On Epicurean Hedonistic Philosophy Of Life

The philosophy of Epicurus stresses the individual self-awareness and happy life in the society. He regarded happiness as the utmost goal of human life. His entire philosophy of life focuses on what happiness is and how to get a happy life. He thought that happiness is pleasure and lasting pleasure means living a happy life. His pleasure is not the temporary enjoyment, but the satisfactory and peaceful mood over time and the peace of mind without physical pain and mental disturbance. Epicurus saw all sorts of pains in the real world, resulting from the falsified soul by bad ideas. If we want to save human beings from the pains, we must guide the people to understand the real nature of the world so as to understand the human nature. He tried to cure human mental diseases with his philosophy of life. He believed human beings could live a pleasant life without any mental disease. Epicurus told people what the real nature of the world is by his atomistic materialism. The nature is composed of atom and void while the human society is composed of individuals. An individual to the human society is like an atom to the nature. Since atoms take precedence of the materialistic world and atomic individual value takes precedence of the overall value, individual person's value of happiness has precedence over the value of social community. The materialistic world evolves naturally, and thus human beings should also live a pleasant life by instinct. Therefore, hedonism is the kernel of Epicurean philosophy of life. Hedonistic world view refers to the healthy and natural happiness free from physical pain and mental disturbance and with human beings living harmoniously interdependent with the nature. Human pains mainly come from the individual's inner world and interpersonal relationship. Human inner pains include fears, religion, myths and death. The atomic materialism holds that the world is not created by the God. The God have nothing to with human beings and do not control human's fortune. Like the physical body, the soul is also composed of atoms and atomized after physical death. Human beings do not have fears about death as they will have no feelings then. Epicurean doctrines on religion and death helped to alleviate many pains from people at his times, and had great bearings on the upcoming bourgeois enlightenment in which some thinkers fought against Christian religion and advocated human nature and humanism. The atomic deflection manifests the atomic free will, which is the most basic for the entire world. Human freedom is also naturally owned, which makes possible individual happiness and good social environment. The collision among atoms makes everything in the physical world while the contact among human individuals makes social engagement. Epicurus defined the engagement as friendship and expanded it to justice, namely contract. Manifesting freedom, friendship and justice are what individuals must have for a happy life. Epicurean philosophy of life not only was significant at his times, but also inspires us a lot in our pursuit of happy life in China today.