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The core philosophy we know Epicurus to have believed in was that one should pursue simple pleasure in life. In fact, through the pursuit of simple pleasure and meaningful friendship, then pain can be better accepted or tolerated when it comes. This is demonstrated in his own life, where he claimed to a friend, as he was dying, that his state of mind was very happy despite the pain he felt from kidney stones. His ideas, therefore, differ greatly from modern understanding of hedonism, which is often associated with the pursuit of please at all costs. While many focus on his ideas of pleasure, it is also his scientific ideas that, along with those of Aristotle and other Greek philosophers, have greatly influenced our modern world. During the lifetime of Epicurus he had relatively few followers and they would meet at his house. However, evidence of his enduring philosophy in the centuries to come are evident, as when the Apostle Paul went to Athens he encountered followers of Epicureanism. He was one of the first philosophers to clearly state that good and bad actions do not derive from the gods, but these derive from the presence or absence of pain and suffering. He stated that one should never fear death, as death simply means the end of what one can feel and not something that would be painful. Moderation was critical to all of his philosophical ideas of pleasure, as he warned against pursuits of love or other pleasures to the point where one becomes so enchanted by them that these pursuits could ultimately lead to pain.

Because Epicurus' ideas have been misunderstood, it is important to delineate the key ideas he developed and what he intended by them. His core ideals can be described as atomistic materialism, which held that all things are made up of atoms and that voids separated these atoms. Because gods do not control pain or pleasure, and that they are likely unable or uninterested in causing pain or pleasure to people, one should pursue pleasure as a key goal in life. However, the danger that Epicurus realized is that this simple pursuit can lead to indulgence that then leads back to pain. Therefore, moderation is key so that one does not become over zealous, or essentially addicted, to the pursuit of pleasure where they are unable to function and pursue a balanced life. Minimizing pain and suffering are critical to this. Thus it is not pursuit of lusts or desires so much but it is seeking knowledge, good friendships, and banishing ideas that bring difficulty and problems to our life.