Epicureanism

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The Epicureanism is the philosophical mindset that on the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus based. It originated at the end of the 4th century BC. BC and was widespread in Greece and the Roman world until the 3rd century.

Teaching

Epicurus represented an atomistic materialism , which he opposed to the philosophical and religious interpretations of the world that were prevalent at the time. He was concerned with an ethical concern: He wanted to guide his students to a way of life that would help them achieve eudaimonia , the happiness of a successful life, which is understood to mean a balanced state of mind. In this view, according to which such a good life must be the goal of all action, the Epicureans agreed with all or almost all other schools of philosophy of antiquity . They also shared the basic conviction of the other schools that self-sufficiency, independence from external circumstances, is a central element of a successful philosophical life and that it depends on the inner attitude over which man himself can be master and which he can shape in this way have that the best possible life will be achieved. A fundamental deviation of the Epicureans from the other major currents was that, as hedonists, they made lust (ἡδονή hēdonḗ ) the highest good and equated it with eudaimonia. The Epicureans regarded the pursuit of pleasure as the fundamental constant of human existence.

However, Epicurus did not understand optimal pleasure in the philosophical sense as the most intense sensual pleasure, but painlessness and complete inner peace ( ataraxia ) as a permanent state. He taught that this state can be attained through reasonable discernment, through virtue, and through renunciation of harmful desires. He opposed the tendency to dissatisfaction with his high regard for frugality. However, he saw no value in virtue in itself, but only understood it as a means of pleasure. For example, he found that the righteous enjoy the greatest peace of mind, while the unjust is filled with inner unrest. He placed great emphasis on sober reflection and on overcoming fear through insight. In Epicureanism, one of the fears that must be eliminated is in particular the fear of incomprehensible, disturbing natural phenomena and of arbitrary interference by superhuman authorities in human fate. Epicurean cosmology and theology serve to overcome the fear of gods and demons, according to which the gods exist, but are inaccessible to human influence through sacrifices or prayers and are not interested in the human world. So there is no Divine Providence ; all processes have exclusively natural causes, they are invariably due to the incessant interaction between the atoms. The fear of death should be made to disappear by rejecting the doctrines of immortality: Since there is nothing more after death, i.e. no post-death suffering is to be feared, it does not represent a threat.

Impact history

Although the ancient Epicurean tradition extends into the third century AD, the teaching content - in contrast to the other philosophical schools - hardly changed in the course of the long history of Epicureanism. Epicurean contents were taught alongside those of other philosophies in public schools and so remained present. Newly gained knowledge, for example in physics, was not incorporated into the teaching. The knowledge of physics (φυσική) served the concept of a fulfilled human life. Knowledge of natural processes should make it possible to dismantle unwanted religious ideas.

In the case of so-called “ miracles ” one was usually content with offering several “natural” explanations without deciding on the “correct” one. This characterizes skeptical thinking. In the writing of the Roman Lucretius ( De rerum natura , "From the nature of things") there are several examples of such a procedure. In an allegorical interpretation of the term “garden”, which is often used , it is said that the soil of the garden represents the Canon of Epicurus, the fence the physics, the fruits the ethics . It is found by researchers that all parts of Epicurean philosophy are interlocked. A primacy of ethics can be found more or less in all philosophical schools since the “ Socratic Turn ”, but physics in the other teaching buildings was not so specifically tailored to a protective and defense function against confusing ideas. Epicurus strove for peace of mind ( Ataraxía ) and lust (Hedoné).

Epicureanism originally stood in opposition to Platonism , but later competed mainly with Stoicism in the philosophical dispute over the direction of the conflict . Epicurus and his followers ignored politics.

The clashes between Stoics and Epicureans had already spread many prejudices, ridiculous things and sometimes distorting rumors in Greece. These were either reissued or even outbid during the time of Roman Epicureanism. The apologists of the new Christian religion also played their part in this. Epicurus' natural philosophy was viewed as superficial and underestimated. Even Cicero to the Epicurean doctrine have popularized so that their disappeared actual content. The Epicureans were z. B. is said to have a certain fearful dogmatism ( ποῦ κεῖται; - "Where is it?" Is said to have been the typical question of Epicurus' followers). The majority of the Romans considered Epicurus a "slave of his lusts". The Epicurean and man of letters Horace called himself - probably self-deprecatingly - "a pig from the Epicurus herd".

After the death of Epicurus his school was run by Hermarchus . Later, Epicurean societies flourished in the late Hellenistic and Roman eras (e.g. in Antioch , Alexandria , Rhodes and Ercolano ). His most famous Roman follower was the poet Lucretius . At the end of the Roman Empire, Epicureanism, which was opposed by the philosophical schools predominant at that time, mainly Neoplatonism , was hardly represented any more. It was not revived until the 17th century by the atomist Pierre Gassendi , who adapted it to Christian teaching.

Only a few texts from Epicurus have survived. Many of the papyrus scrolls excavated in the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum are Epicurean texts. Some are believed to have belonged to the Epicurean Philodemus . Some scholars see the epic poem De rerum natura ( On the nature of things ) by Lucretius as a work that presents the essential contents of Epicurus' philosophy.

Lucretius (99–56 BC), who proclaimed Epicureanism as a kind of doctrine of salvation, made the teachings of Epicurus at home in Rome. The Roman Epicurean style developed its own appearance insofar as its followers did not strictly follow the rule of life “Live in secret!”. Even in Lucretius there were critical statements about the political elites of his time, and some politically active Romans are said to have been influenced by Epicureanism (such as Cassius , one of the main conspirators against Caesar ). The poet Horace describes himself as “Epicuri de grege porcus” (“Pig from the herd of Epicurus”, Epistles 1, 4, 16), but later, as part of the Augustan renewal, found positions that were more state-supporting.

The Roman philosopher Seneca (approx. 4 BC to 65 AD), whose philosophy is primarily committed to the Stoa , nonetheless often quotes Epicurus and often comments benevolently on him. Some Roman emperors, including Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD), promoted the Epicurean school. Overall, Epicureanism seems to have been particularly attractive to residents of the Roman Empire, especially in times of political crisis. The monumental inscription of Diogenes von Oinoanda is an extraordinary testimony to the continued existence of Epicureanism in the Roman Empire into the third century AD .

On his second missionary trip (49 to 52 AD) the apostle Paul discussed with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens, who first described him as a "babbler" and "preacher of foreign gods" (Acts 17:18). With the advent of Christianity , Epicureanism fell increasingly discredited. Many early church fathers ( e.g. Eusebius , Origen ) polemicized violently against the teachings of Epicurus because of their alleged atheism and rampant hedonism . While there were attempts to harmonize the teachings of the Stoa with Christianity, Epicureanism appeared to be completely incompatible with basic Christian positions. At the latest during the reign of Emperor Constantine (306–337 AD), the active Epicurean teaching tradition had expired.

Nevertheless, the memory of Epicurus remained alive in the Middle Ages (see e.g. Carmina Burana , carmen 211). Even in later times, authors and thinkers who advocated the “free way of life” and hedonism repeatedly referred to Epicurus.

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literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Epicureanism  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Erler : Epicurus . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy . The philosophy of antiquity , Vol. 4/1, Basel 1994, pp. 29–202, here: 153–155. See Dorothee Kimmich : Epikureische Aufkllungen , Darmstadt 1993, pp. 11-16.
  2. ↑ Michael Erler: Epicurus . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. Die Philosophie der Antike , Vol. 4/1, Basel 1994, pp. 29–202, here: 127, 153–159, 162–169; James Warren: Removing fear. In: James Warren (Ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Epicureanism , Cambridge 2009, pp. 234–248.
  3. ↑ Dieter Timpe : Epicureanism in Roman society during the imperial era. In: Michael Erler, Robert Bees (ed.): Epicureanism in the late republic and the imperial era. Stuttgart 2000, p. 44.
  4. ↑ Jan Rohls: Philosophy and Theology in Past and Present . Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen 2002, ISBN 3-16-147812-6 , p. 78.
  5. ↑ Friedrich Albert Lange: History of materialism and criticism of its significance in the present. Frankfurt am Main 1974, pp. 101-127. zeno.org
  6. ↑ Friedrich Albert Lange: History of materialism and criticism of its significance in the present. Frankfurt am Main 1974, pp. 101-127. zeno.org