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ISSN 1108-8931 |
INTERNATIONAL ECOTOURISM MONTHLY |
Year 5-Issue 53, Oct 2003 |
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In the same way that the half-ignorant speak of "luxury ecolodges", others associate Epicurus and Epicureanism with "gourmet" food, excess, exclusivity and pampering, confusing him with the crude hedonism of the Cyrenaics. Nothing can be further than the truth, as Epicurus championed moderation, communality, asceticism, reason, freedom from obsession, freedom of choice, indifference to wealth, fame and public offices, and preference to friendship and true knowledge of one's self. Epicurus school, "the garden" (of his small house), a combination of a philosophical (eco? vegetarian?) community & school, was inclusive, accepting women and slaves as students. He was also the philosopher about whom a certain Karl Marx wrote his doctoral thesis. Epicurus criticised of ignorance, irrational fear, religious divinity, and political authoritarianism in their name. He insisted upon the possibility for human freedom. He argued that man and nature, not "gods" is the "measure of all things" and was one of the first to view society and justice in terms of a practical "social contract". Epicurus was born in the Aegean island of Samos. He taught in several towns in Asia Minor, and in Lesvos, before going to Athens c.306 B.C. There he purchased the famous garden, the equivalent of Plato's Academy or Aristotle's Lyceum. He lived on the warmest terms with his followers who came from all over Greece. The Epicurean school remained active until the 4th century AD, with communities of Epicureans flourishing for 6 centuries after his death, unlike other philosophy schools. Although his writings were voluminous, over 300 manuscripts, only fragments remain through other authors, possibly because to the new Christian Church his theories appeared more subversive than those of other philosophers. Epicurus simply defined philosophy as the art of creating happiness, naming pleasure as the highest and only good. For Epicurus pleasure was not vulgar indulgence but just the opposite: ataraxia [serenity], and the alleviation of pain, or human suffering as we would say today. He emphasised the superiority of intellectual pleasures over bodily pleasures and proposed a code of social conduct, which advocated honesty, prudence, and justice in dealing with others, not because these virtues were good in themselves, as the Platonics believed, but because they would save the individual from society's retribution. The Epicurean system deemphasized the traditional power of religious forces on human life and emphasised the human ability for rational choice and action. Among other things, Epicurus anticipated the modern doctrine of natural selection. He argued that natural forces give rise to organisms of different types and that only the types able to support and propagate themselves have survived. He suggested that even the atoms are free and move on occasion quite spontaneously; this principle is known today as the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics. The Epicurean philosophy is fully compatible with the principles of ecotourism as it advocates, knowledge, community spirit, rational choice, moderation, tranquility, friendship, respect for rules and the community, and pro-activeness.
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