Epicureans

Epicureans
The Epicureans believed that “pleasure” is the greatest good, but the way to attain such pleasure is to live in modesty and gain knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of one's desires.This belief led to attaining freedom of fear and bodily pain; fear meaning fear of gods and death. They believed that the gods were made up of atoms like everything else but they were supremely happy. They also believed that they gods were too far away to have any interest in what man was doing so therefore it was pointless to pray to them. They did not create the universe nor inflicted punishments or bestowed blessings. The Epicureans rejected any possibilities of afterlife-- death is nothing since it lacks sensation. The act of death could be painful and it could not be painful, but death in itself is nothing and should not be feared. The soul is as mortal as the body, so when the body dies, the soul disintegrates with it. Learning, culture, civilization, and social and political involvement was discouraged especially politics since they give rise to desires that are difficult to satisfy which creates stress in one's life. Knowledge was only sought to rid of religious fears and superstitions. Virtue in itself had no value and was only beneficial only when it served as a means to gain happiness. They place great emphasis on developing friendships and pleasure of the mind. They believed that life should be about having a good time and not about worrying especially about death. All living things are unlimited and the Earth and universe around it is limited. Lastly, the Epicureans believed the whole of nature consists of matter and space divisible down to atoms which can't be destroyed or created. They operate according to natural laws thus there is no creation and no purpose in nature. Therefore since humans are only made up of atoms, we are purposeless and the universe does not care about us.
I agree with a lot of the Epicureans philosophy of life and...