Introductory Course Outline

The best life results when we hold firmly and consistently to the major doctrines of Epicurus, and when we reject all that is inconsistent with them. This requires study and effort, and in a world full of anti-Epicurean opinions, it is not for the faint-hearted. But for those who are persuaded by Epicurus' teachings the path is clear.

As the Torquatus summarized:

"The truth that pleasure is the supreme good can be most easily apprehended from the following consideration. Let us imagine an individual in the enjoyment of pleasures great, numerous and constant, both mental and bodily, with no pain to thwart or threaten them; I ask what circumstances can we describe as more excellent than these or more desirable? A man whose circumstances are such must needs possess, as well as other things, a robust mind subject to no fear of death or pain, because death is apart from sensation, and pain when lasting is usually slight, when oppressive is of short duration, so that its temporariness reconciles us to its intensity, and its slightness to its continuance. When in addition we suppose that such a man is in no awe of the influence of the gods, and does not allow his past pleasures to slip away, but takes delight in constantly recalling them, what circumstance is it possible to add to these, to make his condition better?"

For ease of reference, here is a summary list of the above doctrines:
- Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing.
- The Universe Is Infinite And Eternal And Has No Gods Over It
- Gods Have No Attributes Inconsistent With Blessedness And Incorruptibility
- Death Is Nothing To Us.
- There Is No Necessity To Live Under The Control Of Necessity.
- He Who Says That Nothing Can Be Known Knows Nothing
- All Sensations Are True
- Virtue Is Not Absolute Or An End In Itself - All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation.
- Pleasure is The Guide of Life.
- By Pleasure We Absence Of Pain (All Experience That Is Not Painful)
- Life Is Desirable, But Unlimited Time Contains No Greater Pleasure Than Limited Time.