Epicurus’ Cure for Unhappiness

In this video, Monte discusses the “tetrapharmakos” or “four-part remedy” developed by the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BC) and his followers to treat unhappiness and anxiety. The tetrapharmakos consists of four maxims which encapsulate the Epicurean outlook on god, life, death, pleasure, and pain. The maxims can be meditated upon in order to alleviate worries and concerns that continue to plague us as much as they did the ancients.

Associate Professor of Philosophy at University of California, San Diego

My research and teaching focuses on Greek philosophy, especially Democritus and Aristotle, and their influence on modern philosophy and science. I am particularly interested in the development of the scientific method, and its application to cosmology, anthropology, and political science. I am current working with D.S. Hutchinson of the University of Toronto, on a reconstruction of a lost work of Aristotle: the Protrepticus (Exhortation to Philosophy).

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