Epicurus: His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance [Paperback]

Dane R. Gordon (Editor), David B. Suits (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003

The philosophy of Epicurus (c. 341-271 B. C. E.), has been a quietly pervasive influence for more than two millennia. At present, when many long revered ideologies are proven empty, Epicureanism is powerfully and refreshingly relevant, offering a straightforward way of dealing with the issues of life and death. The chapters in this book provide a kaleidoscope of contemporary opinions about Epicurus' teachings. They tell us also about the archeological discoveries that promise to augment the scant remains we have of Epicurus's own writing. the breadth of this new work will be welcomed by those who value Epicurean philosophy as a scholarly and personal resource for contemporary life. "Epicurus: His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance," is the title of a 2002 conference on Epicurus held at Rochester Institute of Technology, when many of the ideas here were first presented.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971345961
• ISBN-13: 978-0971345966
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #966,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relevant, All-Too-Relevant, April 16, 2007

By 

D. S. Heersink "D. Stephen Heersink" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Epicurus: His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance (Paperback)

Rarely do I recommend secondary sources over primary ones; this book in an exception. The reason is obvious: Epicurus, the most popular and prolific philosopher of antiquity, writing over 37 volumes, is largely lost to us. What the Church did to eliminate these texts one can only guess. But if any philosophy is set diametrically against Judeo-Christian-Islam, Epicurus's is. Since only fragments and reports from others in antiquity survive, Epicurus requires scholarship to pull it all together from so many disparate sources.

Epicurus, the Founder of Epicureanism, continues to be reviled for his materialism, hedonism, atheism, disproof of an afterlife, his tranquility of mind (ataraxia) toward anxiety, his praise of both emotions and reason, for his cultivation of friendship, his praise of love, etc. Let's start with the most "controversial" of his theories: Hedonism. The self-evident principle is to maximize pleasure, minimize pain. Pleasure, for Epicurus, requires a "disciplined" approach, not wild licentious abandon. For example, over-indulgence of any appetite, say deep-fried calamari (my favorite food), for each meal and snack every day of every week loses its pleasure. Calamari all the time makes calamari banal, if not detested. Thus, one must approach each appetite that brings pleasure with a modicum of discipline, balance, and moderation (a very Greek concept). Mutatis mutandis, every other appetite, including sexual.

Epicurus and his disciple Lucretius anticipated Darwin and a materialistic based universe, which, of course, is opposed by Platonism, Christianity, and other metaphysical schemes. His physics remains primitive by today's standards, but his claim that all are atoms or a void "fits" modern physics like a glove.

Like Plato and Aristotle before him, the Charioteer and Two Steeds (Psyche at the reins of emotion and reason) are intended to "govern" or "direct" human emotions to their moderate end through the use of reason. Typical of Greek ethics and values, excess and deficiency are vices, moderation is a virtue. Justice, for example, is taking anger over a violation and moderating the lawful and equal to its proper harbor, without an excess of anger leading to murder and mayhem, and without a deficiency of anger leading to indifference and abuse. Compare this view with Jesus's, who extols turning the cheek to be abused again. To the Greeks that would be unjust. Self-defense is moderate and a virtue, heated tempers an excess of anger, and turning the other cheek a case of masochistic abuse.

Several Church Fathers embraced Stoicism's apathea (apathy, indifference) rather than Epicurus's ataraxia (tranquility, imperturbability), regarding emotions as "brutish, animistic, and sub-human." Not Epicurus. Some emotions cannot be discharged through the moderating influence of reason (for any number of reasons), and those cases require a tranquil resignation of forces larger than ourselves. But where we can effect virtue, can alter an injustice into justice, our sense of justice requires it. Otherwise, in Nietzsche's famed statement, we submit to Slave Morality. Guess who figures prominently an Nietzsche's call to return to Greek values?

The ancient Skeptics disavowed both reason and the senses. Not Epicurus. Our sensory experience is always veridical. And, while reason is never infallible, it alone steers human sensory experience and emotions to the harbors of tranquility, and to the Final End of Human Flourishing. Anxiety, which the Stoics would simply choose to be indifferent to, is a force to reconcile, and if beyond the realm of resolution, simply to be resigned to. Sage Epicureanism: "if you do not reconcile your behavior with the goal of nature, then there will be a conflict between theory and practice."

The Angst of Modernity, the Death of God, the Pendulum of Extremes, the Rise of Irrationality are all predictable reactions when the "opiates of the masses" are removed, whether religious, Marxist, Freudian, or Cults like Heaven's Gate, Jim Jones, and the "Jesus Camp" folk. Without the certainty that Authority brings, whether the Church, the Bible, the Empire, Nationalism, Therapeutics, etc., it might serve our modern anxieties to become reacquainted with Greek thought, especially Epicurus. Commonsense, nature, and tranquility do not need "deities" or "opiates," just a sense of purpose, a sense of living well, and a commonsense that is simply obvious.

Gordon's synthesis from various sources produces an excellent alternative to the Reactions-to-Reactions. No philosopher of Antiquity remains more relevant, more stigmatized, more marginalized, and more despised, all of which are reasons to make Epicurus's acquaintance.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Conference Proceedings, September 17, 2009

By 

Reader From Aurora - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Epicurus: His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance (Paperback)

`Epicurus: His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance', is a brief anthology of essays stemming from papers presented at the 2002 Rochester Institute of Technology Conference of the same name.

The essays are in large-part centered on rather narrow and niche topics such as; the relationship between Pierce's ethics and Epicurean thought, Marx and ancient Greek atomic theory, the inscriptions at Oenoanda, etc. While not entirely uninteresting, the contributions are of modest quality and are probably only of interest to a very limited academic audience.

Overall, while these types of texts provide an excellent opportunity for lesser known academics to publish and gain exposure, they often have little appeal to a broader audience. Readers looking for a broad discussion of Epicurean thought would be best served looking elsewhere.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Print on demand, September 14, 2007

By 

Kevin I. Slaughter (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Epicurus: His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance (Paperback)

First - this is print on demand and I didn't know this when ordering. For $25 and only 223 pages I would have wanted decent printing and binding.
I'm not against the technology, but I want to know that a book is poorly printed before I buy it, because I really care about books.
Don't know why they charge so much for it, if you're not going to invest in a big print run, you can at least take a smaller cut of the profits. POD is more expensive per book, but you're not laying out thousands of dollars either.
The ink reflects light and the printing is poor, the lines of letters aren't crisp, it's like they're printed from a raster image. frustrating to read. Obviously the few illustrations are terrible, worse than my 6 year old laser printer.

Second, the title of the book is also the title of a 2002 conference on Epicurus held at Rochester Institute of Technology, when many of the ideas here were first presented. This is not a bad thing, just information not given on the Amazon page.

The publisher's website contains the following:
"Since the Cary Collection's inception in 1969, occasional publications have appeared, inspired by its holdings. Strong scholarship and editorial direction, elegant design, and fine printing have characterized these publications, which are usually historical in context. With the formal establishment of the Cary Graphic Arts Press, we hope to carry on these high standards with increasing regularity.
Though we will continue to produce high-quality letterpress and offset publications, one aspect of our expanded mission is to explore digital technologies and to branch into electronically generated content. In this way, the latest information delivery system will be infused with the best historic ideals--a combination that fosters an optimal educational experience."

Yes, they are an arts press that publishes books about bookbinding, lettering, etc. etc. And this book, however nicely the type may be set - it looks like crap when printed by whatever service they use.