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t of these principles was to establish the fact that all that constitutes the world is permanent and unchanging 11 epicurean physics held that the entire universe consisted of two things matter and void 12 matter is made up of atoms which are tiny bodies that have only the unchanging qualities of shape size and weight 13 14 the epicureans believed that atoms were unchanging because the world was ordered and that changes had to have specific and consistent sources e g a plant species only grows from a seed of the same species 15 16 but that in order for the universe to persist what it is ultimately made up of must not be able to be changed or else the universe would be essentially destroyed 17 15 epicurus holds that there must be an infinite supply of atoms although only a finite number of types of atoms as well as an infinite amount of void 13 epicurus explains this position in his letter to herodotus moreover the sum of things is unlimited both by reason of the multitude of the atoms and the extent of the void for if the void were infinite and bodies finite the bodies would not have stayed anywhere but would have been dispersed in their course through the infinite void not having any supports or counterchecks to send them back on their upward rebound again if the void were finite the infinity of bodies would not have anywhere to be 18 because of the infinite supply of atoms there are an infinite number of worlds or cosmoi 13 some of these worlds could be vastly different from our own some quite similar and all of the worlds were separated from each other by vast areas of void metakosmia 13 epicureanism states that atoms are unable to be broken down into any smaller parts 17 because void is necessary for matter to move anything that consists of both void and matter can be broken down while if something contains no void then it has no way to break apart because no part of the substance could be broken down into a smaller subsection of the substance 15 atoms are constantly moving in one of four different ways 19 atoms can simply collide with each other and then bounce off of each other 19 when joined with each other and forming a larger object atoms can vibrate as they collide into each other while still maintaining the overall shape of the larger object 19 when not prevented by other atoms all atoms move at the same speed naturally downwards in relation to the rest of the world 19 20 this downwards motion is natural for atoms however as their fourth means of motion atoms can at times randomly swerve out of their usual downwards path 20 this swerving motion is what allowed for the creation of the universe since as more and more atoms swerved and collided with each other objects were able to take shape as the atoms joined without the swerve the atoms would never have interacted with each other and simply continued to move downwards at the same speed 19 20 epicurus also felt that the swerve was what accounted for humanity s free will 21 if it were not for the swerve humans would be subject to a never ending chain of cause and effect 21 this was a point which epicureans often used to criticize democritus atomic theory 21 epistemology edit epicurean philosophy employs an empirical epistemology one based on the senses 22 sense perception edit epicureans believed that the senses also relied on atoms every object was continually emitting particles from itself that would then interact with the observer 23 all sensations such as sight smell or sound relied on these particles 23 while the atoms that were emitted did not have the qualities that the senses were perceiving the manner in which they were emitted caused the observer to experience those sensations e g red particles were not themselves red but were emitted in a manner that caused the viewer to experience the color red 23 the atoms are not perceived individually but rather as a continuous sensation because of how quickly they move 23 the epicureans believed that all sense perceptions were true 24 25 and that errors arise in how we judge those perceptions 25 when we form judgements about things hupolepsis they can be verified and corrected through further sensory information 25 26 27 for example if someone sees a tower from far away that appears to be round and upon approaching the tower they see that it is actually square they would come to realize that their original judgement was wrong and correct their wrong opinion 28 criterion of truth edit epicurus is said to have proposed three criteria of truth sensations aisthêsis preconceptions prolepsis and feelings pathê 29 a fourth criterion called presentational applications of the mind phantastikai epibolai tês dianoias was said to have been added by later epicureans 29 30 these criteria formed the method through which epicureans thought we gained knowledge 22 since epicureans thought that sensations could not deceive sensations are the first and main criterion of truth for epicureans 25 even in cases where sensory input seems to mislead the input itself is true and the error arises from our judgements about the input for example when one places a straight oar in the water it appears bent the epicurean would argue that the image of the oar that is the atoms travelling from the oar to the observer s eyes has been shifted and thus really does arrive at the observer s eyes in the shape of a bent oar 31 the observer makes the error in assuming that the image he or she receives correctly represents the oar and has not been distorted in some way 31 in order not to make erroneous judgements about perceivable things and instead verify one s judgement epicureans believed that one needed to obtain clear vision enargeia of the perceivable thing by closer examination 32 this acted as a justification for one s judgements about the thing being perceived 32 enargeia is characterized as sensation of an object that has been unchanged by judgements or opinions and is a clear and direct perception of that object 33 an individual s preconceptions are his or her concepts of what things are e g what someone s idea of a horse is and these concepts are formed in a person s mind through sensory input over time 34 when the word that relates to the preconception is used these preconceptions are summoned up by the mind into the person s thoughts 35 it is through our preconceptions that we are able to make judgements about the things that we perceive 28 preconceptions were also used by epicureans to avoid the paradox proposed by plato in the meno regarding learning 35 plato argues that learning requires us to already have knowledge of what we are learning or else we would be unable to recognize when we had successfully learned the information 35 preconceptions epicureans argue provide individuals with that pre knowledge required for learning 35 our feelings or emotions pathê are how we perceive pleasure and pain 30 they are analogous to sensations in that they are a means of perception but they perceive our internal state as opposed to external things 30 according to diogenes laertius feelings are how we determine our actions if something is pleasurable we pursue that thing and if something is painful we avoid that thing 30 the idea of presentational applications of the mind is an explanation for how we can discuss and inquire about things we cannot directly perceive 36 we receive impressions of such things directly in our minds instead of perceiving them through other senses 29 the concept of presentational applications of the mind may have been introduced to explain how we learn about things that we cannot directly perceive such as the gods 29 36 ethics edit it is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely honorably and justly and it is impossible to live wisely honorably and justly without living pleasantly epicurus principal doctrine 5 part of a series on hedonism thinkers ajita aristippus bentham chandler epicurus feldman gassendi guisán jovinian la mettrie mill onfray pearce piper singer tännsjö yang schools of hedonism axiological hedonism charvaka christian hedonism jovinianism cyrenaics epicureanism ethical hedonism libertinage psychological hedonism utilitarianism yangism key concepts aponia ataraxia eudaimonia felicific calculus happiness hedone pain pleasure sensation suffering tetrapharmakos related articles hedonic treadmill joie de vivre paradox of hedonism wine women and song zichan v t e epicureanism bases its ethics on a hedonistic set of values seeing pleasure as the chief good in life and pain as the chief evil 37 38 unlike other schools which considered virtue the supreme good such as stoicism he considered the virtues to be an instrumental but essential good to living a pleasant life all stemming from practical wisdom on how to live pleasantly 39 hence epicurus advocated living in such a way as to derive the greatest amount of pleasure possible during one s lifetime yet doing so moderately in order to avoid the suffering incurred by indulgence in pleasures that could cause pain 37 along with moderation of one s desires and the virtues he also considered the acquisition of friendship to be central to this goal of living pleasantly considering it the greatest means to secure happiness 40 41 he also considered the study of the natural world necessary to dispel fears about mythology 42 the epicurean views on marriage and having children are disputed with some considering them strongly against marriage and child rearing unless circumstances forced one to and others thinking he only warned against imprudent marriage and child rearing when circumstances made it unwise additionally they viewed recreational sex as a natural but not necessary desire that never benefited a man since it didn t relieve any pain and one must be content with it not harming him 43 since the political life could give rise to desires that could disturb virtue and one s peace of mind such as a lust for power or a desire for fame participation in politics was discouraged 44 45 further epicurus sought to eliminate the fear of the gods and of death seeing those two fears as chief causes of strife in life 46 pleasure edit when we say that pleasure is the end and aim we do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or the pleasures of sensuality as we are understood to do by some through ignorance prejudice or wilful misrepresentation by pleasure we mean the absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul it is not by an unbroken succession of drinking bouts and of revelry not by sexual lust nor the enjoyment of fish and other delicacies of a luxurious table which produce a pleasant life it is sober reasoning searching out the grounds of every choice and avoidance and banishing those beliefs through which the greatest tumults take possession of the soul epicurus letter to menoeceus 47 epicureans had a very specific understanding of what the greatest pleasure was and the focus of their ethics was on the avoidance of pain rather than seeking out pleasure arguing that pleasure reaches its maximum in the removal of all sources of pain either mental or bodily 48 49 sometimes however we must accept pain or avoid pleasures to avoid greater pain or to secure greater pleasures as evidence for this epicureans say that nature seems to command us to avoid pain and they point out that all animals try to avoid pain as much as possible 50 epicureanism divided pleasure into two broad categories pleasures of the body and pleasures of the mind 49 pleasures of the body involve sensations of the body such as the act of eating delicious food or of being in a state of comfort free from pain and exist only in the present 49 one can only experience pleasures of the body in the moment meaning they only exist as a person is experiencing them 51 pleasures of the mind involve mental processes and states feelings of joy the lack of fear and pleasant memories are all examples of pleasures of the mind 49 these pleasures of the mind do not only exist in the present but also in the past and future since memory of a past pleasant experience or the expectation of some potentially pleasing future can both be pleasurable experiences 51 because of this the pleasures of the mind are considered to be greater than those of the body 51 emphasis was placed on pleasures of the mind rather than on physical pleasures 37 the epicureans further divided each of these types of pleasures into two categories kinetic pleasure and katastematic pleasure 52 53 54 absence of pain aponia and lack of disturbance of mind ataraxia are two of the katastematic pleasures and often seen as the focal ones to epicurus 55 56 kinetic pleasure is the physical or mental pleasures that involve action or change 57 eating delicious food as well as fulfilling desires and removing pain which is itself considered a pleasurable act are all examples of kinetic pleasure in the physical sense 52 58 according to epicurus feelings of joy would be an example of mental kinetic pleasure 52 katastematic pleasure is the pleasure one feels while in a state without pain 58 like kinetic pleasures katastematic pleasures can also be physical such as the state of not being thirsty or mental such as freedom from a state of fear 52 57 while the pursuit of pleasure formed the focal point of the philosophy this was largely directed to the static pleasures of minimizing pain anxiety and suffering from this understanding epicureans concluded that the greatest pleasure a person could reach was the complete removal of all pain both physical and mental 59 the ultimate goal then of epicurean ethics was to reach a state of aponia and ataraxia 59 desire edit nature must be persuaded not forced and we will persuade nature by fulfilling the necessary desires and the natural desires too if they cause no harm but sharply rejecting the harmful desires epicurus vatican sayings 21 60 in order to do this an epicurean had to control their desires because desire itself can often be painful not only will controlling one s desires bring about aponia as one will rarely suffer from not being physically satisfied but controlling one s desires will also help to bring about ataraxia because one will not be anxious about becoming discomforted since one has few desires which are very easy to fulfill the epicureans divide desires into three classes natural and necessary natural but not necessary and unnatural and unnecessary 61 natural and necessary these desires are limited desires that are present in all humans and contribute to our happiness it is part of human nature to need them since we experience pain without them they are necessary for one of three reasons necessary for happiness necessary for freedom from bodily discomfort and necessary for life friendship and knowledge of natural science to dispel mythology would belong to the first category of desires where as food and drink clothes medicine and shelter belong to the second and third categories these desires a...