The Philosophy of Serenity: Epicurus' Tetrapharmakos

History has not been kind to the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus: few thinkers have been so misinterpreted by posterity. For many centuries, Epicureans have been labeled as gluttons, hedonists, and those who simply seek to live for pleasure – all because the philosopher considered pleasure to be the highest good in life. But what did pleasure truly mean for Epicurus, who urged contentment with little and showed his students the path to spiritual serenity? The book by English philosopher John Sellars truthfully and simply narrates the tetrapharmakos – the Epicurean doctrine that heals from anxieties and fears and is based on atomic theory.