Prudence and the Pleasant Life in Epicureanism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14195/1984-249X_36_07Keywords:
Epicureanism, Virtue, Prudence, PleasureAbstract
In the following paper, I examine the Epicurean conception of the relation between the virtue of prudence and the pleasant life by means of a discussion of two Epicurean theses, which I label "Inseperability" and "Causality." Inseperability asserts that prudence is inseperable from the pleasant life, while Causality asserts that prudence is a cause of the pleasant life. I discuss each of these theses in turn as well as their combination, namely, the thesis, which I label "Causal Inseperability," that prudence is a necessary and sufficient cause of the pleasant life. I argue that, in light of Causal Inseperability, prudence is best seen as what I call a "rational" cause of the pleasant life, that is, a cause that furnishes reasons for and thereby rationally necessitates pleasure.
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