Nature of Truth: The gods created the universe and Fate controls the destiny of men

Access to Truth: Truth is found through dialectical reasoning

Guide to Life: "Virtue" is the goal of life and one must always fix one's eyes on it, as it exists like the summit of a mountaintop, always out of reach but always there as the goal and standard. Changed Cynic view of following Nature to focus on following Nature through reason.

Epicurus' Perspective: The Stoics are the ultimate example of the folly of believing that "virtue" is anything but an empty name.

Timocrates, brother of Metrodorus, andformer follower of Epicurus, who has converted to Stoicism

Cleanthes, the friend you have just metin the Stoic School; honorable but hostile to Epicurus; becomeshead of Stoic School after Zeno dies

Chryssipus, becomes head of school after Cleanthes

Metrodorus, first assistant to Epicurus

Hermarchus, second assistant to Epicurus

Leontium, female associate of Epicurus, disparagedas a prostitute but a philosopher herself.

Hedea, referred to as an adopted daughter

Polyaenus, former mathematician, now realizesthat study of happiness is the most important science

Sofron, student of Epicurus

Colotes, student of Epicurus, in real life writes "That It Is Impossible Even To Live According To The Doctrines Of The Other Philosophers" dedicated to King Ptolemy Philopater. Falls on knees before Epicurus (an episode recorded by Plutarch).

Nature of Truth: This world is the only reality. There are no other realities or other dimensions. The universe has always existed, is infinite in size, and the elements that compose the universe are eternal but constantly in motion.

Access to Truth: Truth is accessible through the "Canon of Truth," which is a reference to the tools of sensing and measuring truth, which are (1) the five senses, (2) the anticipations, and (3) the sense of pain and pleasure.

Guide To Life: Nature's guide to life is pleasure and pain ("the passions") which are properly employed by exercising them reasonably through constant reference to reality (Authorized Doctrines 22-25. "Virtue" is a valid concept only as a means of describing the process of living pleasantly - in every other sense the word is a sham. Sees himself and other wise men, not as "teachers", but as guides for path of life

Nature of Truth: Holds that the only true reality is that of ideal forms which exist in another dimension and are inaccessible to the senses. Plato originated the "parable of the cave" the we are like slaves chained to a wall for which reality is visible only as a reflection.

Access to Truth: Truth is accessible only through "reason." Because of this Plato is associated with"dialectic reasoning" i.e. - word game arguments that lull participants into thinking that sentence structures and propositions constitute truth, just as they consider mathematics to be true reality rather than a description of reality.

Guide to Life: "Virtue" is the guide to life. Virtue is set by gods and/or "reasoning."

Epicurus' Perspective: Epicurus refers to Platonists as "dreamers" and "the golden," as Plato held men of "gold" should be philosopher - kings - dictators, and also as "Flatterers of Dionysius" - an allusion to their delusions of grandeur.

Nature of Truth: Highly mystical; believed truth found in geometric forms, and souls experience reincarnation ("metempsychosis")

Access to Truth:

Guide to Life: Follow the teacher absolutely; students maynot even speak

Epicurus' Perspective:

Pythagorus

Empedocles

Nature of Truth:

Access To Truth:

Guide To Life: Virtue is the only good: Cynics saw following Nature to be a typeof gross Asceticism; doglike manners; and would dissolve the tiesof family and political society.

Epicurus' Perspective: Epicurus accuses Cynicsof a reverse kind of pride, vanity, and ambition

Gryphus, who appears in storyto tell Epicurus to stop teaching

Quibbles: All is One - motion is impossible

Nature of Truth: Holds that reality exists in *this* dimension (not another world like Plato).

Access to Truth: Holds that truth is accessible only through "reasoning" in word games ("syllogisms). If a matter cannot be stated in the form of a syllogism, involving affirmations or denials, then it cannot be true.

Guide to Life: "Virtue" is the guide to life. Virtue is set by "reasoning" back to the first cause which is divine.

Epicurus' perspective: Epicurus reportedly called Aristotle a "piker" and "profligate" who "after devouring his patrimony took to soldiering and selling drugs." (This is not in AFDIA and he may not have said it.)

Theophrastus (criticized as arrogant)

Nature of Truth:

Access To Truth: Impossible to know anything with certainty

Guide to Life:

Epicurus' Pespective: The Skeptics are wrong because certain knowledge of some things is possible, based on the eternal and unchanging nature of the elements. These views are explained in the Letter to Herodotus, Authorized Doctrines 22-25, and Lucretius.

Nature of Truth:

Access To Truth

Guide To Life:

Epicurus' Perspective: