What's the Difference Between Stoicism and Epicurianism?

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Stoicism is a philosophy that aims to happiness and Epicureanism is a philosophy that aims to pleasure.
Stoicism is more wellknown than Epicureanism, and Stoicism has won the first round of the summa wrestling match between the two philosophies for the first few thousand years.
Stoicism emphasizes virtue as the key to happiness, while Epicureanism emphasizes the importance of friends.

The Greek philosopher Epicurus made a rather bold claim over two thousand years ago. The key to life, he said, was simple: pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Around this maxim he developed a school of philosophy, Epicureanism, which promised its adherents that if they took care of their basic needs, surrounded themselves with trustworthy friends, and developed a basic understanding of science, they would be happy. But is it really that simple? Can the advice of someone born 2,363 years ago still hold true? To answer these questions, we turned to Emily Austin, professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University and author of the delightful new book "Living for Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life.”

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