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Are We Naturally Hedonists? Here’s What Epicurus Thought
伊壁鸠鲁哲学：享乐是人行为的最高准则

Epicurus considers it obvious that we, like every other animal, pursue pleasure and avoid pain by nature.The point requires no rational demonstration — we observe it in other animals and feel it in ourselves.

We have never asked for a reasoned argument that fire feels hot and snow feels cold.We just feel it.Epicurus considers it likewise self-evident that pleasure and pain serve as the motivational starting points for all sentient creatures.

The desire for pleasure and an aversion to pain come as standard operating equipment in animals.Epicurus, though, thinks the greatest pleasure is tranquility, a stable psychological state characterized by the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain.

Picture a human infant cast screaming from the womb into the great hurly-burly of this world, red with rage.It is hungry, overstimulated, and suddenly very cold and uncomfortable.

It needs sustenance, a warm embrace, snuggles, a soft hat.Epicurus thinks that this brute desire for secure comfort never leaves us.

The Epicureans and their chief rivals, the Stoics, call this a “Cradle Argument”.Epicurus thinks the “Cradle Argument” shows us that infants want freedom from pain, as well as the assorted pleasures consistent with maintaining that tranquil state.

Adults, then, are essentially infants grown large and intelligent, facing an immensely more complex world, now largely responsible for providing that precious and pleasant secure state for ourselves.

Epicurus advances a bolder claim here than you might at first think.It makes sense that pleasure feels good, and that pain feels bad, and we do often choose pleasures and avoid pains.No controversy there.Epicurus, though, thinks that all our actions ultimately aim at our own pleasure.

Epicurus is what we will call a “psychological hedonist” because he thinks that we always choose what we think will provide us the most pleasure overall.We have one fundamental motivation — pursuing pleasure.He writes that pleasure is “the starting point for every choice and avoidance.”

As he thinks the greatest pleasure is freedom from pain and anxiety, he can restate our motivation as pain avoidance: “We do everything for the sake of being neither in pain nor in terror.”

But that seems, at least on the face of it, insane.Consider some of your most recent actions.In the past few hours, you have likely done many things.Perhaps you washed the dishes, answered some work emails, talked a friend through a crisis, ate an ice cream sandwich, turned off your mind to binge-watch a show.

Now you are taking at least a moment to peruse the contents of this article.Each action foreclosed other options.Your reading this book means you are not currently strolling through the night.If I asked you to explain your motivations for these assorted actions, how might you respond?

It would make sense for you to say that you watched a television show because it was pleasant, but that you washed the dishes reluctantly and resented writing to your boss in what should be your spare time.Sure, you allow yourself to choose what pleases you when possible, but other times, far more often than you would like, you must act from a sense of obligation.

Epicurus denies there are two competing motives at war with one another — pleasure and duty.That’s not because he wants to convince you that action done from duty is actually pleasant.The Epicureans deny that we act from duty at all.If you think you’re acting from the motive of duty, you are incorrect.But again, how can this be?!

A distinction might help.We often pursue pleasure “directly,” in the sense that our path to pleasure appears free and clear, and we choose the unimpeded pleasure of the moment.Sometimes an unalloyed pleasure is right there in front of us, and Epicurus considers it well-worth choosing.

Epicureanism’s commitment to savoring the joys of leisure is part of what distinguishes it from more austere philosophies.Harmless pleasures within easy reach are in fact the better choice in some circumstances.