Final answer:
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism. This philosophy advocated for a life seeking pleasure defined as the absence of pain and fear, emphasizing modesty, self-sufficiency, and rationalism. Epicureans valued empirical knowledge and ethical naturalism and had a significant impact on later philosophies.
Step-by-step explanation:
Epicurus, who lived from 341-270 BCE, was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of Epicureanism, a school of philosophy that emphasized the pursuit of pleasure, but not in the sense of indulging every desire. Pleasure to Epicurus was the absence of pain and fear, leading to a state of tranquility (ataraxia). Epicurus encouraged self-sufficiency, retirement from the hectic society, and living a simple life focused on modest pleasures to achieve happiness. His ideas were later expanded upon by the Roman poet Lucretius.
The Epicureans rejected the prospect of an afterlife and proposed that the Gods if they existed, were not concerned with human affairs. They supported empiricism, indicating that knowledge comes strictly through sensory experience, and naturalism in ethics, promoting an understanding of human nature as key to living a good life. Their distinctive approach to happiness through the avoidance of pain and simple pleasures strongly influenced later philosophical and scientific thought.