Abstract

Epicurus is a famous Greek philosopher who is notable for his novel philosophical approach called Epicureanism. Epicurus related the concepts of pleasure and pain with good and evil. He held that the biggest truth of life is death, and this death marks an end not to the body but also to pain (IEP, p. 1). Hence, one should not fear it. He also believed that the power to be punished stored in the hands of gods is nothing but a myth in that the universe functions on the basis of a predefined system of atoms and their interactions with the surrounding space. The paper discusses the most intriguing philosophy of evil given by the philosopher. The idea of evil as given by Epicurus is known as the Epicurean paradox or the riddle of Epicurus. This idea on the problem of evil was a stark contrast and a serious blow to the prevailing idea of that the world is protected and is receiving providential care the source of which can be none other than divinity and caring deity (Rosenbaum, p. 81). This idea of evil received a lot of criticism.

Epicurus

Introduction

Epicurus is a famous Greek philosopher who is notable for his novel philosophical approach called Epicureanism. The information on the philosopher that exists today is a function of what people learnt from his companions and followers. He was a maestro and a philosopher par excellence. The idea of philosophy as given by Epicurus was based on the idea of ataraxia and aponia (Mark Joseph, p. xix). The former refers to a state of mind free from apprehensions and the latter refers to the absence of pain. Life cannot be fulfilled and there shall be no sense of happiness if a person was not afforded with ataraxia and aponia. In his opinion, bliss is a life surrounded by the company of one's dearest friends (Bitsori & Galanakis, p. 466).

Epicurus related the concepts of pleasure and pain with good and evil. He held that the biggest truth of life is death, and this death marks an end not to the body but also to pain (IEP, p. 1). Hence, one should not fear it. He also believed that the power to be punished stored in the hands of gods is nothing but a myth in that the universe functions on the basis of a predefined system of atoms and their interactions with the surrounding space.

Epicurus's philosophy is very diverse. He covered metaphysics and gave meaning to life and related concepts. His “Lazy Argument” and Self-refutation Argument are particularly famous (Kamtekar, p. 650). He describes types of desires and types of pleasures and gave an interesting concept of justice. The paper discusses the most intriguing philosophy of evil given by the philosopher.

Epicurus's views on evil

The idea of evil as given by Epicurus is known as the Epicurean paradox or the riddle of Epicurus. He was the pioneer in describing the problem of evil which first appeared in the masterpiece Treatise on the Anger ...