause yourself pain by fighting against them. Find ways to be fed, watered, sheltered, and in company. You will find that these are not too difficult to achieve, so long as you keep to your basic needs. These desires can be satisfied; you can get what you want.
Wanting anything beyond these basic needs is not necessary and so you need to question whether it is a wise choice. It begins with just more diverse ways of enjoying the satisfaction of your basic needs: not just food but elaborate and tasty food; not just water but beer and wine and coca-cola; not just shelter but a fancy house; not just companionship but romantic love, sex, admirers. Every one of these non-necessary desires will lead you into the cycle of frustration that is typical of kinetic pleasures. It is very difficult to remain content with what you have when you are offering yourself the opportunity to have more. Make the wise choice, exert some self-restraint, and limit your choices to prevent yourself falling into the trap of kinetic pleasures. Return to what is necessary to preserve your statically pleasurable state of being fed, watered, sheltered, and in company. Enjoy this simple life and you will be as untroubled as it is possible for a human being to be.
And at all costs do not allow yourself to want things that can never happen, like immortality, universal approval, or wealth enough to feel secure. These desires cannot be satisfied. If you want these things then you can never get what you want.
One type of desire allows you to get what you want; another type of desire means you never get what you want. One type of desire allows you to get what you want at very little cost; another type of desire only comes at a great cost. You have a choice about which type of desire you allow to rule your life. If you want to get what you want, which is the wise choice? Only the type of desire that allows you to get what you want at very little cost, and those are the desires for natural and necessary things.
Four. Enjoy the simple things. People sometimes think there is something quite limited in the Epicurean’s pursuit of static pleasure. A life of basic food and drink and not much else doesn’t sound particularly enjoyable. But this perception couldn’t be further from the truth. The great Epicurean insight is that you can get as much enjoyment out of these simple things as you could from anything more elaborate, if you understand it enough to see it for what it is, and this enjoyment comes at far less cost.
The fault is not with the simplicity of the things but with our ability to appreciate them. I have been in the fanciest bars and restaurants and had a miserable time because the atmosphere was not kind. I have eaten bread and jam on the side of the road and had a lovely time because it was good bread and good jam and I was with the woman I love. I am too much a philosopher, perhaps, but I don’t think that these are deep mysteries and I am constantly confused at people’s inability to recognise what really matters. People always aim for fancy things in fancy venues when really it is only the company that they value. Is this really such a profound lesson?
And so what is the difficulty with enjoying the simple things? If only once you experienced the enjoyment of being comfortable and in good company, enjoying simple pleasures, then you will understand that it is an unrivalled pleasure; and a pleasure made more pleasurable by the knowledge that you need nothing more than this.
Five. Avoid sources of pain and anxiety. I must confess another anti-Epicurean bias here: I think this lesson is a bad lesson. But it follows from the Epicurean analysis and so perhaps, whilst it is not fitting for me, it might be fitting for you. I will leave it to your judgement.
The Epicureans question why we should put ourselves into situations that cause us pain. In particular, they question why we wilfully expose ourselves to sources of anxiety. Consider what they say about families, for example: having a spouse and children should be avoided because they can cause you a lot of pain and anxiety. And likewise taking a role in public life, in politics, in academic debate, in the military, in business, etc., etc. All of these things are sources of pain and anxiety, and so why would you willingly subject yourself to this suffering?
They say it is better to retreat to somewhere quiet and peaceful and go back to enjoying the simple things without troubling yourself with anything more. Certainly I think they are correct that this is a way to achieve an untroubled existence. But to my mind: It is a way, but it is not the way.
I think the Epicureans have a blind spot here and it relates to the nature of anxiety and avoidance behaviours. I don’t think this is something that only we, in the 21st century, have come to understand. Socrates knew it, Aristotle too, and the Cynics, and certainly the Stoics (covered in a later chapter). If you always run away from what you fear then you never give yourself the opportunity to correct the mistake that gives rise to that fear. Because many times these fears are false and faulty. Yes, these things are sources of anxiety, but the anxiety comes not from the thing that is feared but from our perception of it as being something that is fearful. To truly free yourself from a fear you must change your perception of it, and that is not something that you can easily do by running away all the time. You must face the fear if you are to free yourself from it.
To this the Epicureans say: why bother? So you’re afraid of what people might think of your political or philosophical views. Here’s a solution: don’t publicise them. Don’t participate in the debate. Problem solved, and now there is nothing to fear. So you’re afraid of being killed in war. Here’s a solution: don’t go to war. Problem solved, and now there is nothing to fear. So you’re afraid that your business might fail. Here’s a solution: don’t go into business. Problem solved, and now there’s nothing to fear. So you’re afraid your children will die. Here’s a solution: don’t have children. Problem solved, and now there’s nothing to fear.
You get the idea. There’s a certain direct method to this madness. And, certainly, if you really think there is nothing more to life than the maximisation of pleasures and the minimisation of pains, then I will struggle to convince you that there is anything wrong with this view.
And it wouldn’t help to point out that not every source of pain and anxiety can be avoided, meaning it would be wise to train yourself to be capable of enduring these things: you should face some fears for the sake of self-improvement, like the Cynics’ ponos.This wouldn’t help convince you of the error of the Epicurean way because the Epicureans would agree with it: it’s true that not every source of pain and anxiety can be avoided, and it would be wise to train yourself to endure those things. You must face the fears that are necessary and unavoidable – like sickness and death – and they will give you some resources to help manage these fears, such as the tetrapharmakos. But there is no need to face anything that you can avoid.
And so when the Epicurean is faced with a fear that they can avoid, they will do so. And when they are faced with a fear that they cannot avoid, then they will endure it like a philosopher, trusting that it will soon pass, and comforting themselves with the reassurance of pleasant memories.
Six. Endure pain like a philosopher. For all their avoidance of the sources of pain and anxiety, the Epicureans are true philosophers when it comes to enduring pain. Theirs is a useful and instructive lesson. The only purpose we have in relation to pain is to minimise our perception of it. We should do all we can to do so, and when we cannot do anything more then we must endure it and not let it ruin our day. If your pain is mild, then comfort yourself that it is only mild. Distract yourself with pleasures, even if only the pleasures of happy memories, and do not let the mild pain interfere with your untroubled state of mind. Know that it will pass in time. And if your pain is intense, know that it will pass all the quicker, because intense pains never hang around for very long. Ordinarily the body adapts and compensates and heals, and the pain subsides. Or else if it is something really serious then death will relieve your suffering. As a philosopher, you have no fear of death, knowing that it is ‘nothing to you’, and so this prospect cannot be a source of pain.
Either pain will be mild and so it will be easy to endure, or pain will be intense and so won’t last very long. Because of this, neither ought to be a great source of anxiety for you, and so don’t add to your pain by worrying about it.
Seven. Try to be content with less. Until you try to be content with less, you will always be troubled with needing more. Achieving this is much easier than it sounds because it’s not about actually having less (though that might help), the point is only to try, not to have less, but to be more content with less. Really, it’s just a way to be more content with what you already have.
If you don’t at least try to be content with less, then you will end up locked in a cycle of frustration: The more you want, the less you feel like you have, leaving you discontent. Conversely, if you adopt the Epicurean approach, trying to be content with less: The less you want, the more you feel like you have, leaving you content. Straightforwardly: The more you want, the less content you are, and the less you want, the more content you are. So if you want to be more content, you should want less.
Epicureanism is not about absolutes. Trying to be content with less does not require a total renunciation of wealth. All you need to do is, once in a while, take a little less of something that you want. Say you are a drink-drinking, money-making, casual-hook-upping human-about-town. You are no doubt locked into various cycles of frustration. The only way to break these cycles is to try to be content with one less drink, a little less money, fewer hook-ups, etc. This could only be one less, but until you at least try to be content with having one less, you will always be troubled with not having just one more.
The lesson appears again and again, across all philosophical schools of thought, always similar even if differing in context: You need to exert your powers of reason to restrict your desires. Unrestricted desire buys you debts and burdens. Restricted desire buys you freedom. No one can be happy and untroubled when they are enslaved to a weight of debt.
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