Outline

To be wise is to understand that our life on this earth comes with no strings attached. It is up to us to determine the constraints our nature imposes on us. When we have this confident understanding, we can enjoy "the bliss of the gods." We call those who work towards this happy state Epics. Remember that “no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul.” May the study of these words and the realizations that follow aid you in living your best life. These are the concepts and thought patterns that contribute to our understanding:


This is a material universe which we call nature .

Nature is all of space and time and their contents.

There is no afterlife .

Every part of us is natural and returns to Nature when we die. Therefore there is no retribution or reward in a “heaven” or a “hell.”

Life is the concentration of all value .

Value must be sought between the limits of birth and death. There are no external, absolute standards by which we must all abide, but death is certain and we must choose how to spend the time we are given.

Nature equips us with feelings to determine value .

There are two feelings: pleasure and pain. “Every animal, as soon as it is born, seeks for pleasure and recoils from pain and so far as possible avoids it.” This capacity is the result of millions of years of evolution.

Feelings are contextual .

Different people may feel differently when faced with the same situation. The same person might feel differently about something depending on the time of day, or where they are (or their financial situation or their government or their responsibilities or whatever).

Our purpose is to maximize pleasure within our context .

Keep in mind that some pains lead to greater pleasure, and some pleasures to greater pain. Living according to Nature is calculating both short- and long-term pleasure and pain from within our context to determine which set of choices will serve our purpose.

Therefore it must be said that there is no one right way to live .

Note that the goal is not “avoiding pain” but “maximizing pleasure,” by which we mean pleasure as ordinarily defined. There are no divisions of pleasure imposed from without; there is no “best” pleasure because pleasure is pleasure. You choose!

"Give yourself permission" .

“Give yourself permission to quit being a nice person and start being an effective animal.”