More WODs you say!

Ep-i-cu-re-an-ism ( P ) Pronunciation Key (epi-kyoo-re-anizm, -kyr-) [Or something like that.]
n.
1. A philosophy advanced by Epicurus that considered happiness, or the avoidance of pain and emotional disturbance, to be the highest good and that advocated the pursuit of pleasures that can be enjoyed in moderation.
2. epicureanism - Devotion to a life of pleasure and luxury.

The second definition is a common usage, but it diverges from Epicurus' intent. Epicurus believe that you could avoid mental disturbance by understanding the causes of things, particularly by studying science. He was also a big fan of gardening and hosting quiet dinners and banquets. At his home, I mean - he wasn't a caterer. He would have been a big fan of Miss Manners. [Here's a Netiquette quiz that I'll take later.]

But wait! There's more! But you'll have to go to the Free Dictionary Encyclopedia and read the entry. They have these weird links in their articles that print out the full linked article when you try to take an exerpt. It's too emotionally disturbing to edit that stuff out. Thank God that doesn't carry through to the next level. Hey! That gives me an idea!
....

Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus (c340-c270 BC). Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to a general attack on superstition and divine intervention. Following Aristippus - about whom we know very little - Epicurus believed that the greatest good was to seek modest pleasures such as tranquility and freedom from fear through knowledge. Although some equate Epicureanism with hedonism or a form of it (as "hedonism" is commonly understood), professional philosophers of Epicureanism deny that misconception.

I went to the definition of Hedonism and copied the link back to Epicureanism. That gave me the first paragraph, with just a couple extra things that needed editing.
Ho-ho! I didn't even have to work that hard! From the Epicurus article:

Epicurus' teachings represented a departure from the other major Greek thinkers of his period, and before. He admitted women and slaves into his school, emphasized the senses in his epistemology, and was one of the first Greeks to break from the god-fearing and god-worshipping tradition common at the time.

Elements of Epicurean philosophy have resonated and resurfaced in various diverse thinkers and movements throughout Western intellectual history. Epicurus discussed a human being's natural right to "life, liberty, and safety." This was later picked-up by the democratic thinkers of the French revolution, and others, like John Locke, who wrote that people had a right to "life, liberty, and property." This triad was carried forward into the present tense, and into the American freedom movement and Constitution, by the great American founding father, Thomas Jefferson, as "life, libery, and the pursuit of happiness."

"There is nothing but atoms and the void," he said.