The intellectual climate which witnessed the birth of Stoicism and Epicureanism was one of unrest and uncertainty. The great philosophical ideas of the previous century, propounded by the likes of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, no longer seemed to resonate with the skeptical and troubled minds of the present age. The city-state along with its democratic ideals was quickly losing its appeal while the people were also beginning to question the deities and the temples that supposedly housed them. The Epicureans and the Stoics presented their world views into this climate as an answer to the questions and issues that plagued the minds of Greek citizens. Though Stoicism and Epicureanism were competing systems of philosophical thought, both took hold and gained a following during this time.
EPICUREANISM
Epicureanism is named after its founder, Epicurus (342-270 B.C.), who started a school devoted to his philosophical system at the end of the fourth century B.C. Epicurus taught that all knowledge that we have is derived from our senses and the input we receive into those senses. Repeated input into those senses gives rise to general concepts which allow us to make judgments. Epicurus himself used the example that we are able to recognize a horse, a cow, or a man because our current perceptions fit our past perceptions which we have come to associate with these words. He went on to say that whether our judgments are correct or not must be confirmed by evidence of closer and repeated inspection. You might, in many ways, consider Epicurus the forerunner of the modern empiricist.
Epicurus subscribed to the doctrine of Atomism, which was first taught by Democritus. Atomism declared that all things are made up of atoms in continual motion. These atoms are infinite in number, move about in a void, and sometimes swerve at random. Epicurus believed that in a universe of colliding atoms, there could be no higher order governing things. Thus, though Epicurus admitted that the gods might exist, they exercised no control over our daily lives and remained unconcerned with our actions. We no longer had to allow our anxiety over pleasing or displeasing the gods to order our lives. He espoused a doctrine of freedom to human action and did not believe in an afterlife. For Epicurus, death was simply the end of human life and with it the end of our experience of good and evil. With the death of our body, the senses also die and death is not to be feared.
Epicurus believed that people could achieve happiness once their bodies were free from pain and their minds released from worry and fear. While Epicurus stated that each person should strive to increase pleasure for the individual, he rejected unbridled hedonism. He stated that while happiness must be pursued rationally, those pleasures that have unpleasant aftereffects such as overeating or drunkenness should be avoided. Contrary to the popular belief of Epicurus as a “party animal,” he was actually teaching the traditional Greek view of moderation and prudence. He believed the prudent person was the only one truly capable of enjoying the pleasures of the mind and putting aside the fearful thoughts of death, fate and chance which so afflict the rest of humanity.
The term epicure today still conjures up the image of a person who prides herself on her good taste, especially in matters of food or wine. It suggests someone who elevates material pleasure in personal consumption to the level of fine art.
STOICISM
Stoicism was founded by Zeno (335-263 B.C.) of Citium at roughly the same time as Epicureanism. Stoicism was the major rival to Epicureanism and became the most dominate philosophy in the Hellenistic world for the next five hundred years. Stoicism got its name from the poikile stoa, or Painted Porch, in Athens where Zeno began to teach around 300 B.C.
Stoicism, at its core, held the belief that the universe contained a principle of order, which was at various times called the Divine Fire, God, and Divine Reason (Logos). Being the ruling principle, the Logos underlies all reality and permeates all things. Because people are part of the universe, they shared in the Logos as well. Since the Logos was implanted in the soul of every human being, it enabled them to act intelligently and to comprehend the principles that govern nature and the universe. An important part of this reasoning on the Logos was that since reason is common to all, it means that all humans are essentially brothers and fundamentally equal. Through this, the Stoics arrived at the idea of the oneness of all humanity whether you are Greek or barbarian, rich or poor, free or slave. Because of this, one law, the law of nature applied to all human beings.
Like Socrates, the Stoics believed that the distinctive quality of each individual was his ability to reason, and that we should discipline the emotions by the rational part of the soul to achieve happiness. Wise persons should conduct their lives by the natural law – the law of reason – which underlies the universe. This ordering of our lives gives us the ability to resist the torments inflicted by others, by fate, and by our own passionate natures. Individuals who are able to achieve this are undisturbed by the misfortunes of life and are the captains of their own ship so to speak. This practice leads to self-mastery, inner peace and happiness. No matter what our bodies are subjected to, our minds are still independent and free.
It is interesting to note the fact that much of the Stoic belief system still influences us today – we are all members of one family by nature, the significance of the individual, race and rank are fundamentally unimportant, and human law should not conflict with natural law. These fundamental beliefs were seen later in Roman jurisprudence, Christian thought, and even modern liberalism. We still refer to someone today as stoic when they remain resolute and unflinching emotionally in the face of tragedy, dire circumstances, or obstacles that are seemingly insurmountable.
To conclude, both Epicureanism and Stoicism, though competing philosophies, were primarily concerned with understanding the human condition. They tried to make persons ethically independent, and help them to achieve happiness in an increasingly hostile and competitive world. In a time of spiritual unease and political insecurity, both schools sought for tranquility of mind and relief from conflict. The Greek civilization was undergoing a spiritual transformation and both Epicureanism and Stoicism were striving to provide comfort for the individual suffering from feelings of loneliness and insignificance by stressing peace of mind and the ability to overcome our anxieties through the discipline of reason.
No comments:
Post a Comment