The ancient Greeks, especially those who lived in Athens, attached great importance to philosophy. They tried to solve the great questions of life and the universe using logic and speculation. They liked to discuss new things.

Epicurean and Stoic

Epicurean philosophers pretended to live for the maximum enjoyment of life, while doing so in moderation to avoid the drawbacks of overindulgence. Physical pleasures were not emphasized, but the pleasures of the spirit.

Useless desires had to be suppressed. The philosophy discourages participation in things that arouse desires that may be difficult to satisfy. Knowledge was sought primarily to get rid of superstitions and religious fears. The two main fears that had to be eliminated were the fear of the gods and death.

This philosophy made it "inadvisable" to break the law simply because of the embarrassment associated with discovery and the punishment it could entail. Living in fear of being discovered and / or punished would take away the pleasure.

For the Epicureans, virtue and morality per se had no value. Only when they were used as a means of happiness were they considered profitable. Friendships were also built in a selfish way, that is, the "pleasure derived from the possessor."

The Epicureans believed in the existence of the gods, but thought they were too far from earth to care about man. Therefore, he did not do well to pray or sacrifice for them. The Epicureans did not believe that the gods created the universe. They also did not believe that the gods inflicted punishments or bestowed blessings. According to this philosophy, the gods could not help anyone to achieve happiness. Life seemed to arise by chance in a mechanical universe. Death was seen as the end of everything, unleashing the nightmare of life. The Epicureans believed that man had a soul made up of atoms that dissolved when the body died.

By emphasizing pleasure, did the Epicurean philosophy contribute to a useful life? Did that give you any solid hope? No, because even its founder, Epicurus, defined life as a "bitter gift."

But did the Stoics have anything better to offer? No, because, like the Epicureans, they did not have a personal relationship with God, the Stoics did not even believe in God as a person. They believed that all things were part of an impersonal deity, from which the human soul emanated. It was believed that the soul survived the death of the body. Some Stoics believed that it would be destroyed along with the universe.

The Stoics argued that, to achieve the highest goal, happiness, man must use his reason to understand and respect the natural laws that govern the universe. For them, leading a virtuous life meant "following nature." The truly wise man, according to them, was indifferent to pain or pleasure. Fate, they thought, governed human affairs. Although the problems seemed insurmountable, the Stoics considered suicide irreproachable.