The Fourfold Remedy

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter introduces and explores the popular distillation of Epicurean practical philosophy into a “Fourfold Remedy.” The Remedy was introduced by later Epicureans who sought to capture Epicureanism’s central commitments in a brief and memorable set of claims: “God presents no fears, death no evils; the good is easy to obtain, the bad easy to endure.” Despite the convenience of having something chantable as a reminder of core beliefs, Epicurus would never have wanted the Fourfold Remedy to stand on its own. The Remedy is toothless and ineffective without at least a rough understanding of the reasons that undergird each claim. This chapter marshals the arguments of earlier chapters to offer a synoptic view of the Epicurean project that the Fourfold Remedy artfully distils.