Today added to the site is a new article collecting the arguments against reducing Epicurean philosophy to the goal of "absence of pain."
That reading turns the Epicurean goal into a passive, featureless state, and it makes a vigorous, life-affirming philosophy look much like the Stoic and ascetic advice Epicurus directly opposed.
The article shows how this reading misrepresents the texts and misunderstands the doctrine that there are only two feelings, pleasure and pain. It also shows how the reading mistakes a targeted reply to Epicurus's critics for a summary of his whole philosophy. As Epicurus wrote in the Letter to Menoeceus, "we call pleasure the beginning and end of the blessed life."
The article can be read at the link below or by opening the "Ethics Analysis" menu in the left navigation sidebar.