The Importance of the Necessary Desires

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Greed is an undercurrent of our American culture, for sure. I love Epicurus's observation that the necessary desires are actually pretty accessible to all of us. The most common example would be very ambitious people who end up not spending the time with their children and families or friends that later in their lives, they wish that they had.

The Greek philosopher Epicurus made a rather bold claim over two thousand years ago. The key to life, he said, was simple: pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Around this maxim he developed a school of philosophy, Epicureanism, which promised its adherents that if they took care of their basic needs, surrounded themselves with trustworthy friends, and developed a basic understanding of science, they would be happy. But is it really that simple? Can the advice of someone born 2,363 years ago still hold true? To answer these questions, we turned to Emily Austin, professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University and author of the delightful new book "Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life.”

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