Ataractic is the adjective form of ataraxia (Greek ataraxía, from a- "without" + tarachē "disturbance, anxiety"), denoting a state of inner calm, equanimity, and untroubled peace.
In ancient Greek philosophy, particularly among the Epicureans and Stoics, ataraxia was considered the highest good and the ideal state of the wise man — a condition of complete freedom from worry, passion, and agitation. Epicurus defined ataraxia as the absence of bodily suffering and mental disturbance, which together formed the basis of human happiness.
In the context of the phrase "the laughter seemed cold, ataractic," what’s meant is laughter stripped of emotional coloring, detached and dispassionate — the laughter of someone who feels no genuine mirth but mechanically reproduces its outward signs, all while maintaining an inner equanimity and distance from what’s happening.
Such laughter comes across as unnatural, as the following line makes clear: "That’s not how people laugh. That’s how you rattle the air and frighten people." Ataractic laughter reads as eerie precisely because it breaks the usual link between emotion and its outward expression.
Historical Background:
The concept of ataraxia was especially central to the teachings of:
- Epicurus and his followers, for whom ataraxia was life’s highest goal
- Pyrrho and the Skeptics, who held that suspending judgment leads to ataraxia
- The Stoics, who linked the state of ataraxia to a virtuous life