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Single Idea 1833
[filed under theme 22. Metaethics / C. The Good / 1. Goodness / f. Good as pleasure
]
Full Idea
Pleasure is the beginning and end of living happily, and we recognise this as the first good.
Gist of Idea
Pleasure is the first good in life
Source
Epicurus (Letter to Menoeceus [c.291 BCE], 128)
Book Ref
Epicurus: 'The Epicurus Reader', ed/tr. Inwood,B. /Gerson,L. [Hackett 1994], p.30
A Reaction
We might enquire what we would live for if our capacities for pleasure were surgically removed. Would we still experience intellectual curiosity, or an aspiration to some cold and remote goodness?
The
16 ideas
from 'Letter to Menoeceus'
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14052
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Begin philosophy when you are young, and keep going when you are old
[Epicurus]
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14054
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Fearing death is absurd, because we are not present when it occurs
[Epicurus]
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14053
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It is absurd to fear the pain of death when you are not even facing it
[Epicurus]
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14055
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The wisdom that produces a good life also produces a good death
[Epicurus]
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1833
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Pleasure is the first good in life
[Epicurus]
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14056
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We only need pleasure when we have the pain of desire
[Epicurus]
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14057
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All pleasures are good, but it is not always right to choose them
[Epicurus]
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14058
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Pleasure is the goal, but as lack of pain and calm mind, not as depraved or greedy pleasure
[Epicurus]
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1835
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True pleasure is not debauchery, but freedom from physical and mental pain
[Epicurus]
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14060
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Prudence is the greatest good, and more valuable than philosophy, because it produces virtue
[Epicurus]
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1836
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Prudence is more valuable than philosophy, because it avoids confusions of the soul
[Epicurus]
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14059
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The best life is not sensuality, but rational choice and healthy opinion
[Epicurus]
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1837
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We should not refer things to irresponsible necessity, but either to fortune or to our own will
[Epicurus]
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14061
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Our own choices are autonomous, and the basis for praise and blame
[Epicurus]
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14062
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Sooner follow mythology, than accept the 'fate' of natural philosophers
[Epicurus]
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14063
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Sooner a good decision going wrong, than a bad one turning out for the good
[Epicurus]
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