Existence is a duty." We are dealing with a philosophical conversion, implying a voluntary, radical transformation of one's way of living and looking at the world. This is the true "healthiness of the moment," which leads to serenity.
Despite the profound differences between Epicurean and Stoic doctrine, we find an extraordinary structural analogy between the experiences of time as it was lived in both schools. This analogy will perhaps allow us to glimpse a certain common experience of the present underlying their doctrinal divergences. We can define this analogy as follows: both Epicureanism and Stoicism privilege the present, to the detriment of the past and above all of the future. They posit as an axiom that happiness can only be found in the present, that one instant of happiness is equivalent to an eternity of happiness, and that happiness can and must be found immediately, here and now. Both Epicureanism and Stoicism invite us to rcsituate the present instant within the perspective of the cosmos, and to accord infinite value to the slightest moment of existence.
To begin with Epicureanism: it is a therapy of anguish, and a philosophy which seeks, above all, to procure peace of mind. Its goal is consequently to liberate mankind from everything that is a cause of anguish for the souclass="underline" the belief that the gods are concerned with mankind; the fear of post-mortem punishment; the worries and pain brought about by unsatisfied desires; and the moral uneasiness caused by the concern to act out of perfect purity of intention.
Epicureanism does away with all this. With regard to the gods, it affirms that they themselves live in perfect tranquillity. They are not troubled by the worry of producing or governing the universe, since the latter is the result of a fortuitous coming together of eternally existent atoms. With regard to death, Epicureanism asserts that the soul docs not survive the body, and that death is not an event within life. With regard to desires, it affirms that they trouble us to the extent that they are artificial and useless. We must reject all those desires which are neither natural nor necessary, and satisfy - with prudence
- those of our desires which are natural but not necessary. Above all, we are to satisfy those desires which are indispensable for the continuation of our existence. As for moral worries, they will be completely appea.o;ed once we realize that man, like all other living beings, is always motivated by pleasure.
If we seek for wisdom, this is simply because it brings peace of mind: in other words, a pleasurable state.
What Epicureanism proposes is a fom1 of wisdom, which tc11chcs Uli how to relax and to suppre11s our worries. This only appc11rs to be easy, mcll'covcr;
"Only the Present is our Happiness "
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for we must renounce a great deal, in order that we may desire only that which we are certain of obtaining, and submit our desires to the judgment of reason. What is required, in fact, is a total transformation of our lives, and one of the principal aspects of this transformation is the change of our attitude toward time. According to Epicureanism, senseless people - that is, the majority of mankind - are tormented by vast, hollow desires which have to do with wealth, glory, power, and the unbridled pleasures of the flesh. 13 What is characteristic of all these desires is that they cannot be satisfied in the present. This is why, for the Epicureans,
senseless people live in hope for the future, and since this cannot be certain, they are consumed by fear and anxiety. Their torment is the most intense when they realize too late that they have striven in vain after money or power or glory, for they do not derive any pleasure from the things which, inflamed with hope, they had undertaken such great labors to procure. H
According to an Epicurean saying, "The life of a foolish man is fearful and unpleasant; it is swept totally away into the future." 15 Thus, Epicurean wisdom proposes a radical transformation, which must be active at each instant of life, of mankind's attitude toward time. We must, it teaches, learn how to enjoy the pleasure of the present, without letting ourselves be distracted from it. If the past is unpleasant to us, we are to avoid thinking about it, and we must not think about the future, insofar as the idea of it provokes in us fears or unbridled expectations. Only thoughts about what is pleasant - of pleasure, whether past or future - are to be allowed into the present moment, especially when we are trying to compensate for current suffering. This transformation presupposes a specific conception of pleasure, peculiar to Epicureanism, according to which the quality of pleasure depends neither on the quantity of desires it satisfies, nor on the length of time it lasts.
The quality of pleasure does not depend on the quantity of desires it satisfies. The best and most intense pleasure is that which is mixed to the least extent with worry, and which is the most certain to ensure peace of mind. It can therefore be procured by the satisfaction of natural and necessary desires; that is, those desires which are essential and necessary for the preservation of existence. Now, such desires can easily be satisfied, without our having to rely on the future for them, and without our being exposed to the worry and uncertainty of lengthy pursuit. "Thanks be to blessed nature, who made necessary things easy to obtain, and things which are hard to obtain unnecessary. " 111
What causes us to think about the past or the future are such illnesses of the sou l llN 1 hc human passions, desires for wealth, power, or depravity; but the purc111 , 11111111 in1 cni;c pleasure can easily be obtained within the present.
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Themes
Not only does pleasure not depend upon the quantity of satisfied desires, but -
above all - it does not depend upon duration. It has no need to be long-lasting in order to be perfect: "An infinite period of time could not cause us more pleasure than can be derived from this one, which we can see is finite." 17
"Finite time and infinite time bring us the same pleasure, if we measure its limits by reason. " 18 This may seem paradoxical, but it is founded on a theoretical conception. As the Stoics were to repeat, a tiny circle is no more of a circle than a large one. 19 The Epicureans thought of pleasure as a reality in and for itself, not situated within the category of time. Aristotle had said that pleasure is total and complete at each moment of its duration, and that its prolongation does not change its essence.2° For the Epicureans, a practical attitude is joined to this theoretical representation: if pleasure limits itself to that which procures perfect peace of mind, it attains a summit which cannot be surpassed, and it is impossible for it to by increased by duration. In the words of Guyau: "In enjoyment, there is a kind of inner plenitude and over-abundance which makes it independent of time, as well as of everything else. True pleasure bears its infinity within itself." 21
Thus, pleasure is wholly within the present moment, and we need not wait for anything from the future to increase it. Everything we have been saying so far could be summed up in the following verses from Horace: "Let the soul which is happy with the present learn to hate to worry about what lies ahead." 22 The happy mind does not look towards the future. If we limit our desires in a reasonable way, we can be happy right now. Not only can we be happy, but we mus/: happiness must be found immediately, here and now, and in the present. Instead of reflecting about our lives as a whole, calculating our hopes and worries, we must seize happiness within the present moment.