Currently, I am enrolled in a course titled “Philosophy as a Way of Life”. In this course, we have learned about Stoicism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, and Skepticism. However, we don’t just study them; we debate whether living according to any of these philosophies can improve our lives.
A few weeks ago, our professor asked us to live according to one of these philosophies for 72 hours. Considering that I have been studying and employing Stoic practices since this past summer, I decided to try out a different path—Epicureanism.
What is Epicureanism
Epicureans are hedonists. They ascribe to the belief that pleasure is the ultimate “good” and pain is the ultimate “evil”. However, their concept of pleasure may be different than you think. Epicurus was not a proponent of endless partying; the philosopher’s concept of pleasure was a state where one experiences the absence of pain and disturbance. For example, drinking a glass of water eliminates the pain of thirst and thus brings genuine pleasure.
Based on this idea of hedonism, Epicureans believe that we completely flourish when we pursue freedom from pain and disturbance. Hence, a life in which we are constantly pursuing this freedom constitutes the Epicurean conception of the “good life”. In preparation for my 72 hours as an Epicurean, I thought about my conception of the Epicurean good life. I concluded that through total acceptance and love of one’s current circumstances, one can pursue freedom from pain and disturbance. I defined my Epicurean good life as living completely in the present, finding enjoyment in the present moment, and eschewing all worries or anxieties about past or future events.
How To Live Like an Epicurean
To live out a philosophy as a way of life, one must close the “theory-action-gap”. It is not enough to simply believe Epicurus has correctly defined what constitutes the good life, one must also actually live the good life. To make this easier, Epicurus stressed the importance of what are known as spiritual exercises. For Epicureans, spiritual exercises include reflecting on Epicurean philosophy, meditating, practicing awareness, and spending time connecting with family and friends. I lived my 72 hours as an Epicurean between Wednesday October 27th and Friday October 29th, so let’s walk through what I did each day.
Wednesday
I started Wednesday morning by watching a short YouTube video about Epicurus’s philosophy and life. The video stressed Epicurus’s insistence of the absolute goodness of pleasure and the absolute badness of pain. So, I decided that for the next 72 hours I would do everything I could to focus on the pleasures of life and avoid thinking about the pains in life.
The next thing I did Wednesday morning was meditate. Since May, I have tried to meditate every day. Now that I was living like an Epicurean, I wanted to meditate specifically on pleasure. I decided to use the “joy meditation” on my meditation app, which had me focus on all the good things happening in my life at the very moment I was meditating. I thought about the comfort of my Uggs Slippers, the calming feeling of my breath, and the softness of my sweatshirt.
In an effort to stay in the moment, I left extra time to walk to my classes. In class, I remained present by listening attentively to the discussion. As I walked and sat in class, I was also reflecting on Atomism, a key component of Epicurus philosophy. Atomism is the belief that everything in the universe is material and made of atoms. Therefore, everything in the Universe is the same. It’s all atoms. The only difference is how the atoms are arranged.
After my classes, I practiced staying physically healthy and having strong friendships—components of the good life Epicurus considered most important—by playing basketball with friends. Afterwards, I hung out with friends at night. I had meaningful conversations and I tried to stay off my phone.
Thursday and Friday
The next day, I once again started my day by reflecting on Epicurus’s teachings. I read a chapter in Eric Weiner’s Book The Socrates Express entitled, “How to Enjoy like Epicurus”. Next, I meditated, this time on gratitude. I have no classes on Thursday, so I took this free time to call my mom, dad, brother, and friends from home to practice the exercise of having strong friendships. At night, I saw my friends again.
On Friday, I went to the gym in the morning and found myself in a bad mood. I was upset with myself for not going to the gym as much as I planned on this semester. I decided to meditate on positive thinking when I got back to my dorm. Friday night consisted of spending time with my friends again.
Throughout the three days, I tried my best to stay in the moment and practice awareness. I continued walking slowly to wherever I was going, and when my mind started to wander, I tried to ground myself in the present moment by focusing on my breathing.
What worked
My slow walks were my favorite spiritual exercise. Usually, I walk to class at a fast pace while texting on my phone; I am often not paying attention to my surroundings or enjoying the walk. Walking slowly was difficult for me, but once I got the hang of it, I found it was extremely enjoyable. I was able to slow down and just appreciate life, and this made me happy. While I walked and reflected on Atomism, I thought about how accepting this Epicurean physics means believing I am essentially the same as the ground I was walking on, the wind blowing in my face, and the trees in my vision. Meaningfully, I contemplated how the people I walked past were the same as me, and this made me feel more connected to them.
During class time, staying in the moment meant keenly listening to my classmates and professors instead of furiously taking notes. I found that listening connected me more to everyone around me. Again, a benefit of subscribing to Atomism.
Meditating on joy and gratitude certainly improved my well-being. I thought about everything I had to be thankful for and I lost the urge to complain about the little things that are not going my way. When I called my family and friends, I didn’t worry about how long I was on the phone or what work I had to get done that day. I just stayed in the moment and enjoyed myself. This was very nice, but it did add stress for me on Sunday when I had to complete the work I put off all week.
What didn’t work
Friday morning was when I had the most difficulty with Epicureanism. I was having a bad morning, and thinking about the Epicurean principle that states pain is the ultimate evil did not make me feel better. It actually made me feel worse as I began to fully believe my problems were as serious as my anxiety told me they were. However, I was able to remedy my bad mood by using the Epicurean exercise of meditating on good things. I meditated on positivity for 15 minutes and found myself feeling less anxious and in an overall better mood.
Did Epicureanism improve my well-being?
Overall, I enjoyed living like an Epicurean and I do think it had a positive impact on my well-being. I think Epicureanism has a lot of spiritual practices that can help one lead the good life. Since those 72 hours, I have continued to walk slowly, meditate on joy, positivity, and gratitude, and I have tried to spend less time on my phone when I’m with friends.
I believe to live the good life one must enjoy life and one must feel a strong sense of connection to others and nature. My favorite part of the philosophy is the physics of Atomism. Being aware that I share the same basic atomic structure as everything in the Universe filled me with an intense feeling of wonder and connection. It amazed me that I could be so different yet so similar to my surroundings.
Although some Epicuren beliefs and practice led to greater enjoyment in life, others did not. My biggest problem with Epicureanism is their belief in absolute goodness and absolute badness. I think life is much less stressful and more enjoyable when we consider everything’s goodness or badness to be relative. Some things seem bad in the moment but end up being good; I think an Epicurean mindset of absolute good and badness precludes one (at least practically) from having faith that some bad things may turn out to be good things.
My biggest takeaway from this exercise is that living with intent improves your happiness. Regardless of if you live like an Epicurean, a Stoic, a Taoist, or your own personal philosophy, living with the deliberate intention to live the good life is beneficial. I hope you try it out!