How to Be an Epicurean

How to Be an Epicurean
Catherine Wilson

‘Pleasure should be the basis of all our decisions’: so said the Epicureans. But there’s more to this school of thought than fine wine, rich food and great sex aplenty.Epicureanism is often misguidedly equated with hedonism. But this rational and humane philosophy offers and advocates so much more than opulent self-indulgence. Instead, this school of thought encourages a life free from anxiety, stresses the importance of friendship, and champions knowledge as one of the greatest pleasures. Join Professor Catherine Wilson on a journey to the heart of Epicurean sentiment and discover a framework through which we can lead richer, more fulfilling lives.Grappling with some of life’s biggest questions along the way, Catherine reveals the Epicurean approach to life’s fundamental questions: What is the purpose of morality? How best to tackle love and relationships? What is the meaning of life? How should you cope with death? All within the aim of thoughtfully pursuing long-term pleasure in its various forms, Epicureanism reveals a more immediate and practical answer these seemly intangible dilemmas.Drawing on a wellspring of ancient philosophy, harnessed and repurposed for a contemporary audience, How to be an Epicurean offers a timely guide for modern living that advocates the importance of maintaining friendships; the benefits of working alone; creating time for personal reflection and growth; and many more things besides.

(#u8e05d6bb-f812-593f-a05e-292810f1d617)

Copyright (#u8e05d6bb-f812-593f-a05e-292810f1d617)

HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

FIRST EDITION

© Catherine Wilson 2019

Cover layout design by Micaela Alcaino © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019

Cover photograph © Shutterstock.com

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Catherine Wilson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Find out about HarperCollins and the environment at

www.harpercollins.co.uk/green (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/green)

Source ISBN: 9780008291693

Ebook Edition © May 2019 ISBN: 9780008291716

Version: 2019-04-02

Contents

1  Cover (#udf488954-0c5a-539b-a625-f22b383b9f9a)

2  Title Page

3  Copyright

4  Contents (#u8e05d6bb-f812-593f-a05e-292810f1d617)

5  Preface

6 Note on the Text

7  PART I: HOW THE EPICUREAN SEES THE WORLD

8  1. Back to BasicsThe Epicurean Atom (#ulink_0639482a-2fa9-546f-bf6b-f6c12a30b55d)Atomism: Three Consequences (#ulink_89e0cd50-cb7c-5cd3-a8d0-8f1570879d61)

9  2. How Did We Get Here?The Epicurean Theory of Natural Selection (#ulink_f06d3eb0-06df-5b56-843d-20d82d46cd62)Darwin’s Upgrade: How Selection Causes Evolution (#ulink_41fef7c1-aa40-54da-98de-e56f0fc4c458)

10  3. The Material MindThe Mystery of Consciousness (#ulink_d55ebead-77c5-59cd-98eb-773232517d44)The Evolution of Consciousness (#ulink_40073875-9745-5e51-9c3a-a326a32f1825)

11  4. The Story of HumanityThe State of Nature and the Rise of Civilisation (#ulink_d58585f9-71e1-58ee-9551-b02baefb9149)Authority and Inequality (#ulink_d4378bc0-1947-54a1-8192-50c70d1e18d5)The Lessons of the Past (#ulink_6d778ace-9fe9-5fd5-b859-734323343e43)

12  PART II: LIVING WELL AND LIVING JUSTLY

13  5. Ethics and the Care of the SelfPleasure and Pain (#ulink_1ac9d122-c4fe-535a-856b-810da5add9db)Prudence and its Limits (#ulink_a744ccdb-288d-50d5-9242-556631a88083)Hedonism and its Problems (#litres_trial_promo)Don’t Suffer in Silence! (#litres_trial_promo)The Pleasure Merchants (#litres_trial_promo)

14  6. Morality and Other PeopleMorality vs Prudence (#litres_trial_promo)Moral Truth and Moral Progress (#litres_trial_promo)Why Be Moral? (#litres_trial_promo)What’s Different About Epicurean Morality? (#litres_trial_promo)

15  7. Beware of Love!The Epicurean Exception (#litres_trial_promo)The Pains and Pleasures of Love (#litres_trial_promo)Sexual Morality: Minimising Harm to Others (#litres_trial_promo)Using Your Head (#litres_trial_promo)

16  8. Thinking About DeathThe Epicurean View of Death (#litres_trial_promo)Death at the Right and Wrong Times (#litres_trial_promo)Abortion vs Infanticide (#litres_trial_promo)Suicide vs Euthanasia (#litres_trial_promo)Resisting and Accepting Mortality (#litres_trial_promo)Don’t Count on the Afterlife (#litres_trial_promo)

17  PART III: SEEKING KNOWLEDGE AND AVOIDING ERROR

18  9. What Is Real?Nature and Convention (#litres_trial_promo)Things in Between (#litres_trial_promo)Human Rights: Natural or Conventional? (#litres_trial_promo)The Imaginary: Unthings (#litres_trial_promo)The Reality of the Past (#litres_trial_promo)

19  10. What Can We Know?The Importance of First-Person Experience (#litres_trial_promo)Resolving Disagreement (#litres_trial_promo)Is Empiricism True? (#litres_trial_promo)

20  PART IV: THE SELF IN A COMPLEX WORLD

21  11. Science and ScepticismScientific Explanation (#litres_trial_promo)Can We Trust the Scientists? (#litres_trial_promo)Living with Uncertainty (#litres_trial_promo)

22  12. Social Justice for an Epicurean WorldThree Epicurean Philosophers on War, Inequality and Work (#litres_trial_promo)Epicurean Political Principles (#litres_trial_promo)Justice for Women: Nature, History and Convention (#litres_trial_promo)

23  13. Religion From an Epicurean PerspectiveBelief in the Imaginary (#litres_trial_promo)Piety Without Superstition (#litres_trial_promo)Can Religion Be Immoral? (#litres_trial_promo)Can a Religious Person Be an Epicurean? (#litres_trial_promo)

24  14. The Meaningful LifeTwo Conceptions of the Meaningful Life (#litres_trial_promo)Meaningfulness for the Individual (#litres_trial_promo)The Problem of Affluence (#litres_trial_promo)The Philosophical Perspective (#litres_trial_promo)

25  15. Should I Be a Stoic Instead?The Stoic System (#litres_trial_promo)Too Much Fortitude? (#litres_trial_promo)Wrapping Up (#litres_trial_promo)

26  Bibliography and Suggestions for Further Reading

27 Acknowledgements

28  About the Publisher