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Epicurus
Epicurus
The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature
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2003
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© The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature 2003, originally published by Oxford University Press 2003. (Hide copyright information)
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Epicurus (341–270 bc), the founder of the school of philosophy that bears his name, after teaching in various places settled finally in Athens. Some fragments of his writings survive, but his ideas are perhaps best studied in the
De rerum natura of
Lucretius. Epicurus adopted the atomic theory of
Democritus but postulated an indeterminacy in the movement of his atoms which allowed him to believe in free will. In ethics he regarded the absence of pain—ἀταραξία or peace of mind—as the greatest good. Conventional moralists tended to describe him as a contemptible pleasure-seeker, but Sir T.
Browne defends his reputation (
Pseudodoxia, 7. 17).
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COMMENTARY: THINKING ABOUT LIFE -- EPICURUS
News Wire article from: United Press International; 2/19/2001; 700+ words
; ...Commentary: Thinking about life -- Epicurus NEW YORK, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Going...Internet, and looking up the name "Epicurus," I found 23,400 related Web sites. The philosopher Epicurus is one of the more important and most...
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Sunday Review Features: A picture of happiness? Power and wealth are overrated, according to Epicurus. In this extract from his new book, `The Consolations of Philosophy 1', Alain de Botton argues that we still have much to learn from the ancient Greek thinker
Newspaper article from: The Sunday Telegraph London; 3/12/2000; ; 700+ words
; ...shall conceive of the good," wrote Epicurus, "if I take away the pleasures of taste...caused by the sight of beautiful forms." Epicurus was born in 341bc on the island of Samos...but philosophy had rarely accepted. Epicurus was said to have written 300 books...
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 "Skeptic (Altadena, CA)")
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When death comes knockin' who ya gonna call?(Facing Death: Epicurus and His Critics )(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Skeptic (Altadena, CA); 3/22/2005; ; 700+ words
; A Review of Facing Death: Epicurus and His Critics by James Warren...Death: Epicurs and His Critics. Epicurus (341-270 BCE) was the founder...contemplation. In his Letter to Menoeceus, Epicurus writes: For it is not continuous...
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 "The Journal (Newcastle, England)")
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Epicurus joins drive; The Journal taste northeast england Regional food firm celebrates decade.(News)
Newspaper article from: The Journal (Newcastle, England); 2/28/2008; 700+ words
; ...England Campaign. North Shields-based Epicurus Events has just been appointed the only...in Middlesbrough, will discover why Epicurus has become a regional food success story...are the icing on the birthday cake for Epicurus, which was started by Chris Reay on...
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An attempt to reconcile Epicurus' hedonism with his epistemology and more particularly with his physics.(Critical essay)
Magazine article from: Nebula; 3/1/2008; ; 700+ words
; ...reservation), for the pleasure that Epicurus endorses is that of the catastemic...continuity among the mental processes of Epicurus as an attempt to remain as consistent...relation that is firmly established. For Epicurus, the supreme good is pleasure--and...
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Achieving the happy life. (excerpt from Epicurus' 'Letter to Monoeceus')
Newspaper article from: Free Inquiry; 6/22/1998; 700+ words
; Epicurus Epicurus (341-270 B.C.E.) began his study of philosophy on Samos, the...But it was in Colophon that the Epicurean movement was born. There Epicurus learned about the atomism of Democritus and "undisturbedness" as a...
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Warren, James. Epicurus and Democritean Ethics: An Archaeology of Ataraxia.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: The Review of Metaphysics; 9/1/2004; ; 700+ words
; WARREN, James. Epicurus and Democritean Ethics. An Archaeology...of a philosophical tradition linking Epicurus' ethical philosophy to Democritus...B. The gap between Democritus and Epicurus in Diogenes Laertius' account is filled...
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A good idea from ... Epicurus
Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 8/22/1999; ; 665 words
; ...to be, and it's made me think about Epicurus (341-270BC). Since ancient times...towels and complimentary bath oils. But Epicurus was no lotus-eater. He acquired the...need to be happy, you will - alleged Epicurus - arrive at a quite unmaterial list of...
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Warren, James. Facing Death: Epicurus and His Critics.(Book review)
Magazine article from: The Review of Metaphysics; 6/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; WARREN, James. Facing Death, Epicurus and His Critics. Oxford: Clarendon...45.00--James Warren analyzes Epicurus' and Epicureans' attitudes toward death...chapter 2, with the fundamental claim from Epicurus's Key Doctrines 2 (Kuriai Doxai...
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 "The Birmingham Post (England)")
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In a real pickle about Epicurus.(News)
Newspaper article from: The Birmingham Post (England); 4/10/2000; 555 words
; ...do well to consider the teachings of Epicurus. Now, for those who think Epicurean...the gastronomic department, but while Epicurus certainly didn't preach abstinence...our need to have a smile in our heart. Epicurus identified three requirements for happiness...
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Epicurus
Encyclopedia entry from: Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
Epicurus Should we fear death? A very famous argument of why we should not was offered some 2,300 years ago by the philosopher Epicurus. Epicurus (341–271 b.c.e.) authored around 300 scrolls, but...
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Epicureanism
Dictionary entry from: New Dictionary of the History of Ideas
...EPICUREANISM. Epicureanism gets its name from Epicurus (341 – 270 b.c.e...maximizes pleasure and minimizes pain. Epicurus on Pleasure While Epicureanism is not...influential in the field of ethics. Epicurus emphasized empiricism, and his theories...
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Lucretius
Dictionary entry from: Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography
...Empedocles and a long prose treatise by Epicurus, of which only mutilated fragments survive...and proportion of these three books and Epicurus “ outline of the subject in...Letter to Herodotus. In the absence of Epicurus ’ major work, On Nature...
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Gassendi, Pierre (1592–1655)
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
...chose the ancient atomist and hedonist Epicurus (341 – 271 b.c.e.) as...intellectuals could accept the philosophy of Epicurus, it had to be purged of various heterodox...Christianized version of Epicurean atomism. Like Epicurus, he claimed that the physical world...
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Mechanical Philosophy
Dictionary entry from: New Dictionary of the History of Ideas
...from the views of the Greek philosopher Epicurus (341 – 271 b.c.e...maximizes pleasure and minimizes pain. Epicurus believed that the greatest sources of...to fear punishment in the afterlife. Epicurus believed that the atoms have always existed...
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