Epicurus and Democritean Ethics: An Archaeology of Ataraxia

ISBN-13: 9780521813693 / Angielski / Twarda / 2002 / 256 str.

James Warren

Opis

The Epicurean philosophical system has enjoyed much recent scrutiny, but the question of its philosophical ancestry remains largely neglected. This book traces its origins in the fifth-century BC atomist Democritus, in his fourth-century followers such as Anaxarchus and Pyrrho, and in Epicurus' disagreements with his own Democritean teacher Nausiphanes. The result is not only a fascinating reconstruction of a lost tradition, but also an important contribution to the philosophical interpretation of Epicureanism, bearing especially on its ideal of tranquillity and on the relation of ethics to physics.

Recenzje

'In this book Warren shows himself well equipped with the tools of philosophical archaeology, and admirably skilled in their use … guides the reader expertly … Warren imparts much fascinating information …' Journal of the Society for Greek Political Thought

Spis treści

List of figures; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction: Epicurus, Democritus and ataraxia; 1. Introducing the Democriteans; 2. Democritus' ethics and atomist psychologies; 3. Anaxarchus' moral stage; 4. Pyrrho and Timon: inhuman indifference; 5. Polystratus and Epicurean pigs; 6. Hecataeus of Abdera's instructive ethnography; 7. Nausiphanes' compelling rhetoric; Conclusion: Epicurus and Democriteanism: determinism, scepticism and ethics; Bibliography; Index locorum; General index.