We find pleasure in so many different things. Material possessions, company, love and success, to name a few, are things on which we find our happiness. What could life be without those? An Athenian philosopher in fact, even taught that pleasure should be one's goal in life.
The philosophy of Epicurus, born in Samos in 341 BC, is a complete and interdependent system of human life, empiricist theory of knowledge, atomistic materialism, and naturalistic evolution. He is well-known for his teachings of the virtue of pleasure, which for him is not just happiness but also the lack of physical pain and mental disturbance. He taught in his garden in Athens that such should be every person's goal, an idea now known as hedonism.
That is not to say that one should indulge beyond satisfaction. Epicurus did not neglect to remind his followers of moderation. This is the concept of ataraxia, the optimal, enduring pleasure – an idea more appropriate to associate to Epicurus than hedonism. This means that one should not have more after achieving the maximum intensity of pleasure, or he will revert to the state of pain, as in overeating.
The philosopher highly values friendship since he believes that his happiness also depend on others, and reason. The latter for him is more important than philosophy, with emphasis on practical reasoning, prudence and the understanding of how things work.
Epicurus also taught about two factors that withholds man from experiencing pleasure. One is the hidden fear of death, while the other is irrational desires brought about by the anxiety that in turn resulted from the fear of death. Once overcome, one will definitely experience freedom to pursue pleasure and tranquil mind, and thus end up satisfied.
In these days, one can say that materialism and pleasure-seeking is selfish and almost immoral. Epicurus has given us a different perspective on it 2000 years ago, which many of us seemed to have forgotten. It can't be evil if it's not excessive and it's healthy if it rids us of pain and mental disturbances.