When the Sophists spoke of pleasure, they referred to it only as the pleasure one experiences when engaging in pleasure. It is not, they maintained, the enjoyment one experiences when activities are performed with an eye to attaining some goal or end. The aim and purpose of all pleasure, according to them, is to attain an objective. Thus, they maintained that Epicurus did not in any way advocate a life devoted to pleasure alone; rather, he did so because pleasure was the end itself and, consequently, the aim and purpose of all actions. To this, the early Christians, following the teachings of St. Paul, added the idea that pleasure was the chief good.
Epicurus, one of the many philosophers who flourished in Athens during the fourth century BC, wrote a number of lengthy works on natural philosophy, ethics, and anatomy, all of which are important to this discussion. These works, called the Dialogues, are well preserved and can be read today. In fact, the very structure of the Epicurean moral ethics is similar to that of Stoicism. For instance, the second book of the Dialogues, which is entitled “The Spleen” contains the immortal lines “We must be allowed so long as we pleased to do as we pleased, and so long as it pleased our master, to bring into being as many things as are good for men.” This is a classic statement of Epicurus’ philosophy, and his views about how desires affect human beings remain uncompromisingly true today. It is not only in his ethical theories that Epicurus borrowed ideas from Stoicism, but in his concept of reality itself.
According to Epicurus, pleasure is the only good. Therefore, he argued, there is no reason for acting at all, since pleasure is neither desirable nor even useful. Desires and passions are things that aim at pleasure, not happiness. The goals of philosophy, according to Epicurus, are therefore things like understanding nature and the universe, discovering the philosophical nature of God, finding a standard of excellence, establishing a just social order, and so on. Pleasure is not the goal, although it may sometimes be the means toward these goals.
Desire, according to Epicurus, is bad because it tends to multiply the bad. So when we desire something, our natural natures incline us towards it. This is why the desire for “acquiring knowledge” in his philosophy is an overpowering one. For Epicurus, knowledge is good because it makes us happier and more useful as a human being.
Now, in addition to this desire for pleasure, Epicurus also claimed that desire must be structured along with the other components of natural philosophy. For instance, desire is directed toward acquiring what is good; and if this desire is fulfilled, then good will follow. The desire for “pleasure” must also be satisfied in order for pleasure to be generated. And the gratification of this desire is itself a kind of pleasure, so that desire itself becomes something good. And because we must combine desire and enjoyment in order for the pleasures to be both natural and good, the desire for “pleasure” must be properly structured along with the elements of pleasure.
For Epicurus, pleasure is not a distinct entity but the natural condition of human beings. It cannot be separated from pleasure, as they are one and the same thing. But, unlike the views of Stoicism and Buddhism, for Epicurus pleasure is not the end or goal of human happiness, but is rather a means to that end.
So too must the philosophy of Epicurus be structured along with pleasure: it must include a distinction between desires and pleasures. A desire is something which prompts us to action or direction; it is sometimes called a “call.” A pleasure, on the other hand, is something which gratifies our taste or sensibility. Pleasures may be obtained without leading to action or direction, as in the case of physical pleasure, but they cannot be pursued without a reason.
Like most philosophers, Epicurus recognizes that pleasure is part of the human condition. While he differs with his fellow philosophy gurus in his view that pleasure is the highest thing there is, he nevertheless places importance on it. For example, when Epicurus lectures on the ways by which friendship can be cultivated, he says that pleasure is a part of friendship and advises his pupils to seek pleasure as part of their overall philosophy of life.