If an ancient Epicurean were transported to the present day, what might he (or she) say to you to explain his basic beliefs? What did ancient Epicureans teach their children about the world around them and how to live? This website is an effort to reconstruct answers to those questions based on the surviving ancient texts.
The Website is organized into tabs representing the major divisions of Epicurean philosophy (Canonics, Physics, and Ethics) and also the two primary summaries of these points which the ancient Epicureans memorized to enhance their understanding and confidence in the system. Canonics explains to you the Epicurean theory of knowledge and the nature of “truth.” Physics explains to you the Epicurean theory of the nature of the infinite and eternal universe, and how that universe operates entirely by natural (and not supernatural!) means. Ethics explains to you the Epicurean theory of how to live, including pleasure as the guide of life, freedom from fear of gods and punishment after death, and the true nature of justice.
For an outline of Major Observations and Conclusions of Epicurean Philosophy, click the graphic below:
Check out our video presentation: “Foundations of Epicurean Philosophy.” For the complete video and text click the graphic below:
Elemental Epicureanism is a project of NewEpicurean.com
For additional entry-level material on Epicureanism, see The Wisdom of Catius’ Cat and the Frances Wright’s A Few Days In Athens. An audio version of A Few Days in Athens is available here.
The material included here is based on the biography of Epicurus by Diogenes Laertius, Lucretius’ poem De Rerum Natura, Cicero’s On Ends, and the Epicurean Inscription of Diogenes of Oeneanda.
For additional information on updates to this website, click here.
Nil Posse Creari De Nilo – Nothing Can Be Created from Nothing
Other Sites Devoted To The Study of Epicureanism:
(pictured in the graphic above, from left to right, are: Lucretius, Frances Wright, Hermarchus, Epicurus, Metrodorus, Plotina, Thomas Jefferson)