[polytronic]

How to be an Epicurean? That's easy! Start by using his Tetrapharmakon (means the quadruple remedy) to live a happy life, which is the following:

Θεός Άφοβον - God is not to be feared

Θάνατος Αναίσθητον - You don't feel (sic or meet with) death

Τ'αγαθόν μεν εύκτητον - It is easy to acquire goods

Το δε δεινόν ευκαρτέρητον - So is easy to withstand rough times

[thope]

Absolutely. Also, a point I found interesting is that we can classify desires in three categories:

- natural and necessary, e.g drink, eat

- natural but not necessary, e.g sex

- not natural and not necessary, e.g smartphones

Epicure advised to fulfill only the first type of desires, that is, drink water and eat bread, period.

As a sidenote, the goal of his philosophy was not to experience pleasures, but instead to avoid pain, which is quite different.

[mcguire]

Well, in comparison with stoicism, epicureanism is more about experiencing pleasure than avoiding pain, given that the latter tries to avoid all feeling. But yeah, they're more fundamentally alike there.