Epicurus: Atomic theory and ethical theory

According to Epicurus, the soul, which like the rest of nature is made of physical atoms, is born, grows, and dies with the body. Like Democritus, Epicurus did not believe that God created the universe, nor that--contra Aristotle--human life (or anything else, for that matter) existed for some purpose. Though in Epicurus's view gods do exist, they cannot exert any causal influence whatsoever upon human affairs.

We therefore need not fear death or the gods. Epicurus argued that seeing the sober truth about ourselves and accepting it, rather than hiding behind a veil of spiritualism or religious faith, liberate us from the fears imposed by religion and allow us to live, without fear or postponement of gratification, in a way that maximizes pleasure and minimizes pain, here and now, in this world, in this life.

根据伊壁鸠鲁的观点，灵魂和自然界的其他部分一样，是由物质原子构成的，它与身体一起诞生、成长和死亡。与德谟克利特一样，伊壁鸠鲁也不相信上帝创造了宇宙，也不相信——与亚里士多德相反——人类的生命(或其他任何事物，就此而言)是为了某种目的而存在的。尽管在伊壁鸠鲁的观点中，神确实存在，但它们不能对人类事务产生任何因果影响。

因此，我们不必害怕死亡或诸神。伊壁鸠鲁认为，看到自己清醒的真相并接受它，而不是躲在唯灵论或宗教信仰的面纱后面，将我们从宗教强加于我们的恐惧中解放出来，允许我们以一种最大化快乐和最小化痛苦的方式生活，在此时此刻，在这个世界上，在这个生活中，而不是恐惧和延迟满足。