The Origin of Epicurus Concept of Void - Research Paper Example

EPICURUS’ ATOMISM 0 INTRODUCTION Humanity’s quest for meaning and understanding has always been one of the primordial ethos that has driven each generation for answers to questions which plagues human existence. Philosophy, just like any other human endeavors, attempts to guide humanity as they trek the path for life’s meaning and understanding. There are times that Philosophy, indeed, can clarify and even provide sufficient articulations regarding humanity’s questions. However, undeniable also, are the many discussions in philosophy that have left its listeners more confused and perplexed than before. In light of this reality, this paper will look into one of the ‘more controversial’ ancient philosopher – Epicurus. This paper will try to elucidate Epicurus’ philosophy and will seek to know the extent of his philosophy’s influence to people across time. In order to attain this aim, the paper will be addressing two questions, namely, what is the philosophy of Epicurus? And How Epicurus has affected and influence humanity across time? And to find the possible answers to the paper’s questions, several scholarly journals which are written in English are reviewed. Hopefully, in the midst of vast, in depth and scholarly discussions on Epicurus, this paper may in its own little way add more on the appreciation of Epicurus. 1.1 EPICURUS: THE MAN AND HIS ATOMISM Before starting with Epicurus’ philosophy, it is better to start with a little information regarding his life. This is undertaken to show that Epicurus is a human person; he is neither a god nor a demiurgos. 1.1.a. EPICURUS: THE MAN Epicurus, who is considered as one of the major Hellenistic philosophers, was born around 341 BCE, and grew up in the Athenian colony of Samos, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. He was 19 when Aristotle died, and he studied philosophy under the followers of Plato and Democritus. Epicurus founded his first philosophical schools in Mytilene and Lampsacus, before moving to Athens around 306 BCE. It was in Athens where he founded the Garden which was a combination of philosophical community and school. The residents of the Garden put Epicurus teachings into practice. Though Epicurus was a prolific writer, none of his writings were left for the reason that it was burnt by Christians who found his writings heretical and unfavorable. Fuller information about Epicurus was provided by Lucretius. Epicurus died from kidney stones around 271 or 270 BCE. 1.1.b. EPICURUS’ ATOMISM Atomism is not something uncommon in Greece during Epicurus’ time. Democritus and Leucippus have created a whole philosophy around the principle of atoms. The fact that he studied under the followers of Democritus and Plato already provides the information regarding possibility of his familiarity of atomism. In lieu with this, perhaps, it can be asked, what Epicurus’ atomism is? Just like the other atomists, Epicurus holds that the basic stuff that holds the universe together, which, is basically the essence that makes an object what it is, is the aggregate of atoms that have come together and created the substance. This manner of looking at Epicurus’ atomism provides no clue as to what differentiates him from his predecessors. Since, it is maintained that Epicurus has criticized aspects of Democritus’ atomism (Long, 1977; Inwood, 1981), and this manner of expressing Epicurus’ atomism fails to grasp the ingenuity and innovation that he injected in his form of atomism. In his reformulation of atomism, Epicurus maintains that the whole of nature consists of matter and space. All matter is divisible down to the level of atoms (Greek for "indivisible"). Atoms are eternal; neither created nor destroyed. It cannot be seen or felt with the senses but it does have size, shape, weight and motion. The atoms operate according to natural law. Thus, there is no creation and no purpose in nature. (Purinton, 1999) However, Epicurus also rejects two concepts; the first is the idea of gods as the penultimate causes of all natural objects and beings. (Long, 1977) And second, he rejects the atomists’ idea that the whole universe is “but … an atomic aggregate or vortex of atoms was sufficient by itself, without further conditions being satisfied, to account for the origin of a world.”( Long, 1977; 72) And as he rejects these concepts his atomism affirms the influence of Plato and Aristotle in his discourse pertinent to void, matter and genesis. (Solmsen, 1977; Inwood 1981) How do these three influences work in Epicurus’ atomism? By rejecting the deist and teleological explanation of the origin of the universe and embracing the concept of matter as the ultimate cause of the origin of the universe, Epicurus has aligned himself on the materialist camp which asserts that atoms, matter is at the core of everything. The atoms which are material form an aggregate which in turn creates an object. This manner of articulating the concept of atoms creates a debacle the moment that this notion is extended to human action, human potentialities and capacities. Epicurus being aware of the philosophical limitation raised by the conceptual analysis of his predecessors incorporated in his discussion of atoms the Aristotelian concept of void and the Platonic discussion of motion. How? In his brand of atomism, Epicurus holds that as atoms come together and form an entity or a substance, in the physical realm, its coming to be becomes necessary as it is contingent. This twofold description or also maybe referred to as the fundamental contradiction– necessity and contingency – is in effect two sides of the same coin. It is necessary because it is formulation of X but it is contingent since the “actual form” of X is not pre-determined. This particular quality of atoms allows for a determinist view regarding material conceptions of things to be libertarian in terms of human agency. (Inwood, 1981) Another innovation that he injected in his atoms is the atomic swerve. Indeed, he claimed that atoms are determined since it is governed by natural laws. Its movement is downward following since it has weight (Solmsen, 1977) but he stated that his atoms are also capable of random movements which he called atomic swerves. “In order to combat a strictly determinist theory of atomic motion Epicurus introduced the potentiality of an atom to deviate from its natural downward movement. For on this thesis he was able to base his claim that the actions of living things are not wholly necessitated by a sequence of causes which stretches back to infinity.” (Long, 1977; 75) Although, much discussion pertinent to the role of the swerve when it comes human agency are being undertaken (Purinton 1993, 1999); its role in the physical philosophy of Epicurus is simply to explain the material collision of the atoms in the universe. (O’Keefe, 2002) Epicurus moves beyond the discussion of filled or not filled to being with bodies or not being with bodies in his discussion of void. This is so for “he may indeed think of bodies not so much as "filling" but as being in the void.”(Inwood, 1981; 267) This distinction becomes significant as discourse enter into the clarification of the concept of genesis. The concept of genesis or the coming to be is claimed to be rooted into two general concepts within the Greek framework. First, is the notion of parent which implies the idea of generated – generator. This idea is something which is commonly accepted in Greece during that time. This can be read in the works of Plato and Aristotle. The other concept is the essential seed. This idea seems to connote the notion of a primordial seed that remains when everything seems to have passed away. (Šileikis, 2006) Epicurus, rejecting the generator- generated concept which is understandable as he also rejected the deist argument, support the argument for the essential seed as the origin. In ordinary language, it appears the essential seed is that distinctive quality that remains when all things have passed. This point in Epicurus philosophy is a significant twists since first, it affirms that though there seems to be no purpose at the coming together of atoms that creates X, it now appears that the coming together is guided buy the essential seed that tend to carry out what is X all along. This notion creates determinateness in the seeming indeterminate world. The combination of these four concepts void, atomic swerve, matter and genesis allow us a glimpse of Epicurus’ atomism. Epicurus atomism holds that as atoms come together, their coming together is determined by the essential seed that allow the atoms to bind together. In the atoms binding together, the fundamental division of A or not- A is recognized. As such, void is not that it is not filled with bodies but that void now becomes being with bodies and not being with bodies. And as this is ‘clarified’, the concept of genesis which refers to the essential seed creates a new dimension to the seeming lack of purpose of the atoms. All of these physical theories as articulated by Epicurus have basically laid down the framework for his philosophy and ethics. For it is only after presenting that the physical dimension - such that it is matter, it is with bodies in a particular space and that the esse of things lie on the essential seed that remains after all things have changed or have gone and yet still capable of making swerves, Epicurus have created a new epistemological argument that will allow a materialists to embrace an explanation of human action that will accommodate and save human agency. Because, in the end, technically, the biggest problem that a materialist like Epicurus should take in to consideration is how can matter be matter and yet at the same time free and posses a will and rationality that defines its esse? 1.2 EPICURUS’ INFLUENCES The influence of Epicurus is far and wide. During the ancient period, his philosophy created this group known in history as the Epicureans which hold that “the most horrid of evils, death, is therefore nothing to us, since whenever we exist, death is not present, and when death is present, we do not exist” (Woolf, 2004; 315) and that he influenced one form of hedonism which states that “to pleasure and pain Epicurus refers everything both that we are to pursue and that we are to flee” (Woolf, 2004; 304). Until the contemporary period, these two articulations of Epicurus is of importance for the reason that these two phrases have tried to address the two most important questions that touches humanity – death and human nature. Epicurus’ atomism has influenced the works of John Locke, Boyle, and Isaac Newton. Though his physics is considered as primitive in the contemporary standard, his ideas of void, of essential seed have served as the foundation in the study of atoms and the material world. (Atomism, 2009) The concept of human nature has long been discussed. Hobbes, John Locke, and Marx in their discussion of human nature have also utilized the same argument which Epicurus claimed – human beings pursue that which brings them pleasure and moves away from that which causes them pain. Simply put hedonism. This may seem simplistic but the logic behind this understanding is supported by vast human experience. On the other hand, when discussion on death is being raised, it may seem funny that he said that we should not be afraid of death since if we are there then death is not there but if death is there then we are not there. So why be afraid of death. Epicurus might have stated his understanding of death in this manner as a criticism against the much focus and attention that people are giving on the idea of life after death, of the place beyond this physical realm. Being a materialist, where there is basically no assurance as what can be perceived after this life, it is but natural that Epicurus will be assuming this position in terms of death. However, if one will look at the rationality of the argument that he is raising regarding the understanding of death, it seems that he is telling us that there is really no reason to fear the sting of death since we are not there when it is there because we are already dead, and when we are alive definitely it is not there. So why do we have to be bothered so much by the concept of death. No amount of human experience in any way can really explain to us what death is anyway. His view of death is innovative. It removes the psychological angst that human beings have attached to death. Though Epicurus’ view resembles Eastern philosophy, his ideas on death prove to be something to reckon with. On his materialism, aside from providing a very distinct appreciation of death, his materialism which claims that the whole nature is matter and made up of atoms have influence Pierre Gassendi and Thomas Hobbes. His materialism which was later adopted by John Locke has been revived by David Hartley and Joseph Priestley. It is also maintained that his materialism served as the precursor for the material dialectics of Marx and physicalism as developed by some Logical Positivists. (Materialism, 2009) Aside from that, Epicurus’ psychology has also created a long influence in the understanding of the minds, the self and identity. This is so, since if the mind is the coming together of atoms with the essential seed for rationality, then human beings though intrinsically made of matter are still capable of making human decisions and become rational agents of their lives and of their action. This is impugned from the fact that at the center of human nature is not just mere pursuit of pleasure and avoidance o of pain, but it is the capacity for human decision which is considered as inherent inhuman nature supported by the swerve and the essential seed. (Purinton, 1993, 1999; Šileikis, 2006) In the end, the influence of Epicurus across history and space has proven wide and in depth. (Purinton, 1993, 1999; Woolf, 2004; Long, 1977; Solmsen, 1977; O’Keefe, 2002) Though scholars have differing opinion regarding the interpretation of Epicurus system, it cannot be denied that the philosophical system created by Epicurus offers a tenable answer to humanity’s quest for meaning and understanding. 1.3. CONCLUSION Epicurus’ atomism is an attempt to combine materialism with libertarian ideals. By innovating the concepts of atoms via ‘atomic swerve’ which is supported by new understanding of void and fundamental contradiction, the concept of human agency is given room in a materialist framework. To judge whether Epicurus is successful in this endeavor is quite a feat. But it cannot be denied that his philosophical system has provided a viable paradigm with which humanity can try to address questions integral in the understanding of human life. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Atomism (2009). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 6th Edition. Retrieved from www.ebscohost.com/ehostresultsadvanced? Accessed on 1 Nov 2009. Inwood, B. (1981). “The origin of Epicurus’ concept of void”, Classical Philology,Vol. 76, No 4, pp 273 – 285. Long, A.A. (1977). “Chance and natural law in Epicureanism”, Phronesis, Vol. 221, pp 63 – 88. O’Keefe, T. (2002). “The reductionist and compatibilist argument of Epicurus On Nature, Book 25”, Phronesis, Vol. XLVII/ 2, pp Materialism. (2009). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 6th Edition. Retrieved from www.ebscohost.com/ehostresultsadvanced? Accessed on 1 Nov 2009. Purinton, J. (1993). “Epicurus on the telos”, Phronesis, Vol XXXVIII/3, pp 279 -321. _________. (1999). “Epicurus on ‘free volition’ and the atomic swerve”, Phronesis, Vol. XLIV/2, pp Šileikis, S. (2006). “The concept of generation in the early Greek Philosophy”, LITERATŪRA, 48 (3), pp 8 – 22. Solmsen, F. (1977). “Epicurus on void, matter and genesis”, Phronesis, Vol. 22, No2/3, pp 263 – 281. Woolf, R. (2004). “What kind of hedonist was Epicurus”, Phronesis, Vol. XLIX/4, pp 303 – 324. Read More