Why did Plutarch criticize Epicurean philosophy?

Plutarch, a Greek biographer and philosopher whose own views were rooted in Platonism, was a vocal critic of Epicureanism. His opposition is documented in several of his essays within the Moralia, most notably in "Against Colotes" and "On the Impossibility of Living Pleasurably According to Epicurus’s Teaching."1

Plutarch’s criticism stemmed from fundamental philosophical disagreements:

• Ethical Conflict: As a Platonist who believed in the immortality of the soul, Plutarch rejected the Epicurean identification of the supreme good with pleasure and the absence of pain.213
• Philosophical Incompatibility: While Plutarch’s own eclectic philosophy drew from Stoic, Pythagorean, and Peripatetic traditions, he explicitly excluded Epicureanism from his intellectual framework.3
• Polemical Engagement: Plutarch viewed Epicurean doctrines as targets for refutation, specifically challenging the Epicurean claim that their lifestyle could truly lead to a life of pleasure, as well as attacking the specific views of Epicurean figures like Colotes.14

Ultimately, Plutarch’s critique was driven by his commitment to a moral philosophy that subordinated unreason to reason, a principle he found incompatible with the Epicurean focus on sensory pleasure and atomistic materialism.21