Stoicism and Epicureanism: Rivals Who Read Each Other
Introduction
In his early letters to Lucilius, Seneca has a curious habit. Almost every letter ends with a parting gift—a brief thought for his friend to meditate on. And many of those thoughts come not from a Stoic, but from Epicurus, the founder of the rival school. Seneca explains it with an image: he often crosses into the enemy camp, not as a deserter, but as a scout.
Stoicism and Epicureanism arose at almost the same time in Athens at the end of the fourth century BCE, and for centuries they argued with each other. They defended opposing ideas about the good, the world, and public life. Yet they shared more than is usually thought, and some Stoics, like Seneca, had no trouble acknowledging it.
Seneca quoted Epicurus without shame: a good idea, he said, belongs to whoever uses it well.
This article compares the two schools, dismantles the misunderstanding of the gluttonous "Epicurean," and suggests what to take from each.
Two Schools, One City
Epicurus founded his school around 306 BCE in a garden on the outskirts of Athens; for that reason his followers became known as "those of the Garden." Zeno began teaching in the Painted Porch of the agora a few years later. While the Stoics met in a public space, the Epicureans lived in a community, set apart, among friends.
That difference in setting already says something about their difference in spirit.
Pleasure Versus Virtue
The central difference lies in what they considered the supreme good:
- For Epicurus, the good is pleasure. But not just any pleasure: the pleasure Epicurus meant was above all the absence of pain in the body and of disturbance in the soul.
- For the Stoics, the only good is virtue. Pleasure is, at most, an indifferent, and can never be the goal.
The Stoics criticized this idea sharply. If pleasure is the good, they said, there is no way to distinguish honorable pleasures from shameful ones. The Epicureans replied that pleasure properly understood, calculated over the long term, necessarily leads to a sober and just life.
The Misunderstanding of the Gluttonous Epicurean
Today the word "epicurean" is used for someone who enjoys fine dining and refined pleasures. That is almost the opposite of what Epicurus taught.
In his Letter to Menoeceus, Epicurus explains that when he speaks of pleasure, he does not mean the pleasures of the prodigal, but freedom from bodily pain and mental turmoil. He recommended a simple life: bread, water, a little cheese from time to time. He held that someone accustomed to simplicity enjoys it all the more when something extraordinary comes along, and that unnecessary desires are a source of restlessness.
Read this way, Epicurus's proposal has much in common with Stoic austerity.
What They Shared
- The simple life. Both recommended needing little in order to live in peace.
- Tranquility of the soul. The Epicureans called it ataraxia; the Stoics also used the word and valued it.
- Not fearing death. Epicurus wrote that death is nothing to us, because when we exist, death is not; and when death exists, we are no more. The Stoics had their own arguments, but shared the goal of losing the fear of it.
- Philosophy as medicine. Both schools saw philosophy as a therapy for the soul.
- Examining desires. Epicurus classified desires into natural and necessary, natural but not necessary, and empty. The Stoics distinguished what is up to us from what is not.
What Separated Them
Public Life
Epicurus advised living unnoticed, removed from politics, which he considered a source of anxiety. The Stoics, by contrast, held that human beings are social animals with duties to their community. That is why there were Stoic senators and even an emperor, and almost no Epicureans in those offices.
The World
The Epicureans, following Democritus, believed the world was made of atoms moving in the void, without a plan or providence. The Stoics believed in a rational cosmos ordered by the logos. Marcus Aurelius left several notes that say, in essence: either there is providence, or there are atoms; in either case, one must act well.
Friendship
Both schools valued friendship, but differently. For Epicurus, friendship was one of the greatest pleasures and a safeguard against insecurity. For the Stoics, it was an expression of virtue and of the natural bond among human beings.
What Seneca Borrowed
In the first thirty letters to Lucilius, Seneca quotes Epicurus again and again. Some of the ideas he borrows:
- It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.
- We should live as if someone good were watching us.
- Philosophy gives true freedom.
- We should prepare the mind for poverty in times of abundance.
For Seneca, truth had no owner. Sensible ideas from Epicurus belonged, at bottom, to anyone who applied them well.
What to Take from Each
- From Epicureanism: the examination of desires, enjoyment of the simple, the value of friendship, serenity in the face of death.
- From Stoicism: commitment to the community, virtue as a guide, action despite discomfort, the idea that not every pleasure is worth the same.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing Epicureanism with vulgar hedonism. Epicurus preached a sober life.
- Presenting them as opposites in everything. They shared more in practice than they argued about.
- Forgetting their underlying differences. On the good, the world, and politics, they thought differently.
- Choosing one without knowing the other. Reading them together helps understand each one better.
Conclusion
Seneca crossed into the enemy camp as a scout and came back with good ideas. This week, try Epicurus's exercise with desires: write down three things you desire and classify them as natural and necessary, natural but not necessary, or empty. Then apply the Stoic question: what part of each one is up to me? Compare what each school tells you about your own desires.
References
- Epicurus. Letter to Menoeceus.
- Seneca. Letters to Lucilius, 2, 9, 11, and 16.
- Marcus Aurelius. Meditations, IV.3 and IX.39.
- Diogenes Laertius. Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Books VII and X.
- Nussbaum, M. C. (1994). The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics. Princeton University Press.
- Sellars, J. (2006). Stoicism. Acumen.