Epicurus
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a school of thought that taught happiness comes from simple pleasures, friendship, freedom from fear, and the removal of unnecessary desires.
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism. He taught that happiness comes from simple pleasures, friendship, and freedom from fear.
Life
Epicurus was born in 341 BC on Samos and died in Athens in 270 BC. Little is known of his early life, but he became one of the major philosophers of the Hellenistic period, establishing a school known as the Garden.
Philosophy
Epicurus taught that pleasure is the highest good, but defined it as the absence of pain and mental disturbance. He emphasized limiting desires, cultivating friendship, and rejecting fear of the gods and death. His atomist view of nature provided a materialist account of the universe.
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is the school of philosophy founded by Epicurus. It holds that the best life is one of simple pleasure, tranquility, and freedom from bodily pain and mental disturbance. Central to this is ataraxia, a state of untroubledness.
In short
- Epicurus founded Epicureanism, a school focused on simple pleasures and freedom from fear.
- He defined pleasure as the absence of suffering and promoted moderation.
- Ataraxia, or tranquility, was a core goal of his philosophy.
- Epicurus developed an atomist, materialist view of nature.
Epicurus is widely studied in Canadian philosophy, classics, and religious studies courses, and his ideas remain relevant to discussions of ethics, happiness, and the meaning of a good life.
Quick questions
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Sources
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EpicurusSupports: Birth and death dates, founding of Epicureanism, pleasure as absence of suffering, and ataraxia.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/biography/EpicurusSupports: Biographical facts, ethical philosophy, and dates and places.
- World History Encyclopedia — https://www.worldhistory.org/Epicurus/Supports: Epicurus as founder of the Epicurean school, ataraxia, aponia, and surviving writings.
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy — https://iep.utm.edu/epicur/Supports: Epicurus's atomism, empiricism, ethics, rejection of fear of gods and death, and death from kidney stones.
- Encyclopedia.com — https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-and-religion/philosophy-biographies/epicurusSupports: Epicurus's hedonism, refined definition of pleasure, and ataraxia.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/Supports: Epicurean system, happiness, absence of pain and disturbance, and atomistic materialism.