Lessons from Epicurus, Seneca, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche
Epicurus - A Rational Pursuit of Pleasure
He was a
philosopher who actually believed in pleasure as the 'beginning and goal of a happy life'.
'I don't know how I shall conceive of
the good, if I take away the pleasure of taste, if I take away sexual pleasure,
If I take away pleasure of hearing, and if I take away the sweet emotions that
are caused by the sight of beautiful forms'.
Humans naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain, but we
should seek pleasure as rationally as possible.
He stated that the cause of much human suffering is our false beliefs
about what is necessary for happiness. Examples: overindulgence in food, heavy
drinking or extravagant purchases of material goods.
Epicurus believed the virtuous and wisest individuals will pursue the pleasures which are
the most satisfying and avoid those which produce the greatest pain.
Three Essential Ingredients of Happiness
Elsewhere, Epicurus had three essential ingredients of happiness: Friendship, freedom and an analyzed life.
Friendship
Being surrounded by friends who care for us reinforces our identity and reason for existing. They satisfy our innate human desire, which is to be understood and appreciated.
He says true friends don't judge us by appearance, status or money. He recognized that a few close friends can bring the love and respect that a fortune cannot. And when people crave riches, it is to gain the attention and respect of people who would have otherwise looked straight through us.
Freedom
He wanted us to free ourselves from the 'prison of everyday affairs and politics' and the humiliation of having to work for people you don't like. Epicurus chose to live outside the center of Athens with a close group of friends. And in doing so, he freed himself from the anxiety and materialism of modern city life.
Analyzed life
By writing down or airing our problems, we can rationally understand, analyze and solve them.
Seneca - Expectations and Frustration
In Philosophers' Alain De Bottom consolations of philosophy, he
explained how Seneca philosophy helped us overcome anger caused by erroneous
reasoning. In particular, he believed that the world doesn't readily conform to
our wishes and so we must be prepared for it. Because we are most injured by
what we do not expect, we must prepare ourselves for everything.
Naturally, we believe in continuity, assuming tomorrow will be much like
today, so we never recognize the possibility of a devastating event.
Seneca says we're too optimistic and have unrealistic expectations about
what the world is truly like. His advice would is to be more pessimistic and
adjust our view of the imperfect world, thus enabling us to be less surprised when
faced with misfortune.
To keep our exposure to accidents continually within our mind, he
invoked the 'goddess of fortune'. Her interventions, whether kind or diabolical
introduced a random element into the human world.
Pessimism - Alain De Botton
He believes that the gap between your grandeur aspirations and the reality of life will inevitably make you miserable. He puts forward an unusual idea that we would be a great deal more cheerful if we Learned to be a bit more pessimistic. Our high hopes laid bear by the mean reality of life will generate gloom and severe disappointments. Mankind's wretchedness and our propensity to feel anxious, bored and pain etc are all dark realities of our existence. Pessimist accept this, they never expect things to turn out well and so are astonished by even modest successes.
Pain - Frederick Nietzsche
Again in Philosophers' Alain De Bottom consolations of philosophy, he described
how the German Philosopher Frederick Nietzsche thought highly of being
miserable.
Rather than avoid pain (living in a fireproof room), we should realize
that it is an inevitable step to achieving anything good. He believed the most fulfilling
human projects are inseparable from torment. He floated the idea that pleasure
and displeasure were tied together. The journey to achieving anything great
involves anxiety, pain, humiliation, envy etc.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a technique popularized by Buddhism. It involves focusing our attention to the present moment. This helps us to become aware of our feelings and therefore better able to manage them. The human mind is unable to make sense of the world, because it's full of contradiction, paradox and anguish. Bringing our attention to the present prevents us from being overwhelmed by our feelings and anxieties. Research shows that mindfulness can help treat recurrent depression, anxiety disorders, stress, insomnia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Past, present and Future
Philosophers believe that humans made themselves miserable by ruminating over the past and worrying about the future.
To combat this, we should try and bring your attention back to the present moment. The more we can do this, the more we can savor it, appreciate it and enjoy the wonder of 'being alive and conscious in this universe'
Living in the 'never returning transient present' is of course the most difficult thing to do. The problem is that we are either stuck in the past (our glorious childhood) or the future imaging how successful we will be.
Sam Harris on mindfulness and present moment
"What's the alternative?, the reality of life is always now, its a liberating truth. We can never really connect with the present moment and find fulfillment their because we are continually hoping to become happy in the future, the future which never arrives. Even when we think were in the present moment we are subtlety always looking over our shoulder anticipating whats coming next"
"Alternatively, if you are constantly ruminating over what you just did, you will miss your life, you will fail to connect with it and other people. We have this voice in our head which keeps saying things, this is the mechanism by which most of our sorrow is inflicted. To be perpetually lost in thought, to be the hostage of the next thought isn't useful".
He emphasises now, because now will never come again.
Schopenhauer
German
Philosopher 'Arthur Schopenhauer' theory 'suffering springs from deficiency'
bears some resemblance to Buddhist philosophy.
This states
that everything which lives and strives, is filled with suffering. Life's wants
always remain unfulfilled. And when one wish or goal is fulfilled, there remain
several more which are denied, each wish fulfilled gives way to a new one.
Schopenhauer
says that as long as we are willing, striving and desiring - lasting peace and
happiness will never be achieved.
In order to
tolerate the emptiness and suffering, we fill our lives with a variety of
diversions and entertainments. However it is this, according to Pascal which is
our greatest misery because it hinders us from reflecting upon and find a way
to escape our suffering.
As we
perceive death, illness and misery as inevitable, we've come to the conclusion
that the best way to be happy is to not think about them at all.
Schopenhauer
philosophy may be pessimistic, but he prefers to speak difficult truths rather
than tell rosy lies which people find more palatable. He tells the world how it
is, with no sugar coating at all.
How to remember Philosophical teachings
Author Jules
Evans says we are very forgetful creatures, or as Socrates put it 'we sleep walk through the day'.
We are habit-based creatures. If philosophy is going change us, it needs to be changed into
ingrained habits.
Solution -
we can do this by turning them into proverbs and maxims (a simple and memorable rule for living) which
we can easily remember. Example :everything in moderation.
Moreover,
ideas need to be practiced in real life situations rather than safety of your
home.
Apt Philosophical Quotes
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is
not an act, but a habit"
Aristotle
"He who hath many friends hath none"
Aristotle
"To Be Everywhere Is to Be
Nowhere"
Seneca
Recommended Reading
My primary source: 'Consolations of Philosophy' by Alain De Botton.
