The philosopher Epicurus (341—270 BCE) was a hedonist, arguing that the goal of life is to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
Anything that brings us pleasure, in the long run, is inherently good.
Hold on, not so fast!
Ancient hedonism, though, is not about a life of indulgence YOLO style.
Epicurus and his disciples attempted to eliminate physical and psychological pain at all costs.
To achieve tranquility, they sought to satisfy what they considered to be natural and necessary needs only.
The Epicureans identified three different categories of human needs.
• Natural and necessary: food, shelter, fitness
• Natural but unnecessary: luxury food and shelter
• Unnatural and unnecessary: wealth, status, power
To live a good, pleasurable, happy, and tranquil life devoid of avoidable physical and mental pain and suffering, we should only strive to fulfill our natural and necessary needs, according to Epicurus.
They were the original minimalists who aimed to declutter their lives and focus only on what was necessary.
They are referred to as the philosophers of the garden because Epicurus bought a house with a garden outside Athens, which he then bequeathed to his disciples.
In addition to being 'minimalists', the Epicureans valued friendship above all else.