Epicurus College

Welcome to Epicurus College, the home of higher learning in Epicurean Philosophy, sponsored by EpicureanFriends.com.

Who Was Epicurus?

Epicurus (341–270 BC) was an Athenian philosopher who built one of the most complete and influential philosophical systems of the ancient world. Working from the evidence of the senses rather than religious tradition or abstract speculation, he taught that the universe is entirely natural – made of atoms and void, governed by no gods, guided by no cosmic plan – and that a happy life is one lived in the confident, well-reasoned pursuit of pleasure, supported by practical wisdom, honest friendship, and freedom from groundless fear. He founded a school in Athens known as "The Garden," unusual for its time in welcoming women and enslaved people alongside citizens as full participants in philosophical life.

Epicurus's significance is hard to overstate. For over two thousand years his ideas have stood as the principal rival to Stoicism, Platonism, and the various supernatural religious traditions that followed them – and for nearly as long, they have been misrepresented by rivals who found a fully naturalistic, pleasure-affirming philosophy threatening to their own systems. Much of what "everybody knows" about Epicurus – that he counseled passive withdrawal, or that "epicurean" simply means indulgence in food and drink – is a distortion left behind by those rivals rather than an accurate picture of what he actually taught.

What Epicurean philosophy offers is a coherent, evidence-based way of understanding the world and a practical, workable approach to living well within it: an account of nature that removes the fear of death and the fear of arbitrary divine punishment, and an ethical outlook that takes pleasure – not virtue for its own sake, and not the mere avoidance of pain – as the goal of life, while still making full room for friendship, justice, and prudent long-term choice. It is a complete philosophy of nature, knowledge, and living, not a lifestyle slogan.

Start here: Introduction to Epicurean Philosophy

Our current course offering is a free, self-paced introduction covering Epicurus's life and historical context, his physics, his theory of knowledge (Canonics), and his ethics – the whole system, from first principles to daily practice, in six sessions.

New here? See our complete step-by-step guide – with screenshots – to creating an account, working through a course, and earning your certificate.

How This Self-Study Course Works

Epicurus College is entirely self-paced. There is no live instructor, no class schedule, and no deadlines – you work through the material whenever and however quickly suits you, and you can log back in and pick up where you left off at any time.

Each course is organized into a series of sessions, and each session follows the same three-step pattern:

1. Read. Start with the session's book – the actual reading material. This is where the real content lives: the arguments, the historical background, and direct quotations from Epicurus and other ancient sources, not just a summary of them.
2. Practice. Next, work through the session's self-test lesson. This is a set of questions with detailed feedback on every answer – not just "correct" or "incorrect," but an explanation of why. It is not graded, there is no time limit, and you can go through it as many times as you like. Its only purpose is to help the reading material sink in before you move on.
3. Test. Once you feel ready, take the session's graded quiz. This is a shorter, formal check of your understanding. You need a score of 80% or better to pass, and if you do not pass on your first attempt you are welcome to review the material and try again.

Once you have completed every session's lesson and passed every session's quiz in a course, a certificate of completion becomes available for you to view and download.

Please contact us at EpicureanFriends.com for any questions about this website!