Why these two schools?
Around 300 BCE Greece was in turmoil: empires rose and fell, and old city life was shaken. Two new schools offered ordinary people a way to live well in an uncertain world.
- Epicureanism: founded by Epicurus in Athens (341-270 BCE). His school met in a garden.
- Stoicism: founded by Zeno of Citium, who taught in a painted porch (a stoa), so the name. Later Stoics include Seneca, Epictetus and the emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Both followed the question of earlier Greek thinkers: what makes a life go well? The word the Greeks used for a flourishing life is eudaimonia.
Pleasure in Epicurean happiness
Epicurus said pleasure is the highest good. But he did not mean wild parties. He meant a life with no pain in the body and no trouble in the mind. The calm mind is called ataraxia.
How to reach it? Sort your wishes into three groups:
- Natural and needed: food, water, shelter, friends. Easy to get. Keep them.
- Natural but not needed: fancy food, a bigger house. Enjoy a little, do not depend on them.
- Empty: fame, power, endless riches. Never satisfied, so they bring worry. Drop them.
Epicurus also valued friendship very highly, and said we should not fear death: when we are, death is not; when death is, we are not.
Virtue in Stoic happiness
The Stoics said the only true good is virtue, which means a good character: wisdom, courage, justice and self-control. A person with virtue is happy even when poor or ill.
Their key rule is the dichotomy of control (a split in two):
- Up to us: our opinions, wishes and actions.
- Not up to us: our body, wealth, fame, other people, weather, the result of an exam.
Things not up to us (health, money, praise) are called indifferents. We may prefer some of them, but they are not good or bad in themselves. Troubles come from our judgements about events, not from events. Change the judgement and the trouble shrinks. The Stoics also said we should live by reason, care for all human beings, and take part in public life.
Comparing both models
| Epicureans | Stoics | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest good | Pleasure (no pain, no worry) | Virtue (good character) |
| Main method | Want less, sort wishes, keep friends | Control judgements, practise virtue, accept fate |
| Goal of mind | Ataraxia (calm) | Calm and steady (apatheia means free from harmful passions) |
| Public life | Mostly avoid it | Take part and do your duty |
| World view | Atoms and chance, no gods who interfere | A rational ordered world (providence) |
Alike: both give a practical way to calm the mind, both say fear and craving cause trouble, and both treat philosophy as a medicine for the soul.
Moral problems seen through both ethics
- Should I lie to get ahead? Epicurean: breaking rules is not bad in itself, but you will live in fear of being caught, so it ruins your calm. Stoic: lying breaks justice and honesty, so it is wrong even if nobody ever finds out.
- A friend needs help and it costs me. Epicurean: friendship is a great source of security and joy, so help. Stoic: helping is a duty of justice that belongs to a good character.
- I lost something I loved. Epicurean: remember the happy times to ease the pain. Stoic: this was not up to me, so accept and use the loss to practise courage.
Notice that they often reach the same action (be honest, help friends) but for different reasons.
Try it
Step 5 of the 3D lets you set wishes, storm and virtue. Try these: wishes = 8, storm = 2, virtue = 8. Who is calmer? Now wishes = 3, storm = 9, virtue = 0. Who is calmer now? What do you learn?
At home: write 5 things that worry you. Put each in one column: "Up to me" or "Not up to me". Choose one action for each "up to me".
Key formulas and definitions
- Eudaimonia = a flourishing, happy life
- Epicurus: pleasure = no pain in body + no trouble in mind (ataraxia)
- Three wishes: natural & needed, natural but not needed, empty
- Stoics: virtue = wisdom + courage + justice + self-control; virtue is the only true good
- Dichotomy of control: up to us (judgements, actions) vs not up to us (body, wealth, others, results)
Worked examples
1. Sort into Epicurus' three groups: (a) clean water, (b) a very expensive phone, (c) becoming famous.
(a) Natural and needed. (b) Natural but not needed (or, if you crave the brand for show, empty). (c) Empty: it never feels like enough.
2. A match is cancelled because of rain. How does a Stoic react?
Rain is not up to us, so the Stoic does not rage. What is up to them is the next choice: play indoors, practise, or read. Their calm comes from controlling their judgement about the rain.
3. You find a lost wallet with money and an ID. An Epicurean and a Stoic both return it. What is the difference in their reasons?
The Epicurean may reason that keeping it would bring fear and a troubled mind. The Stoic returns it because honesty and justice are part of virtue, even if nobody would ever know.
Common mistakes
- Thinking Epicurus meant luxury and parties. He meant calm and simple pleasures.
- Thinking Stoics have no feelings. They aimed to remove harmful passions and keep good feelings like care and joy.
- Mixing the name: today "stoic" means "showing no emotion", but ancient Stoicism was much richer.
- Saying the two schools disagree on everything. Both want a calm mind and good friends and a simple life.