Ataraxia (ἀταραξία) — “Tranquility of soul,” freedom from disturbance. The ethical ideal of Epicureans and Skeptics. For Epicurus, ataraxia results from knowledge that frees one from fear (of death, gods, pain) and from limiting desires to those natural and necessary. For Pyrrhonian skeptics, suspension of judgment (epoché) naturally leads to ataraxia: without firm beliefs, there is no disturbance.
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