HISTORY OF IDEAS: Epicurus on Happiness (BBC)

Alain de Botton makes Philosophy easy to understand. Here he speaks about Greek Philosopher Epicurus, the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus’s 300 written works. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators.

For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by ataraxia, peace and freedom from fear, and “aponia”, the absence of pain, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil, that death is the end of the body and the soul and should therefore not be feared, that the gods do not reward or punish humans, that the universe is infinite and eternal, and that events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space. More Here

Alain De Botton speaks about Epicurus and Happiness:

Part I:

Part II:

Part III:

Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success:

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