The Principal Doctrines of Epicurus is a 3rd-century outline of Epicurean philosophy. This bullet point is so consistent with my posts on friendliness, social intelligence, and the Bubble that I feel compelled share it.
He who desires to live
in tranquility with nothing to fear from other men ought to make
friends. Those of whom he cannot make
friends, he should at least avoid rendering enemies; and if that is not in his power,
he should, as much as possible, avoid all dealings with them, and keep them aloof,
insofar as it is in his interest to do so.
READER COMMENTS
Hunter
Mar 4 2014 at 12:57pm
Thank you for posting this. Epicurus has such a bad reputation as a hedonist that nobody really goes much into what he had to say about happiness.
Here is a British psychologist’s view of what Epicurus got right and some of what he got wrong about happiness.
http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/12/hedonist-philosopher-epicurus-was-right.php
Jacob A. Geller
Mar 4 2014 at 10:20pm
Seems like common sense to me…
Ron
Mar 5 2014 at 4:41pm
It’s hard to go wrong with Mr. Epicurus, but some people are so addicted to outrage and taking offense, they just can’t give it up. And of course, the internet and the media generally were just made for them.
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