Home at Last

It’s all about creation and recreation. I always wondered why I was so drawn to recycling. Now I understand why: I am an Epicurean in the original sense of the word.

Epicurus, who lived 71 years and died in 270 BCE, has been grossly misinterpreted by Christianity, resulting in the current definition of the epicure as “one who is devoted to sensual pleasure” and “one with sensitive and discriminating tastes especially in food or wine.” Wrong, all wrong.

Epicureanism is a philosophy based on the writings of Epicurus, who believed that pleasure is the greatest good. But the way to attain pleasure was to live modestly and to gain knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of one's desire.”¹

Epicurus was also an atomic materialist. He believe that the universe is made only of atoms and space and that all the atoms are continually being reshuffled into new creations. It's the perfect philosophy for one who believes in recycling waste materials.

Knowing this, I feel that I have found my philosophical home. How did I learn it? Because Dennis and I have been discussing a book he is reading, Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt.

I can hardly wait to read it myself. Now I also want to read Lucretius' On The Nature of Things. Oh, boy! This is going to be fun.

1.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureanism

Copyright 2012 by Shirley Domer