Term

Epicureanism

A philosophical system founded by Epicurus holding that the senses are the criterion of truth and that the goal of conduct is pleasure, defined as freedom from pain and fear.

Filed underNew Testament Studies

Definition

The system of philosophical ethics founded by the Greek thinker Epicurus (342–270 B.C.). Epicurus held that the senses, as the source of all our ideas, provided the sole criterion of truth, and he sought the goal of human conduct in pleasure, which he equated with freedom from pain and from fear.

Last revised August 14, 2026