Epicurus’s Classification of Desires (PP21)
Epicurus’s Classification of Desires
Epicurus differentiated among desires: To him, some were natural and others were vain (surgery for a more bountiful bosom? regular visits to a tanning booth?). Of the natural, he classified some as necessary and others as not necessary (whips and chains, excessive drug use, a bidet in every bathroom?). The necessary natural desires he further broke down into three groups: our desires for that which is necessary for survival (food and water, shelter, clothing and protection), our desires for that which allows for the unimpeded functioning of our bodies, or comfort (somatos aochlesia) and our desires for that through which we can obtain a state of happiness (eudemonia). Our desires in each of these three categories of necessary natural desires must be fulfilled if we are to achieve an anxiety- and stress-FREE state of mind (ataraxia) — which is exactly what Epicurus considered the ultimate goal: a completely pain-free state. For example, if we are hungry or sick, it doesn’t matter if we are well-clad and if we don’t have shoes it doesn’t matter if we are healthy. Our peace of mind will be disturbed and an ongoing state of stress-FREEDOM is impossible.
Epicurus might have a few words to say about this business (a la former U.S. president Richard Nixon who, at the height of the Watergate mess, said, “Let me say this about that.”). Now don’t misunderstand; Epicurus was all for pleasure, and indeed heartily indulged in some of his own. But if he were here today, he might say that our desires should be put through the “Are-You-Really-Sure-You-Want-to-Do-This” test before we order the schooner building kit or make reservations for a two-week safari in Tanzania. But more about that later.
According to Epicurus, pleasure is our first and closest good, and our own personal feeling is the rule by which we evaluate the good of everything. This section will illustrate how to banish stress and anxiety by helping us make the best choices that will bring authentic pleasure instead of just another layer of pain in the form of inner turmoil.
To read my complete Epicurean Happiness Guidance “From Pain to Pleasure: The Proven Pathway to Happiness” go to http://stressfreedomguide.com/
Moving Targets and Other kinds of Desires (PP20)
Here’s sequel 20 of my Epicurean Happiness Guidance “From Pain to Pleasure: The Proven Pathway to Happiness” (from Chapter 3: DESIRES)
Epicurus might have a few words to say about this business (a la former U.S. president Richard Nixon who, at the height of the Watergate mess, said, “Let me say this about that.”). Now don’t misunderstand; Epicurus was all for pleasure, and indeed heartily indulged in some of his own. But if he were here today, he might say that our desires should be put through the “Are-You-Really-Sure-You-Want-to-Do-This” test before we order the schooner building kit or make reservations for a two-week safari in Tanzania. But more about that later.
According to Epicurus, pleasure is our first and closest good, and our own personal feeling is the rule by which we evaluate the good of everything. This section will illustrate how to banish stress and anxiety by helping us make the best choices that will bring authentic pleasure instead of just another layer of pain in the form of inner turmoil.
To read my complete Epicurean Happiness Guidance “From Pain to Pleasure: The Proven Pathway to Happiness” go to http://stressfreedomguide.com/
Is There Something Wrong with Having Desires? (PP19)
Here’s sequel 19 of my Epicurean Happiness Guidance “From Pain to Pleasure: The Proven Pathway to Happiness” (from Chapter 3: DESIRES)
There Something Wrong with Having Desires?
The definitive answer: It depends. It’s never wrong to seek pleasure, if we agree with Epicurus that pleasure is the absence of pain in the body and trouble in the soul — also known as anxiety. He considered no pleasure to be an evil itself, but believed that some of the ways we use to produce pleasure have consequences far greater than the pleasures themselves. More about that later.
People with desires wish for or even pine away for something they don’t have in their possession, material or otherwise. We all have desires, because we all seek to make our lives better: more fun, more comfortable, more luxurious, more beautiful, or more sophisticated; and make ourselves better: thinner, wiser, blonder, more muscular, more beautiful, more talented, more patient, more hirsute, more fun, younger-looking, or more popular (or, more likely, a combination of the above).
One may desire to lose weight. Another may wish for early retirement or better health. A young adult may desire courtship and marriage; a wife may wish her husband didn’t drink so much. A man may desire a larger house, a bigger paycheck, or a faster boat. Some may want their enemies to be run over by a bus. Some of us believe we won’t — or can’t — be happy until our desires are met. So we continually strive to meet them. But our desires can be tricky business, because they’re frequently moving targets.
To read my complete Epicurean Happiness Guidance “From Pain to Pleasure: The Proven Pathway to Happiness” go to http://stressfreedomguide.com/
Desires (PP18)
Here’s sequel 18 of my Epicurean Happiness Guidance “From Pain to Pleasure: The Proven Pathway to Happiness” (from Chapter3: DESIRES)
Desires
[Or “Let’s Hear From the Old Smart Guys”]
If we didn’t have desires, Santa Claus would be out of job, and NOBODY wants to send Santa to the unemployment office. And not only Santa would be downsized. Entire industries are built around our desires: luxury car makers, furniture producers, swimming pool builders, haute-couture clothing creators, advertising moguls, and tourism and weight loss experts. In fact, one wonders if, were we all to stop having desires, the economies of many countries would collapse.
For this section, we’ll use this definition of desire:
A strong feeling of being unsatisfied with one’s possessions or current emotional or physical state.
A desire is similar to one’s libido, except that rather than a drive for sexual intimacy it is a drive for an external object or a different state of being. (And, like libido, exhibits varying levels of intensity.)
To read my complete Epicurean Happiness Guidance “From Pain to Pleasure: The Proven Pathway to Happiness” go to http://stressfreedomguide.com/
My HappinessGuidance: “From Pain to Pleasure: The Proven Pathway to Happiness”
It seems that I have managed to make my report on the devastating effects of stress on our health and happiness technically accessible. As soon as my friend and webmaster will finish his nostalgia tour in Europe he will make it possible to order my book.
My HappinessGuidance “From Pain to Pleasure: The Proven Pathway to Happiness” will take you on a journey like no other. It will grab your hand and won’t let go until you:
- discover the links between your desires, needs, attitudes and values
- see the incongruities in your daily life
- plan your individual pathway from pain to stress-FREEDOM
- achieve harmonious relationships with friends and family
- enjoy peace, tranquility and serenity
- achieve clarity about your future
getting congruent: aligning plan and goals with needs, strategies and actions with values
After having rediscovered, sharpened and trained their think-tools the guidees learn to apply them for getting congruent: aligning their plans and goals with their fundamental needs, their strategies and actions with their values.
Incongruence between needs and desires, goals and needs, strategies and values are at the root of stress. Eliminating the incongruence the guidees eliminate the very causes of stress and make the way free towards stress-freedom, which is the first station on the road to happiness.
This is a process of fine tuning and habit formation under experienced guidance.
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