One of the late greek philosophies: Epicurus One of the late Greek philosophies: Epicurus One of the late Greek philosophies: Epicurus

<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" > one of the late Greek philosophies: Epicurus</h1>

From the macedonian conquest of Greece in 338 BC to the incorporation of mainland Greece into The Roman territory in 146 BC for nearly 200 years, it is historically known as Late Greece. During this period, with the invasion of Macedonia, class and social contradictions within the Greek city-states intensified. The Greeks' struggle against Macedonia was constantly defeated. Years of war have left the Greek city-states in crisis, and the turbulent Greek city-states are permeated with pessimism and disappointment. Late Greece lived in this reality and social atmosphere, and it no longer had its former glory and vitality.

The late Greek philosophers also lost the broad interest and broad heart of their predecessors in the exploration and knowledge of the universe and society and of universal things, and they turned their attention to the problems of life and tried to seek social stability, peace of mind, and undisturbed spiritual realm in the midst of social turmoil and strife. Thus, the three important schools of late Greece, the Epicureans, the Stoics, and the Skeptics, made the ethical question the central question of philosophical inquiry.

However, Alexander, the king of Macedonia, expanded abroad and established a large empire spanning three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa, which promoted economic exchanges and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. The Industry, Commerce, Science and Technology Culture in the Near East are developing rapidly. The city of Alexandria in Egypt became the new economic and cultural center. Many famous scholars have come here to engage in scientific research and have made great achievements. Euclid's Principles of Geometry, for example, systematizes knowledge of geometry by means of rigorous logical proofs. Archimedes' theory of the law of the proportion of levers and objects laid the foundation for statics, and Arique of Samos proposed the "solar center theory", which held that the earth orbited the sun once a year. Medicine has gained a better understanding of the physiological structure of the human body.

The development of the natural sciences had an influence on late Greek philosophy. This influence is particularly evident in Epicurus' philosophy of atomism.

Epicurus (c. 341–270 BC) was born on the island of Samos in Ionia. His parents were Athenian immigrants. In his early years, he studied atomism with the Democritus scholar Nusseffini, and was also interested in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Later, at the age of about 36, when he was about 36 years old, Epicurus came to Athens and founded a school in a garden, which is the famous "Epicurus Academy", which has more than three hundred volumes of Epicurus's works, and some remnants and three letters. Epicurus's philosophy is divided into three main parts: atomism, normatology, and ethics.

(1) Atomism

Epicurus's atomism was the theoretical basis of his philosophical thought. He inherited Democritus' atomism and made important corrections and developments. He believed that the origin of all things was atoms and the void. Atoms are inseparable particles of matter, in eternal motion. The void is the place of atomic motion, the eternal existence that cannot be felt. The number of atoms is infinite, and the universe made up of the clutch motion of atoms is also infinite. These ideas have something in common with Democritus. However, Epicurus rejected the idea that democritus' atomic differences in shape and volume were also infinite. He believed that since atoms are indivisible and particles of matter that cannot be perceived by the naked eye, the differences in volume and shape between atoms cannot be infinite. Otherwise, "certain atoms must come into our sights," which is unthinkable (see Selected Readings of the Original Works of Western Philosophy, vol. 1, p. 165). In this way, Epicurus overcame an important contradiction and flaw in Democritus' atomism. He went on to propose that atoms have weight and new ideas about atomic motion.

He believed that atoms themselves had weight. This is the reason why atoms can make vertical fall motions in the void. In addition to the main mode of motion of vertical fall, the movement of atoms may also deviate from the original straight line and cause atomic collisions due to skewed motion. The philosophical significance of Epicurus's theory of the skew of atomic motion was to affirm the existence of contingency and to correct Democritus' error of overemphasizing necessity in the motion of atoms, an idea that laid the theoretical basis for the denial of fatalism in his ethics.

(2) Norms

Epicurus's normative doctrine is a doctrine of epistemology, which was developed on the basis of Democritus' "image theory".

Epicurus affirmed the objectivity of the object of knowledge. He believes that the human senses receive images caused by "streams" of external things and produce sensations. He said: "We obtain every image by the cognitive activity of the mind or the senses, whether of shape or nature, of form or nature of a concrete object. (Ancient Greco-Roman Philosophy, p. 353.) Thus, Epicurus emphasized the credibility of sensation and its role. He said, "Always base your knowledge on feelings and sensations," "for then you will have a reliable, steadfast basis" (ibid., p. 358). If you reject all feelings, you will lose your own standard of judgment of right and wrong. Epicurus believed that feelings were direct and irrefutable. People recognize that mistakes do not come from feelings, but from wrong interpretations and judgments of feelings.

On the question of the relationship between sensation and reason, Epicurus argued that sensation is the basis of reason, and that "concepts depend on perceptual perception" (ibid., p. 350). Feeling that something that has been retained in memory many times forms a concept. Therefore, the judgment of the truth or falsity of a concept also depends on the sense.

Epicurus's epistemology contains elements of naïve materialist reflectionism. He attached importance to the role of sensation and had a positive significance in overcoming the previous philosophers' contempt for perceptual knowledge biases and opposition to Plato's transcendentalism. However, while overcoming one bias, another bias arises, namely, the one-sided emphasis on feeling and even the perception as the criterion for judging truth. It can be seen that he has not yet correctly recognized the relationship between sensibility and reason, and there are obvious defects in his epistemology.

(3) Ethics

Ethics is at the center of the study of Epicurean philosophy, and the purpose of life is a central issue in the discussion of Epicurus ethics. Epicurus boiled down to the ultimate goal of life to attaining happiness. He said: "Happiness is the beginning and purpose of a happy life. Because we think that a happy life is the highest good we are born with. All our trade-offs start with happiness; our ultimate goal is to be happy. (Ancient Greco-Roman Philosophy, p. 367.) ）

The happiness that Epicurus spoke of is connected with certain material desires and the enjoyment of life. He affirmed that the material needs of human life and health were necessary, but he opposed indulgence and excessive pursuit of material desires. He believed that the purpose of a happy life was to achieve physical health and peace of soul, and that true happiness was the happiness attained by the mind.

Epicurus pointed out that the greatest obstacle to happiness is the fear of God and death. To overcome this obstacle and relieve people's fears, we must first have a correct understanding of God and death. He believed that God was nothing more than something made of atoms, that they were not human at all, and that the fear of God was groundless. As for the soul, it is also made of atoms. The soul dissipates with the death of the human body. Therefore, "the most terrible of all evils—death—is insignificant to us." Because when we exist, death has not yet come to us, and when we die, we have ceased to exist. (Ibid., p. 336) Here Epicurus combines the pursuit of pleasure with the quest for knowledge. These ideas of his exhibit distinct atheistic character.

Epicurus proposed a "contract theory" idea in the relationship between man and society. He believes that society and the state are the product of common agreements to protect themselves when people pursue happiness, "natural justice is a mutual agreement that guides people to avoid harming each other." (Ibid., p. 347.) The principle of agreement is mutual benefit and non-infringement. But the agreement can be changed, and when the original agreement deviates from the accepted principle of mutual benefit, it loses its value of continuing existence. Epicurus's idea of the social contract had a positive impact on the development of the history of Western political thought.

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