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After Aristotle, Hellenic philosophy was dominated by two rival schools of thought, the Stoic (founded by Zeno) and the Epicurean (founded by Epicurus). Over the centuries since, “stoic” has come to mean “self-disciplined indifference to pleasure or (especially) pain as a matter of principle or self-discipline,” while “epicurean” has now conjures “fond of or adapted to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures; having luxurious tastes or habits, esp. in eating and drinking.” But as Emily Austin argues in Living for Pleasure, an Epicurean Guide to Life, that’s a bum rap. Stoicism is having a moment. In a review of her new book, Julian Baggini argues that we should consider Epicureanism as well…

No one today would dream of practising the physics, medicine or biology of the ancient Greeks. But their thoughts on how to live remain perennially inspiring. Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics have all had their 21st-century evangelists. Now it is Epicurus’s turn, and his advocate is American philosopher Emily A. Austin.

Living for Pleasure is likely to evoke feelings of deja vu. One reason why “ancient wisdom” is so enduring is that most thinkers came to very similar conclusions on certain key points. Do not be seduced by the shallow temptations of wealth or glory. Pursue what is of real value to you, not what society tells you is most important. Be the sovereign of your desires, not a slave to them. Do not be scared of death, since only the superstitious fear divine punishment.

The more general such claims are, the easier it is to agree. But when we delve into what makes the various philosophers different, what sounds like universal good sense can suddenly seem a bit wacky.

Epicurus’s distinctive feature is his insistence that pleasure is the source of all happiness and is the only truly good thing. Hence the modern use of “epicurean” to mean gourmand. But Epicurus was no debauched hedonist. He thought the greatest pleasure was ataraxia: a state of tranquility in which we are free from anxiety. This raises the suspicion of false advertising – freedom from anxiety may be nice, but few would say it is positively pleasurable.

Still, in a world where even the possibility of missing out inspires fear, freedom from anxiety sounds pretty attractive. How can we get it? Mainly by satisfying the right desires and ignoring the rest. Epicurus thought that desires could be natural or unnatural, and necessary or unnecessary. Our natural and necessary desires are few: healthy food, shelter, clothes, company. As long as we live in a stable, supportive community, they are easy to achieve…

There’s much more in this timely guide to the Greek philosopher – and rival to the Stoics – who saw freedom from anxiety as the ultimate goal: “Living for Pleasure by Emily A Austin – an Epicurean guide to happiness,” from @JulianBaggini in @guardian.

See also: “How to be an Epicurean.”

* Epicurus

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As we contemplate contentment, we might send revelatory birthday greetings to Emanuel Swedenborg; he was born on this date in 1688 (O.S.). At age 53, after a successful career as an inventor and scientist, Sedenborg began to experience dreams and visions, a “spiritual awakening,” in which he received a revelation that Jesus Christ had appointed him to write The Heavenly Doctrine to reform Christianity. According to The Heavenly Doctrine, the Lord had opened Swedenborg’s spiritual eyes so that from then on, he could freely visit heaven and hell to converse with angels, demons and other spirits, and that the Last Judgment had already occurred in 1757 (not by Christ in person but by a revelation from him through the inner, spiritual sense of the Word through Swedenborg), the year before the 1758 publication of De Nova Hierosolyma et ejus doctrina coelesti (Concerning the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine).  The New Church, also known as Swedenborgianism, is a new religious movement originally founded in 1787 and comprising several historically related Christian denominations that revere Swedenborg’s writings as revelation.

Swedenborg argued against Luther’s concept of salvation through faith-alone (sola-fide in Latin), since he considered both faith and charity necessary for salvation. His thinking influenced a variety of important cultural figures, both writers and artists, including Robert Frost, Johnny Appleseed, William Blake, Jorge Luis Borges, Daniel Burnham, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Flaxman, George Inness, Henry James Sr., Carl Jung, Immanuel Kant, Honoré de Balzac, Helen Keller, Czesław Miłosz, Joseph Smith, August Strindberg, D. T. Suzuki, and W. B. Yeats.

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