section_path: Western/Ancient/Hellenistic and Roman
section_name: Hellenistic and Roman
paragraph_text: Hellenistic and Roman
  
  After Aristotle, ancient philosophy saw the rise of broader philosophical movements, such as Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Skepticism, which are collectively known as the Hellenistic schools of thought. These movements primarily focused on fields like ethics, physics, logic, and epistemology. This period began with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and had its main influence until the end of the Roman Republic in 31 BCE.
  
  The Epicureans built upon and refined Democritus's idea that nature is composed of indivisible atoms. In ethics, they viewed pleasure as the highest good but rejected the notion that luxury and indulgence in sensory pleasures lead to long-term happiness. Instead, they advocated a nuanced form of hedonism, where a simple life characterized by tranquillity was the best way to achieve happiness.
  
  The Stoics rejected this hedonistic outlook, arguing that desires and aversions are obstacles to living in accordance with reason and virtue. To overcome these desires, they advocated self-mastery and an attitude of indifference.
  
  The skeptics focused on how judgments and opinions impact well-being. They argued that dogmatic beliefs lead to emotional disturbances and recommended that people suspend judgments on matters where certainty is unattainable. Some skeptics went further, claiming that this suspension of judgment should apply to all beliefs, suggesting that any form of knowledge is impossible.
  
  The school of Neoplatonism, which emerged in the later part of the ancient period, began in the 3rd century CE and reached its peak by the 6th century CE. Neoplatonism inherited many ideas from Plato and Aristotle, transforming them in creative ways. Its central doctrine posits a transcendent and ineffable entity responsible for all existence, referred to as "the One" or "the Good." From the One emerges the Intellect, which contemplates the One, and this, in turn, gives rise to the Soul, which generates the material world. Influential Neoplatonists include Plotinus (204–270 CE) and his student Porphyry (234–305 CE).