Commenting Epicurus”s First Principal Doctrine

March 12, 2010 · Filed Under Epicurean solutions, roadmap to happiness through stress-FREEDOM

The Epicurus page of Facebook started publishing Epicurus’s Principal Doctrines again with new comments.

“A blessed and indestructible being has no trouble himself and brings no trouble upon any other being; so he is free from anger and partiality, for all such things imply weakness.” – The First Epicurean Principal Doctrine

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/?ref=home

My comment was this:

I agree with DeWitt in that Epicurus taught that the gods were not immortal but “only” indestructible” and that their “blessedness” was -at least partly – due to the fact that they were “free from anger and partiality”. So the message of the 1st Principal Doctrine is: Do NOT fear the gods! At the same time I agree with Jaakko in that the gods through their “blessedness” or perfect ataraxia served as role models for Epicurean practitioners, who believed and proved that through daily practice the can “live like gods”.

Tags: ataraxia, blessedness, Epicurus, gods, indistructibility