What kinds of things fulfill our necessary desires? Those necessary for survival are obvious and so I will not address them here. However, those necessary for comfort and flourishing pose a potential problem. Epicurus does not supply a definition of comfort, or a list of the kinds of things that are comfortable, he simply states, " some if the body is to be rid of uneasiness" (Letter to Menoeceus). This seems purely subjective when there are no other qualifies placed upon it. Flourishing, while equally as ambiguous, at least has a notion to it that alludes clear direction. For the Epicureans, flourishing would entail a healthy soul, which we know can be achieved through therapy and the deconstruction of socially implanted empty desires.
In my daily life, I will attempt to weed out that which can fulfill my necessary desire for comfort. I hypothesize that it will be discovered on a spectrum. I will know a thing is comfortable only if I am able to recognize the point at which it becomes excessive and therefore harmful. Today, as an example, I had one cup of coffee. I felt alert, perky, engaged...comfortable. Tomorrow I will have two cups of coffee and monitor the difference. If I develop the shakes, chills, and an inclination towards ADHD behavior I will know two cups of coffee eclipses my necessary desire for comfort.
I hope to have a better understanding of the kinds of things which would fulfill my necessary desire for flourishing for the obvious reason that I want to flourish. I have feeling coffee is not one of these things, that humans, myself in particular, would flourish more freely with a morning alternative. However, this brings me to an interesting point. Can there be things that fulfill one necessary desire but actually degenerate progress of another, such as coffee. Each day it fulfill my necessary desire for comfort, but my inclination towards coffee hinders my necessary desire for flourishing. However, could I ever achieve flourishing without first achieving comfort? If I can than it implies that desires for comforts are not really necessary. If I cannot than I am perpetually trapped because of coffee.
mmm...coffee. One benefit to being a night owl: an intensifying affect on my enjoyment of caffeine.
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