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Christmas
December 18, 2006 by: UKStevieB
Now this got me thinking, as I thought I recognised the sentiment that the company was putting to the fore, "eat, drink & be merry". I was pretty sure that the next bit of the quote went on to say something along the lines of, "for tomorrow we die", the Greek philosophy propounded by Epicurus (341-270 B.C.), which most people would not consider to be very Christmassy at all.
But once I got home and did a little research on the ideas behind this way of thinking I began to feel more and more that it was possible this poster might be the most truthful one I was ever likely to see.
The philosophy centres around the idea that the pleasure you, the individual, is the sole or chief good in life. As learning, culture, and civilization as well as social and political involvements could give rise to desires that are difficult to satisfy and thus result in disturbing your peace of mind, his followers were discouraged from pursuing such. Knowledge was sought only to rid oneself of religious fears and superstitions, primarily the fear of god(s) and of death.
This began to sound more and more like the way people live their lives today.
The philosophy was also characterized by the complete absence of any principles, in fact lawbreaking was counselled against simply because of the shame associated with detection and the punishment it might bring. Never break the 11th Commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Get Caught"!
Virtue in itself was held to have no value and was beneficial only when it served as a means to gain happiness. In fact, reciprocity was only recommended, not because it was right and noble, but because it paid off. Friendships rested on the same selfish basis, that is, the pleasure resulting to the possessor.
The conclusion I was drawn to was that Epicurus and his philosophy still has a strong hold on us today. Regardless of whether or not you celebrate this coming holiday as a Pagan festival (which it is) or as a Christian one (which it isn't) the main thrust has become the commerciality of it, what people as individuals can gain from it, the pleasures that it affords. At one point the Christmas celebrations at least had the good of the poor and needy as its central theme, with those such as Charles Dickens in modern times using it as a means to promote a better social consciousness.
Not so much in our secularised times.
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