In the last class, we talked about static and katastematic pleasures. Then, for your homework, you read through Epicurus’s letter to Menoeceus. We’ll start by sharing what advice from Epicurus you thought worked, and what advice didn’t.
Breakout groups
Check in, say hello, and share your thoughts about the letter. Then we’ll feed back.
Natural and Unnatural Desires
Today, we’re going to focus on the idea of natural and unnatural ideas. Epicurus says ‘some [desires] are natural and necessary, some natural and not necessary and some neither natural nor necessary but occurring as the result of groundless opinion.’ What is going on here?
Let us start with the idea of necessary desires. ‘Necessary’, in this context, can be defined as any desire the absence of which might cause actual pain. So, for example, food and water are necessary, but muffins and coffee are unnecessary.
The question of what Epicurus means by ‘natural’ is a little more difficult to grasp. For Epicurus, ‘unnatural’ desires are those that do not arise out of our basic physical needs, but that we nevertheless might seek: things such as honour, status, and wealth. They are things that, because they are not rooted in basic need, do not tend towards satisfaction. So if we desire honour, and we get some honour, we want more honour; if we want status, and our status increases, then we want more status. In neither case are we easily satisfied.
For Epicurus, the primary distinction is between the natural and unnatural desires, between the desire for those things that support our existence and that are capable of satisfaction, and the desire for those things that do not support our existence, and are not capable of satisfaction. But, within the category of ‘natural’ desires, he makes a secondary distinction between necessary and unnecessary desires: this is why, for Epicurus, there are no unnatural but necessary desires. The following table gives an idea of how this might work, with some examples of desires from each category:
| A: Natural and necessary | B: Natural and Unnecessary | C: Neither Natural nor Necessary |
| Food, Clothing, Shelter | Specific luxury food items, Extravagant clothing, Mansions and elaborate houses | Honour, Status, Wealth |
Now we can think about these kinds of desire in relation to the two kinds of pleasure. Those desires in category C are tangled up with kinetic pleasures, because they always project us to further desires. And kinetic pleasures are ultimately more trouble than they are worth. What, then, about the desires in category B, those that are natural and necessary? Let us imagine that we crave a particular kind of blueberry muffin. If we get the special kind of muffin that we crave, we may be satisfied. But if we pin our hopes upon this kind of muffin, then we may find two things: firstly, in setting our hearts on that one muffin and that one muffin alone, we may cause ourselves significant trouble in tracking it down. And secondly, even after this trouble, we might not be able to actually attain the object of our desires, leading to further kinetic disturbance. We might also experience various kinds of disturbing anxiety (‘will they be sold out?’ ‘what if I can’t find any?’) because, relatively speaking, the desire for something more specific, for example, a muffin, is more difficult to fulfil than the desire for something more general, for example, food.
Desires in category A, then, are much easier to fulfil. No muffins? Fine, I’ll have a bunch of grapes. Or a slice of cake. Or a piece of bread. Or a pot of cheese. Then I get the pleasure of satisfaction, without the turbulence associated with desires in category B or C.
An Epicurean Experiment
Epicureanism was not just a set of ideas about happiness or the good life, but it formed a complete approach to the practical business of living. So let’s have a look at an Epicurean experiment for your homework. This particular experiment takes place over three days.
Day 1:
Set aside twenty minutes to do a good job of this part of the experiment. On a piece of paper spend five minutes jotting down some notes about the various pleasures you have experienced in the last twenty-four hours. Don’t rule out any pleasures for moral reasons, because for the Epicurean, insofar as it is pleasure, all pleasure is good.
Now, on a separate piece of paper write down two columns. Label one column ‘static’ and one column ‘kinetic’. Take each of the pleasures of the last twenty-four hours in turn, and put them in the column you think they belong to. Don’t be too rigorous about this, but just go with your gut feeling.
Finally, for each pleasure you put in the ‘kinetic’ section, note down any disturbances that these pleasures led to. When you have done this, then go and do something else.
Day 2:
On the morning of the next day, return to your list and read over it. In the light of this list, think about the desires that you have for the coming day: in Epicurean terms, are they natural and necessary? Unnatural and unnecessary? Natural and unnecessary? Think about the pleasures that they will lead to: are these static or kinetic?
Now plan out an Epicurean day for yourself. Think about how you can maximise pleasure and attain a greater degree of ataraxia. Consider how you can cultivate static instead of kinetic pleasures. Focus, in particular, on finding pleasure in natural and necessary desires.
Day 3:
Repeat the exercise you tried for Day 1. Was your Epicurean day any happier, or freer from disturbance than the day before? Did it lead to more static pleasures? Finally, after twenty-four hours, take stock and ask if you are any happier?