Epicureanism
Hellenistic · Europe · from 307 BCE
Epicureanism began in ancient Athens. It says the good life is a calm life, free from pain and fear. It teaches that the world is made of atoms. It also says death is nothing to us, and that the gods do not care about us.
What it is
Epicureanism is the ancient school founded by Epicurus (341 to about 270 BCE) in Athens. He taught in a place called the Garden around 307 BCE. It holds that the good life is a life of pleasure, understood as freedom from pain and fear, in a world of atoms in which death is nothing to us.
The word 'epicurean' now suggests fine food and indulgence, and that is not what the school meant. The pleasure Epicurus had in mind is mostly the absence of bodily pain and mental disturbance: a calm and steady state.
The main ideas
- Pleasure as the good, but a calm one. Active pleasures depend on desires that are not yet met. The steadier pleasure is simply having no pain and no disturbance.
- Sort your desires. Natural and necessary desires, such as for food and shelter, are easy to meet. Empty desires, such as for wealth, power or immortality, cannot be met and breed endless craving.
- Death is nothing to us. While we exist, death is not here, and when death is here, we no longer exist. So it cannot harm us.
- The gods exist but do not care. The gods are real and are not concerned with human affairs, so there is nothing to fear from divine punishment.
- Atoms and void. Reality is atoms moving in empty space. The idea builds on Democritus.
- Friendship. It is essential to happiness.
What it looks like in practice
Picture someone who earns more every year and feels no calmer. The Epicurean suggests a different accounting: which of your wants are natural and easily met, and which are empty, the kind that grow as you feed them? Cutting the second kind does not make life poorer. It removes the thing that was making it anxious.
The same sorting applies to fear. If death is nothing to us, and the gods are not watching, a great deal of dread has nothing to hold onto. What is left is a quiet life, shared with friends.
People and moments
- Epicurus founded the school and its community in Athens.
- Democritus supplied the picture of atoms and void that the school built on.
Questions and criticism
- Accused of atheism. Epicurus was accused of atheism, though he affirmed that the gods exist.
- A long life. The school flourished for centuries beside Stoicism, declined as Christianity rose, and was revived in the Renaissance.
Close neighbours
Epicureanism is the clearest case of 'pleasure is the highest good' together with 'death is the end' and 'no God who cares', held as one calm package. It stands in tension with Stoicism, which argues that virtue alone is the good. Unlike many atheists, the Epicureans kept the gods, though they thought the gods took no interest in us.
Written by epchē in our own words, and checked against independent sources on 2 October 2026. The sources are listed below.
Where to start reading
Books for this philosophy, from the easiest way in to the harder ones. Each is chosen for a newcomer, whatever the shop.
- The Epicurus Reader Epicurus
Covers belong to their publishers and are shown so you can recognise the book.
What it holds
These are the questions this philosophy cares about most and the side it leans toward. They are our reading of it, and the same positions the walk uses.
- Pleasure is the highest good · clearly Is the best life the one with the most calm pleasure and the least pain?
- Death is the end · clearly When a person dies, is that the end?
- Everything is physical · clearly Is everything made of physical stuff, or is mind or spirit something more?
- No God who cares · clearly Is there a God who knows us and cares what we do?
- Experience is the best guide · clearly Where does the most reliable knowledge come from: careful thinking, or what we see, hear and test?
- All within this world · clearly Is everything that matters found inside this world, or does it point to something beyond it?
- Something divine exists · leaning Does anything divine exist at all, such as a god or gods, even one that takes no interest in us?
Ideas it speaks to
Short articles on the questions this philosophy answers most firmly.
- Is pleasure the highest good · leans toward: Pleasure is the highest good
- Is death the end · leans toward: Death is the end
- Mind and matter · leans toward: Everything is physical
- Is there a God who cares · leans toward: No God who cares
- Reason or experience · leans toward: Experience is the best guide
- Does meaning need something beyond this world · leans toward: All within this world
Compared with
- Epicureanism versus Atheism and naturalism
- Epicureanism versus Secular humanism
- Epicureanism versus Stoicism
Thinkers
More from the Hellenistic tradition
Sources we used
- Epicurus · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, read on 2 October 2026
- Epicurus · Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, read on 2 October 2026
Where do you stand?
Every philosophy takes sides. Here is one question Epicureanism answers firmly:
Is the best life the one with the most calm pleasure and the least pain?
- Epicureanism leans toward: Pleasure is the highest good
- The other side: Something is higher than pleasure
The walk asks about this and the questions around it, two ideas at a time, and shows which philosophies your own answers sit closest to. No account, and your answers stay on your device.