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Why did Epicurus believe that prudence was important for happiness?
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Epicureanism
Epicurus, bronze bust from a Greek original, c. 280ā270 bce; in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.
For Epicurus, prudence was essential to happiness because it served as the foundational tool for navigating the complexities of life and achieving the ultimate goal of "freedom from pain in the body and from trouble in the mind".1
Prudence allowed the wise person to effectively manage their well-being through several key practices:
- Calculus of Desire: Prudence enabled individuals to measure the advantages and damages of any given desire. This allowed them to forgo immediate pleasures that might lead to greater future pain and to endure necessary pains if they resulted in a longer duration of pleasure.1
- Security and Moderation: By exercising prudence, one could reduce needs to a minimum and withdraw from the "noise of the world" and human competition, thereby securing a quiet, stable life.1
- Virtuous Living: Epicurean ethics held that pleasure and the practice of virtues are inseparable. Prudence guided the individual to live with temperance and justice, ensuring that their actions remained consistent with a life free from unnecessary disturbance.2
Ultimately, Epicurus viewed wisdom founded upon prudence as the primary means to order one's life and protect the soul from the anxieties caused by vain desires and worldly dangers.1