The faith of Epicurus PDF book by Benjamin Farrington 1960

Epicurus, one of the four great philosophers of antiquity, is also in some respects the most modern. While Plato and Aristotle thought it impossible to govern without the aid of religious mythology — a set of beliefs that would bridle the passions and console the minds of ordinary men —Epicurus presages the philosophy of the Enlightenment. He organized, for the first time in history, a fraternity to liberate mankind from superstition and to encourage a view of nature that dispensed with all supernatural agencies.To the contemporary reader, the philosophy of Epicurus has particular relevance. His age, like ours, was a period of a social crisis demanding a guide for the individual in the conduct of life — a "faith"1 A Reformer in the Making 12 Friendship versus Justice 203 Technology and the Crisis of Greek Civilization 334 The Reception of Ionian Philosophy at Athens 435 Socrates and the Philosophy of Mind 536 Political Religion 637 The Revolt of Epicurus 768 Athens and Epicurus: An Interlude 889 The Cosmic Gods, the Soul, and the Individual 9310 Epicurean Canonics 10511 Epicurean Physics 11112 Epicurean Ethics 11913 Epicureanism in World History 134Author: Benjamin FarringtonPublication Date:1960