Summary: Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Epicureanism, the philosophical system based on the teachings of Epicurus and founded in Athens in the 4th century BC. At the centre of his philosophy is the idea that the goal of human life is pleasure, by which he meant not luxury but the avoidance of pain. He also stressed the importance of friendship. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Angie Hobbs, Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield; David Sedley, Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and James Warren, Reader in Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge.
