Epicurus on pleasure, a complete life, and death: a defence

Voorhoeve, Alex ORCID: 0000-0003-3240-3835 (2018) Epicurus on pleasure, a complete life, and death: a defence. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 118 (3). pp. 225-253. ISSN 0066-7374

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Abstract

Epicurus argued that the good life is the pleasurable life. He also argued that “death is nothing to us”. These claims appear in tension. For, if pleasure is good, then it seems that death is bad when it deprives us of deeply enjoyable time alive. Here, I offer an Epicurean view of pleasure and the complete life which dissolves this tension. This view is, I contend, more appealing than critics of Epicureanism have allowed, in part because it assigns higher value to pleasures that we produce by exercising our rational capacities and by establishing control over our lives.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://academic.oup.com/aristotelian
Additional Information:	© 2018 The Aristotelian Society
Divisions:	Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Date Deposited:	18 Sep 2018 08:25
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2024 05:10
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/90232

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