Epicureanism
Epicurus
Read September 2026
“Death is nothing to us. The goal of life is happiness-Our unhappiness is caused by fear, and our main fear is of death. Death is the end of sensation, so cannot be physically painful. Death is the end of consciousness. So cannot be emotionally painful. -Death is nothing but fear. If we can overcome fear of death, we can be happy.”
My Notes
Epicurus found the seed of a new school of thought in the quests of earlier philosophers such as socrates' examination of the truth of basic human concepts and values. Central to the philosophy that Epicurus developed is the view that peace of mind or triangility is the goal of life. He argued that pleasure and pain are the root of good and evil and qualities such as virtue and justice derive from these roots, as "it is impossible to live A pleasant life without living wisely, honorably, and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely honorably, and justly without living pleasantly. Epicurus is often mistakenly interpreted, as simply being about the pursuit of sensual pleasure. For epicurus, the greatest pleasure is only attainable through knowledge and friendship and a temperate life with freedom from fear and pain.