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Summary Epicureanism is the philosophical system formulated by Epicurus (341-271 BCE). It was one of the most influential and popular philosophical schools in the Hellenistic era. Epicureanism revives the atomism of Democritus and rejects the teleology of Aristotle and the immaterial soul and forms of Plato. All events are the result of indivisible bodies (atoms) interacting in the void, and the gods have no role in the workings of the world. Epicurean ethics is a form of ascetic egoistic hedonism. Only one's own pleasure is intrinsically valuable, but the limit of pleasure is freedom from bodily distress and (especially) peace of mind, and the way to acquire peace of mind is by limiting your desires. The Epicurean arguments against the fear of death have been especially influential: death is annihilation, and so your death is bad for you neither when you are alive (as you are not dead) nor when you are dead (as you no longer exist).
Key works Most of Epicurus' writings are lost, but book ten of Diogenes Laertius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers, in its summary of Epicurus' life and teachings, contains three letters by Epicurus that summarize his physics, views on celestial and meteorological phenomena, and ethics. It also includes the "Principal Doctrines," short sayings mainly on ethics. The Roman poet and fervent Epicurean Lucretius (c. 94-55 BCE) composed "On the Nature of Things," a massive 6-book summary of Epicurean physics. The Roman statesmen Cicero (106–43 BCE) includes important summaries of Epicurean arguments in his philosophical works. Long & Sedley 1987 and Gerson 1994 are compendiums of many of the crucial texts, with Long & Sedley 1987 including extensive commentary.
Introductions Konstan 2008 is a good encyclopedia entry on Epicurus. O'Keefe 2009 is an accessible book-length overview of the Epicurean philosophical system, while Warren 2009 contains chapters that deal more extensively with the current scholarly literature.
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Epicurus (1,164)
Lucretius (1,203)
Philodemus (171)

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  1. Probleme der Lukrezforschung.Carl Joachim Classen (ed.) - 1986 - New York: G. Olms.
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  2. Diogenes Laertius contra Gadamer.György Márkus - 1987 - In John Fekete (ed.), Life after postmodernism: essays on value and culture. Macmillan Education.
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  3. Animadversiones in decimum librum Diogenis Laertii.Pierre Gassendi - 1649 - New York: Garland.
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  4. L'Epicureo Demetrio Lacone.V. de Falco - 1890 - In Alfred Körte, Vincenzo De Falco & Metrodorus (eds.), Epicureanism: two collections of fragments and studies. Garland.
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  5. Sensazione e realtà: Epicuro e Gassendi.Antonina Alberti - 1981 - Firenze: L.S. Olschki.
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  6. El materialismo de Epicuro y Lucrecio.Marcelino Rodriguez Donis - 1989 - Sevilla: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Sevilla.
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  7. Epikur: Theorie der Lebenskunst.Heinz-Michael Bartling - 1994 - Cuxhaven: Junghans-Verlag.
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  8. Yibijiulu.Shi Yang - 1996 - Saratoga, Ca, U.S.A.: Dong da tu shu gu fen you xian gong si.
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  9. Affermare negando: gli argomenti ipotetici con conseguente falso nel De rerum natura.Nadia Vidale - 2000 - Bologna: Pàtron.
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  10. L'éclair immobile dans la plaine, philosophie et poétique du temps chez Lucrèce.Sabine Luciani - 2000 - Louvain: Editions Peeters.
    La notion de temps occupe une place determinante dans l'oeuvre de Lucrece, alors que cet aspect a ete jusqu'alors peu explore. L'ambition de cet ouvrage est de demontrer que le temps unifie dans une vision complexe et ambivalente la physique, l'histoire, la morale et la poetique lucretiennes. Le present livre est fonde sur une etude de la fonction du temps au sein de ces differents domaines et montre comment la duree infinie qui caracterise les mouvements atomiques chez Epicure se traduit (...)
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  11. Lucrezio: biografie umanistiche.Giuseppe Solaro (ed.) - 2000 - Bari: Dedalo.
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  12. De dangereux édifices: Saussure lecteur de Lucrèce: les cahiers d'anagrammes consacrés au "De rerum natura".Francis Gandon - 2002 - Louvain: Editions Peeters.
    Ce livre retrace le cheminement du chercheur: le journal de ses intuitions, ses espoirs, ses doutes, ses certitudes, - jusqu'au silence d'avril 1908. Il replace la quete dans l'activite d'ensemble du savant: monographies, cours de linguistique generale, travaux de mythographie. Il la situe dans un paysage intellectuel scrupuleusement balise. Par dela des considerations d'une technicite souvent rebutante, et non exemptes de contradictions (parfois flagrantes), il s'attache a suivre le fil d'une quete autant mystique que linguistique. Par surcroit il donne a (...)
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  13. Sad Ėpikura: filosofii︠a︡ religii Ėpikura i ėpikureĭskai︠a︡ tradit︠s︡ii︠a︡ v istorii evropeĭskoĭ kulʹtury.M. M. Shakhnovich - 2002 - S.-Peterburg: Izd-vo S.-Peterburgskogo universiteta.
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  14. Problem polemiki antyepikurejskiej w pismach Nowego Testamentu.Stefan Szymik - 2003 - Lubin: Wydawn. KUL.
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  15. The Scientific Prescience of Epicureanism.Collin Robbins - 2023 - Sorge: The Undergraduate Philosophy Journal at the Ohio State University 1 (1):24-32.
  16. L'empirisme d'Epicure.Julie Giovacchini - 2012 - Paris: Classiques Garnier.
    Ce livre jette une lumière nouvelle sur l'empirisme d'Épicure et des épicuriens par le jeu d'une comparaison entre les méthodologies scientifiques épicurienne et médicale. C'est à partir d'une conception commune du savoir comme technè (art ou technique) que ces deux ensembles doctrinaux comprennent la nature et la source de la connaissance. L'épistémologie épicurienne apparaît comme une conception originale de la forme du discours scientifique et de l'explication causale.
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  17. Review: Diogenes Laertius: Lives of Eminent Philosophers: An Edited Translation by Stephen White. [REVIEW]Anthony Hejduk - 2022 - Review of Metaphysics 75 (4):837-838.
    Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of Eminent Philosophers occupies a unique place in the history of Western philosophy. In addition to its valuable summaries of the doctrines of philosophers and their schools, it is often the best, or, indeed, the only source available for biographical details of many figures. Yet, as a work, it is often criticized for a lack of originality and critical judgement, notable only because it happened to survive while all other philosophical histories of the era did not, or (...)
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  18. Epicureans and Stoics on the Rationality of Perception.Whitney Schwab & Simon Shogry - 2023 - Wiley: Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 106 (1):58-83.
    This paper examines an ancient debate over the rationality of perception. What leads the Stoics to affirm, and the Epicureans to deny, that to form a sense-impression is an activity of reason? The answer, we argue, lies in a disagreement over what is required for epistemic success. For the Stoics, epistemic success consists in believing the right propositions, and only rational states, in virtue of their predicational structure, put us in touch with propositions. Since they identify some sense-impressions as criteria (...)
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  19. Epicuro.Francesco Verde - 2013 - Roma: Carocci editore.
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  20. Epikur, Brief an Menoikeus: Edition, Übersetzung, Einleitung und Kommentar.Jan Erik Hessler - 2014 - Basel: Schwabe Verlag. Edited by Epicurus.
    Weder sollte man in jungen Jahren zögern, sich philosophisch zu betätigen, noch sollte man im Alter das Philosophieren als Mühe empfinden. Epikur Der Brief an Menoikeus ist der zentrale Text für die Ethik des griechischen Philosophen Epikur und der einzige im Ganzen überlieferte auf diesem Teilgebiet seiner Lehre. Seine Bedeutung verdankt der Text nicht nur seinem Erhaltungszustand, sondern auch seinem Inhalt, umfasst er doch in knapper, verständlicher Form nahezu alle grundlegenden Richtlinien, die nach Epikur für ein Leben in Glückseligkeit entscheidend (...)
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  21. Dionysios von Alexandria, De natura =.Kilian Josef Fleischer - 2016 - Turnhout: Brepols Publishers. Edited by Kilian J. Fleischer & Dionysius.
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  22. Philosophie als Lebenskunst: antike Vorbilder, moderne Perspektiven.Gerhard Ernst (ed.) - 2016 - Berlin: Suhrkamp.
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  23. Lucrezio e Bergson: la ricezione del De rerum natura in Francia nel XIX secolo.Salvatore Grandone - 2018 - Canterano (RM): Aracne editrice.
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  24. Umetnosta na sreḱata. Epicurus - 2018 - Skopje: Ǵurǵa. Edited by Violeta Kosteska-Petreska.
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  25. In and out of the stoa: Diogenes Laertius on Zeno.A. A. Long - 2018 - In Jenny Bryan, Robert Wardy & James Warren (eds.), Authors and Authorities in Ancient Philosophy. Cambridge University Press.
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  26. La fine del mondo nel De rerum natura di Lucrezio.Manuel Galzerano - 2019 - Boston: De Gruyter.
    La fine del mondo costituisce uno dei temi centrali del De rerum natura, testo che rappresenta inoltre la nostra principale fonte sull'escatologia cosmica epicurea. Mosso dall'intento d'indagare questo aspetto cruciale (che non è mai stato in precedenza oggetto di studi monografici), questo libro propone un commento delle principali sezioni escatologiche del poema: i finali del primo e del secondo libro, i vv. 91-415 del quinto e la rassegna dei fenomeni meteorologici più violenti nel sesto. L'analisi delle fonti filosofiche e degli (...)
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  27. How to be an epicurean: the ancient art of living well.Catherine Wilson - 2019 - New York, NY: Basic Books.
    A leading philosopher shows that if the pursuit of happiness is the question, Epicureanism is the answer Epicureanism has a reputation problem, bringing to mind gluttons with gout or an admonition to eat, drink, and be merry. In How to Be an Epicurean, philosopher Catherine Wilson shows that Epicureanism isn't an excuse for having a good time: it's a means to live a good life. Although modern conveniences and scientific progress have significantly improved our quality of life, many of the (...)
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  28. The patchwork of Socrates' life : Montaigne's use of Diogenes Laertius and Plutarch.Alison Calhoun - 2019 - In Christopher Moore (ed.), Brill's Companion to the Reception of Socrates. Brill.
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  29. Contributi lucreziani.Carmelo Salemme - 2020 - Bari: Cacucci editore.
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  30. Atti del Primo Festival epicureo di Senigallia.Sandro Borzoni (ed.) - 2020 - Senigallia: Ventura edizioni.
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  31. Lucrezio e il problema della conoscenza: De rerum natura 4, 54-822.Carmelo Salemme - 2021 - Bari: Cacucci editore. Edited by Titus Lucretius Carus.
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  32. Πρός τᾧ bei sextus empiricus und Diogenes laertius.Karel Janáček - 1962 - Philologus: Zeitschrift für Antike Literatur Und Ihre Rezeption 106 (1-2):134-137.
  33. V. Handbücher als Quellen des Diogenes Laërtius.Ε Ηοwald - 1917 - Philologus: Zeitschrift für Antike Literatur Und Ihre Rezeption 74 (1-4):119-130.
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  34. II. Conjecturen zu Diogenes Laertius.Gottlieb Roeper - 1848 - Philologus: Zeitschrift für Antike Literatur Und Ihre Rezeption 3 (1-4):22-65.
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  35. Epicureans and the City’s Laws.Sara Diaco - 2022 - Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 104 (2):312-336.
    The article discusses the accusation advanced by Plutarch and Cicero, according to which the Epicureans are unjust, as they would break the law to pursue pleasure if certain of impunity, and deals with this criticism by analyzing the Epicurean theory of law and justice and comparing it with friendship. The article argues that, from a doctrinal standpoint, philia has a higher place in the Epicurean’s priorities and a stronger efficacy than positive law in serving the naturally just. It thus concludes (...)
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  36. Body and Soul in Hellenistic Philosophy, edited by Brad Inwood and James Warren (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020). [REVIEW]John Sellars - 2022 - Philosophy 97 (2):263-265.
  37. Épicurisme Et Scepticisme.Stéphane Marchand & Francesco Verde (eds.) - 2013 - Università la Sapienza.
    Questo volume investiga il rapporto che intercorse tra due dei più rilevanti movimenti filosofici dell’Antichità, l’Epicureismo e lo Scetticismo. I contributi qui raccolti esplorano le diverse modalità teoriche attraverso le quali queste due filosofie sono venute in contatto, spesso scontrandosi o, comunque, proponendo prospettive in ambito epistemologico, fisico ed etico profondamente divergenti. Il volume si presenta come un contributo particolarmente significativo e innovativo nell’ambito degli studi, finalizzato a chiarire e ad approfondire, dal punto di vista storiografico e teorico, i termini (...)
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  38. Diogenes Laertius, "Lives of the Eminent Philosophers".Brian Gregor - 2022 - Philosophy in Review 42 (1):23-25.
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  39. Epicurean Ethics (Oxford Bibliographies Online).Max Robitzsch & Clerk Shaw - 2021 - Oxford Bibliographies Online.
    An annotated bibliography of assorted topics in Epicurean ethics. Includes sections on: pleasure; moral psychology; virtue; friendship; sex, love, marriage, and children; death; and the Epicurean way of life.
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  40. Philosophy at the Gym.Erik Kenyon - manuscript
    Ethical philosophy was born in the gyms of Athens. This book returns a body of abstract thought to its original context, to understand how training for the body sparked training for the mind. We will use archaeology to reconstruct the reality of ancient athletics and literary texts to critique philosophers’ idealized versions of this reality. We will explore a cluster of questions about the nature of happiness (eudaimonia), the role of human excellence (arete) in this life and what forms of (...)
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  41. Lives of Pleasure: A Comparative Essay on Cārvāka and Epicurean Ethics.Christopher Paone - 2022 - Philosophy East and West 72 (4):1023-1044.
    A long-lived and lively tradition of materialist philosophers flourished in classical India and in classical Greece. Due to the condition of their texts, however, they do not often receive close study. This essay compares the views of the classical Indian materialists, the Cārvākas, and the classical Greek materialists, the Epicureans. The first section introduces their philosophies. The second outlines their doctrines of empiricism and materialism. The third and fourth turn to two comparative topics in Cārvāka and Epicurean ethics: their views (...)
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  42. Deleuze's metaphysics of structure in Difference and Repetition.Yannis Chatzantonis - manuscript
    This essay describes and evaluates the conception of mereological structure that underpins Deleuze’s account of ontogenesis in Difference and Repetition. A theory of mereology is a theory of composition: it asks what it is to be a part making a whole, what it is to be a whole collecting its parts; in short, in what the relation of making or composing consists. The locus classicus for modern mereology is the third of Husserl’s Logical Investigations (‘On the Theory of Wholes and (...)
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  43. The C** Word: Covid-19 and Calculation.Dimitris Vardoulakis - 2020 - The Philosophical Salon.
    Calculation is omnipresent in the current pandemic. And yet, Continental philosophers never talk about calculation: it seems to be the c** of philosophy. Why is that so? Has it always been like that?
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  44. Glossarium Epicureum.Phillip De Lacy, Hermann Karl Usener, M. Gigante & W. Schmid - 1979 - American Journal of Philology 100 (3):468.
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  45. The Sculpted Word: Epicureanism and Philosophical Recruitment in Ancient Greece.Diskin Clay & Bernard Frischer - 1984 - American Journal of Philology 105 (4):484.
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  46. Sceptical Buddhism as Provenance and Project.James Mark Shields - 2020 - In Oren Hanner (ed.), Buddhism and Scepticism: Historical, Philosophical, and Comparative Perspectives. Freiburg/Bochum: pp. 161-177.
  47. Neo-epicureanism.Dimitris Vardoulakis - 2019 - Philosophy Today 63 (4):1013-1024.
    By looking at its history, this article emphasizes the importance of practical judgment for materialism. This sense of practical judgment is traced back to the function of phronesis in one of the ancient schools of materialism, namely, the Epicureans.
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  48. The Hellenistic Philosophers - A. A. Long, D. N. Sedley: The Hellenistic Philosophers, Vol. 1: Translations of the Principal Sources with Philosophical Commentary, Vol. 2: Greek and Latin Texts with Notes and Bibliography. Pp. xv + 512, x + 512; 1 line drawing. Cambridge University Press, 1987. Vol. 1 , Vol. 2. [REVIEW]G. B. Kerferd - 1989 - The Classical Review 39 (1):49-51.
  49. M. Gigante: Kepos e Peripatos: Contributo alla storia dell’aristotelismo antico. Pp. 159. Naples: Bibliopolis, 1999. Paper, L. 35,000. ISBN: 88-7088-308-6. [REVIEW]J. I. Daniel - 2002 - The Classical Review 52 (1):174-175.
  50. Von der Erkenntnistheorie der Natur zur Idee der Praxis — Eine marxsche Auseinandersetzung mit der Naturphilosophie Demokrits und Epikurs.Guli-Sanam Karimova - 2018 - In Dominik Novkovic & Alexander Akel (eds.), Karl Marx – Philosophie, Pädagogik, Gesellschaftstheorie und Politik. Kassel, Deutschland: pp. 141-157.
    Eine der frühesten Schriften des jungen Karl Marx — die Dissertationsschrift „Differenz der demokritischen und epikureischen Naturphilosophie“ — legt wichtige Fundamente für das gesamte Marx’sche Denken. In der Dissertationsschrift versucht Marx anhand des Vergleichs der antiken Naturphilosophien Demokrits und Epikurs grundlegende Erkenntnisse der theoretischen und praktischen Philosophie in einem komplexen, von Hegel inspirierten ontologischen System zu verbinden. Aus dieser kritischen Synthese antiker Naturphilosophien entsteht so eine auf Hegelschen Begriffen basierende, aber gleichzeitig reformierte Idee der Praxis. Auf diesen Grundlagen sowie mit (...)
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