[From the name of the Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE).]
(ethics) A school and theory of ethics that advocated enlightened hedonism. Epicurus held that true pleasure consists in the absence of all bodily pains and mental disturbances, a condition he claimed could be easily achieved through moderation, friendship, and the pursuit of wisdom. While Epicureanism was more individualistic than the competing school of Stoicism, its view of happiness was less activist than that of Aristotelianism and can even be compared to some Eastern views like Taoism. Epicurus founded his school in an Athenian garden in the generation after the death of Aristotle and it flourished throughout the Mediterranean for over 700 years.