Natural and Necessary Desires
Epicurus on Pleasure and Happiness
The Greek philosopher Epicurus wrote that:
“Of desires, some are natural and necessary, some natural and not necessary, and some neither natural nor necessary but occurring as a result of a groundless opinion” (Epicurus, The Principal Doctrines, XXIX)
Epicurus was a Hedonist. He thought that the ultimate goal of life is pleasure, and that the happiest life is the most pleasant life. Although Hedonism is normally associated with over-indulgence and excess, Epicurus had a very different idea of what the most pleasant life would look like.
Epicurus thought that the happiest and most pleasant life is one in which we live in accordance with what he called our “natural and necessary” desires.
Natural and necessary desires are desires for what we need in order to survive and secure our basic well-being. In addition to the most fundamental desires for food, drink, and shelter, Epicurus also thought that we have a natural and necessary desire for friendship and good company.
Our lives become more stressful and painful once we begin to desire things that deviate from what is natural and necessary.
Sometimes we crave specific things that are not truly necessary to meet our basic needs. For example, we may desire a particular wine, or a certain dish from our favorite restaurant. If the restaurant is closed, or the dish doesn’t taste the way we expect it to, we experience pain and frustration.
Epicurus would have said that even though these desires are natural, they are also unnecessary. We do not need any particular wine to meet our basic needs. We simply need something safe to drink.
Natural and unnecessary desires bring stress and pain into our lives because they either make us unhealthy, or make it more likely that we will be disappointed if we cannot satisfy them.
Modern life in the West is fueled by the promotion and pursuit of unnecessary desires. Many of the most stressful aspects of our lives are a direct result of pursuing things that we don’t truly need in order to be happy.
Epicurus was, perhaps, the first minimalist in the history of Western philosophy.