Greek Philosopher Epicurus and His Pursuit of Happiness

The philosopher Epicurus is one of the major figures in the Hellenistic period. The period refers to the three centuries following Alexander the Great’s death in 323 B.C. Likewise, it also follows Aristotle’s death in 322 B.C. Epicurus developed an unsparingly materialistic metaphysics, empiricist epistemology, and hedonistic ethics. Most importantly, he taught that atoms are the basic constituents of the world. He also taught uncuttable bits of matter, flying through empty space. Likewise, he tried to explain all natural phenomena in atomic terms. Philosopher Epicurus rejected the existence of Platonic forms and an immaterial soul. In other words, he said…