Aponia (Ancient Greek: ) means the absence of pain, and was regarded by the Epicureans to be the height of

bodily pleasure.
As with the other Hellenistic schools of philosophy, the Epicureans believed that the goal of human life is happiness. This
was to be found in the tranquillity of spirit which resulted from aponia, suppression of physical pain, and ataraxia,
elimination of mental disturbances.[1] The Epicureans defined pleasure as the absence of pain (mental and physical), and
hence pleasure can only increase up until the point in which pain is absent. [2] Beyond this, pleasure cannot increase further,
and indeed one cannot rationally seek bodily pleasure beyond the state of aponia.[3] For Epicurus, aponia was one of the
static (katastematic) pleasures,[4] that is, a pleasure one has when there is no want or pain to be removed. [5] To achieve
such a state, one has to experience kinetic pleasures, that is, a pleasure one has when want or pain is being removed. [6]
Asceticism (from the Greek: , sksis, "exercise" or "training" in the sense of athletic training) describes a
lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and
spiritual goals. Some forms of Christianity (see especially: Monastic life) and the Indian religions (including yoga) teach
that salvation and liberation involve a process of mind-body transformation effected by exercising restraint with respect to
actions of body, speech, and mind. The founders and earliest practitioners of these religions (e.g. Buddhism, Jainism, the
Christian desert fathers) lived extremely austere lifestyles refraining from sensual pleasures and the accumulation of
material wealth. This is to be understood not as an eschewal of the enjoyment of life but a recognition that spiritual and
religious goals are impeded by such indulgence.
Asceticism is closely related to the Christian concept of chastity and might be said to be the technical implementation of
the abstract vows of renunciation. Those who practise ascetic lifestyles do not consider their practices virtuous in
themselves but pursue such a lifestyle in order to encourage, or 'prepare the ground' for, mind-body transformation.
In the popular imagination, asceticism may be considered obsessive or even masochistic in nature. However, the asksis
enjoined by religion functions in order to bring about greater freedom in various areas of one's life (such as freedom from
compulsions and temptations) and greater peacefulness of mind (with a concomitant increase in clarity and power of
thought).
Ataraxia ( "tranquillity") is a Greek term used by Pyrrho and Epicurus for a lucid state, characterized by
freedom from worry or any other preoccupation.
For the Epicureans, ataraxia was synonymous with the only true happiness possible for a person. It signifies the state of
robust tranquility that derives from eschewing faith in an afterlife, not fearing the gods because they are distant and
unconcerned with us, avoiding politics and vexatious people, surrounding oneself with trustworthy and affectionate
friends and, most importantly, being an affectionate, virtuous person, worthy of trust.
For the Pyrrhonians, owing to one's inability to say which sense impressions are true and which ones are false, it is the
quietude that arises from suspending judgment on dogmatic beliefs or anything non-evident and continuing to inquire. The
experience was said to have fallen on the painter Apelles who was trying to paint the foamy saliva of a horse. He was so
unsuccessful that, in a rage, he gave up and threw the sponge he was cleaning his brushes with at the medium, thus
producing the effect of the horse's foam.[1]
The Stoics, too, sought mental tranquility, and saw ataraxia as something to be desired and often made use of the term,
but for them the analogous state, attained by the Stoic sage, was apatheia or absence of passion.[2]

Hedonism is a school which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good.[1] This is often used as a justification for
evaluating actions in terms of how much pleasure and how little pain (i.e. suffering) they produce. In very simple terms, a
hedonist strives to maximize this net pleasure (pleasure minus pain)

Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established
dogma.[1] It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, [2] and
blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion.[3] The founder or leader of a heretical movement is called a heresiarch,
while individuals who espouse heresy are known as heretics. Heresiology is the study of heresy.
[edit] Etymology
The word "heresy" comes from the Greek hairetikos "able to choose" (haireisthai "to choose"). The term heresy is often
perceived as a value judgment and the expression of a view from within an established belief system.
According to Merriam-Webster: from Late Latin haeresis, from Late Greek hairesis, from Greek, "action of taking, choice,
sect", from hairein "to take"

Platonism is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a
narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism. The central concept of Platonism is the Theory of
Forms: the transcendent, perfect archetypes, of which objects in the everyday world are imperfect copies. The highest
form is the Form of the Good, the source of all other forms, which could be known by reason. In the 3rd century BC,
Arcesilaus adopted skepticism, which became a central tenet of the school until 90 BC when Antiochus added Stoic
elements, rejected skepticism, and began a period known as Middle Platonism. In the 3rd century AD, Plotinus added
mystical elements, establishing Neoplatonism, in which the summit of existence was the One or the Good, the source of
all things; in virtue and meditation the soul had the power to elevate itself to attain union with the One. Platonism had a
profound effect on Western thought, and many Platonic notions were adopted by the Christian church which understood
Platonic forms as God's thoughts, whilst Neoplatonism became a major influence on Christian mysticism.

Democritus (Greek: , Dmokritos, "chosen of the people") (ca. 460 BC ca. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek
philosopher born in Abdera, Thrace, Greece.[1] He was an influential pre-Socratic philosopher and pupil of Leucippus,
who formulated an atomic theory for the cosmos.[2]
His exact contributions are difficult to disentangle from his mentor Leucippus, as they are often mentioned together in
texts. Their speculation on atoms, taken from Leucippus, bears a passing and partial resemblance to the nineteenth-century
understanding of atomic structure that has led some to regard Democritus as more of a scientist than other Greek
philosophers; nevertheless their ideas rested on very different bases. [3] Largely ignored in Athens, Democritus was
nevertheless well-known to his fellow northern-born philosopher Aristotle. Plato is said to have disliked him so much that
he wished all his books burnt.[1] Many consider Democritus to be the "father of modern science". [4]
Epicurus (Greek: , Epikouros, "ally, comrade"; Samos, 341 BCE Athens, 270 BCE; 72 years) was an ancient
Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Only a few fragments and letters
remain of Epicurus's 300 written works. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers
and commentators.

For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by ataraxia, peace and
freedom from fear, and aponia, the absence of pain, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He taught
that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil, that death is the end of the body and the soul and should
therefore not be feared, that the gods do not reward or punish humans, that the universe is infinite and eternal, and that
events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space.