The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast Episode 156, 'Epicurus – Worst Philosopher Ever?' with Jonny Thomson
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May 3, 2026 
Jonny Thomson, philosophy communicator and author of The Art of Enough, defends Epicurus with clarity and charm. They debate pleasure as the highest good, the role of friendship and communal life, Epicurean answers to death and the gods, and atomism and free will. Lively back-and-forth explores justice, moral scope, and how a garden philosophy fares in hard times.
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Pleasure As Absence Of Pain
- Epicurus makes pleasure the highest good but redefines it as absence of pain rather than constant thrills.
- Jonny Thomson explains Epicurus values settled pleasures and friendship because they reduce tarake (mental disturbance).
Do A Hedonic Calculus Before Indulging
- Epicurean ethics uses a hedonic calculus (logismos) to weigh short-term thrills against long-term suffering.
- Thomson warns kinetic pleasures create addiction and slavery to desire, undermining lasting pleasure.
Use The Fourfold Remedy To Reduce Anxiety
- Follow the Tetrapharmakos: do not fear gods, do not fear death, good is easy to attain, hard things are easy to endure.
- Thomson presents it as a practical remedy to reduce anxiety and vain desires.
