Ancient Philosophy · Hellenistic schools
Epicurus & the Pleasant Life
Epicurus's surprisingly austere hedonism: pleasure as absence of pain, the kinds of desire, friendship in the Garden, atoms and swerve, and the four-part cure against fear of gods and death.
Step 1 of 5 · Overview25 min read ·
Key idea
Prereqs: The Presocratics (atomism). Next: The Stoics; Mill & utilitarianism. Sources: Epicurus, *Letter to Menoeceus*; Lucretius, *On the Nature of Things*; Catherine Wilson, *How to Be an Epicurean* (2019).Next: 1. The Garden