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Epicureanism
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"Epicurean" redirects here. For other uses, see Epicurean (disambiguation).
Roman Epicurus bust.
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus, founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to a general attack on superstition and divine intervention. Following Aristippus—about whom very little is known—Epicurus believed that what he called "pleasure" was the greatest good, but that the way to attain such pleasure was to live modestly, to gain knowledge of the workings of the world, and to limit one's desires. This would lead one to attain a state of tranquility (ataraxia) and freedom from fear as well as an absence of bodily pain (aponia). The combination of these two states constitutes happiness in its highest form. Although Epicureanism is a form of hedonism insofar as it declares pleasure to be its sole intrinsic goal, the concept that the absence of pain and fear constitutes the greatest pleasure, and its advocacy of a simple life, make it very different from "hedonism" as it is colloquially understood.
Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism, though later it became the main opponent of Stoicism. Epicurus and his followers shunned politics. After the death of Epicurus, his school was headed by Hermarchus; later many Epicurean societies flourished in the Late Hellenistic era and during the Roman era (such as those in Antiochia, Alexandria, Rhodes, and Ercolano). Its best-known Roman proponent was the poet Lucretius. By the end of the Roman Empire, being opposed by philosophies (mainly Neo-Platonism) that were now in the ascendant, Epicureanism had all but died out, and would be resurrected in the Age of Enlightenment.
Some writings by Epicurus have survived. Some scholars consider the epic poem On the Nature of Things by Lucretius to present in one unified work the core arguments and theories of Epicureanism. Many of the papyrus scrolls unearthed at the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum are Epicurean texts. At least some are thought to have belonged to the Epicurean Philodemus. Today, there are large Epicurean communities in Greece, a Society of Friends of Epicurus in the West, and the School has a growing online presence. In the French-speaking world, Michel Onfray is considered Neo-Epicurean.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Religion
3 Philosophy
4 Ethics
5 Epicurean physics
6 Epistemology
7 Tetrapharmakos
8 Notable Epicureans
9 Modern usage and misconceptions
10 See also
11 Notes
12 Further reading
13 External links
History[edit]
In Mytilene, the capital of the island Lesbos, and then in Lampsacus Epicurus taught and gained followers. In Athens Epicurus bought a property for his school called "Garden", later the name of Epicurus school.[1] Its members included Hermarchus, Idomeneus, Colotes, Polyaenus, and Metrodorus. Epicurus emphasized friendship as an important ingredient of happiness, and the school seems to have been a moderately ascetic community which rejected the political limelight of Athenian philosophy. They were fairly cosmopolitan by Athenian standards, including women and slaves. Some members were also vegetarians as, from slender evidence, Epicurus did not eat meat, although no prohibition against eating meat was made.[2][3]
The school's popularity grew and it became, along with Stoicism, Platonism, Peripateticism, and Pyrrhonism, one of the dominant schools of Hellenistic philosophy, lasting strongly through the later Roman Empire.[4] Another major source of information is the Roman politician and philosopher Cicero, although he was highly critical, denouncing the Epicureans as unbridled hedonists, devoid of a sense of virtue and duty, and guilty of withdrawing from public life. Another ancient source is Diogenes of Oenoanda, who composed a large inscription at Oenoanda in Lycia.
Deciphered carbonized scrolls obtained from the library at the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum contain a large number of works by Philodemus, a late Hellenistic Epicurean, and Epicurus himself, attesting to the school's enduring popularity. Diogenes reports slanderous stories, circulated by Epicurus' opponents.[1] With growing dominance of Neoplatonism and Peripateticism, and later, Christianity, Epicureanism declined. By the late third century CE, there was little trace of its existence.[5] The early Christian writer Lactantius criticizes Epicurus at several points throughout his Divine Institutes. In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, the Epicureans are depicted as heretics suffering in the sixth circle of hell. In fact, Epicurus appears to represent the ultimate heresy. The word for a heretic in the Talmudic literature is "Apiqoros" (אפיקורוס).[citation needed]
In the 17th century the French Franciscan priest, scientist and philosopher Pierre Gassendi wrote two books forcefully reviving Epicureanism. Shortly thereafter, and clearly influenced by Gassendi, Walter Charleton published several works on Epicureanism in English. Attacks by Christians continued, most forcefully by the Cambridge Platonists.[citation needed]
In the early modern period, scientists adopted atomist theories, while materialist philosophers embraced Epicurus' hedonist ethics and restated his objections to natural teleology.[citation needed]
Religion[edit]
Epicureanism emphasizes the neutrality of the gods, that they do not interfere with human lives. It states that gods, matter, and souls are all made up of atoms. Souls are made from atoms, and gods possess souls, but their souls adhere to their bodies without escaping. Humans have the same kind of souls, but the forces binding human atoms together do not hold the soul forever. The Epicureans also used the atomist theories of Democritus and Leucippus to assert that man has free will. They held that all thoughts are merely atoms swerving randomly.
The Riddle of Epicurus, or Problem of evil, is a famous argument against the existence of an all-powerful and providential God or gods. As recorded by Lactantius:
God either wants to eliminate bad things and cannot, or can but does not want to, or neither wishes to nor can, or both wants to and can. If he wants to and cannot, then he is weak – and this does not apply to god. If he can but does not want to, then he is spiteful – which is equally foreign to god's nature. If he neither wants to nor can, he is both weak and spiteful, and so not a god. If he wants to and can, which is the only thing fitting for a god, where then do bad things come from? Or why does he not eliminate them?
—  Lactantius, De Ira Deorum[6]
This type of trilemma argument (God is omnipotent, God is good, but Evil exists) was one favoured by the ancient Greek skeptics, and this argument may have been wrongly attributed to Epicurus by Lactantius, who, from his Christian perspective, regarded Epicurus as an atheist.[7] According to Reinhold F. Glei, it is settled that the argument of theodicy is from an academical source which is not only not Epicurean, but even anti-Epicurean.[8] The earliest extant version of this trilemma appears in the writings of the Pyrrhonist philosopher Sextus Empiricus.[9]
Epicurus' view was that there were gods, but that they were neither willing nor able to prevent evil. This was not because they were malevolent, but because they lived in a perfect state of ataraxia, a state everyone should strive to emulate; it is not the gods who are upset by evils, but people.[7] Epicurus conceived the gods as blissful and immortal yet material beings made of atoms inhabiting the metakosmia: empty spaces between worlds in the vastness of infinite space. In spite of his recognition of the gods, the practical effect of this materialistic explanation of the gods' existence and their complete non-intervention in human affairs renders his philosophy akin in divine effects to the attitude of Deism.
In Dante's Divine Comedy, the flaming tombs of the Epicureans are located within the sixth circle of hell (Inferno, Canto X). They are the first heretics seen and appear to represent the ultimate, if not quintessential, heresy.[10] Similarly, according to Jewish Mishnah, Epicureans (apiqorsim, people who share the beliefs of the movement) are among the people who do not have a share of the "World-to-Come" (afterlife or the world of the Messianic era).
Parallels may be drawn to Buddhism, which similarly emphasizes a lack of divine interference and aspects of its atomism. Epicureanism also resembles Buddhism in its temperateness, including the belief that great excess leads to great dissatisfaction.
Many contemporary Epicureans are atheists or agnostics.
Philosophy[edit]
Part of a series on
Hedonism
Thinkers[show]
Ajita Kesakambali
Jeremy Bentham
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
Aristippus
Epicurus
Fred Feldman
Theodorus the Atheist
Michel Onfray
Aristippus the Younger
Hermarchus
Lucretius
Pierre Gassendi
Metrodorus of Lampsacus
David Pearce
Zeno of Sidon
Yang Zhu
Torbjörn Tännsjö
Esperanza Guisán
Schools of hedonism[show]
Cārvāka
Cyrenaics
Epicureanism
Christian hedonism
Utilitarianism
Yangism
Key concepts[show]
Aponia
Ataraxia
Eudaimonia
Happiness
Hedone
Pain
Pleasure
Sensation
Suffering
Tetrapharmakos
Related articles[show]
Paradox of hedonism
Hedonic treadmill
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The philosophy originated by Epicurus flourished for seven centuries. It propounded an ethic of individual pleasure as the sole or chief good in life. Hence, Epicurus advocated living in such a way as to derive the greatest amount of pleasure possible during one's lifetime, yet doing so moderately in order to avoid the suffering incurred by overindulgence in such pleasure. The emphasis was placed on pleasures of the mind rather than on physical pleasures. Therefore, according to Epicurus, with whom a person eats is of greater importance than what is eaten. Unnecessary and, especially, artificially produced desires were to be suppressed. Since learning, culture, and civilization as well as social and political involvements could give rise to desires that are difficult to satisfy and thus result in disturbing one's peace of mind, they were discouraged. Knowledge was sought only to rid oneself of religious fears and superstitions, the two primary fears to be eliminated being fear of the gods and of death. Viewing marriage and what attends it as a threat to one's peace of mind, Epicurus lived a celibate life but did not impose this restriction on his followers.
The philosophy was characterized by an absence of divine principle. Lawbreaking was counseled against because of both the shame associated with detection and the punishment it might bring. Living in fear of being found out or punished would take away from pleasure, and this made even secret wrongdoing inadvisable. To the Epicureans, virtue in itself had no value and was beneficial only when it served as a means to gain happiness. Reciprocity was recommended, not because it was divinely ordered or innately noble, but because it was personally beneficial. Friendships rested on the same mutual basis, that is, the pleasure resulting to the possessors. Epicurus laid great emphasis on developing friendships as the basis of a satisfying life.
of all the things which wisdom has contrived which contribute to a blessed life, none is more important, more fruitful, than friendship
—  quoted by Cicero[11]
While the pursuit of pleasure formed the focal point of the philosophy, this was largely directed to the "static pleasures" of minimizing pain, anxiety and suffering. In fact, Epicurus referred to life as a "bitter gift".
When we say . . . that pleasure is the end and aim, we do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or the pleasures of sensuality, as we are understood to do by some through ignorance, prejudice or wilful misrepresentation. By pleasure we mean the absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul. It is not by an unbroken succession of drinking bouts and of revelry, not by sexual lust, nor the enjoyment of fish and other delicacies of a luxurious table, which produce a pleasant life; it is sober reasoning, searching out the grounds of every choice and avoidance, and banishing those beliefs through which the greatest tumults take possession of the soul.
—  Epicurus, "Letter to Menoeceus"[12]
The Epicureans believed in the existence of the gods, but believed that the gods were made of atoms just like everything else. It was thought that the gods were too far away from the earth to have any interest in what man was doing; so it did not do any good to pray or to sacrifice to them. The gods, they believed, did not create the universe, nor did they inflict punishment or bestow blessings on anyone, but they were supremely happy; this was the goal to strive for during one's own human life.
"Live unknown was one of [key] maxims. This was completely at odds with all previous ideas of seeking fame and glory, or even wanting something so apparently decent as honor."[13]
Epicureanism rejects immortality and mysticism; it believes in the soul, but suggests that the soul is as mortal as the body. Epicurus rejected any possibility of an afterlife, while still contending that one need not fear death: "Death is nothing to us; for that which is dissolved, is without sensation, and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us."[14] From this doctrine arose the Epicurean Epitaph: Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo ("I was not; I was; I am not; I do not care"), which is inscribed on the gravestones of his followers and seen on many ancient gravestones of the Roman Empire. This quotation is often used today at humanist funerals.[15]
Ethics[edit]
Epicurus was an early thinker to develop the notion of justice as a social contract. He defined justice as an agreement "neither to harm nor be harmed". The point of living in a society with laws and punishments is to be protected from harm so that one is free to pursue happiness. Because of this, laws that do not contribute to promoting human happiness are not just. He gave his own unique version of the Ethic of Reciprocity, which differs from other formulations by emphasizing minimizing harm and maximizing happiness for oneself and others:
It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly (agreeing "neither to harm nor be harmed"[16]),
and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.[17]
Epicureanism incorporated a relatively full account of the social contract theory, following after a vague description of such a society in Plato's Republic. The social contract theory established by Epicureanism is based on mutual agreement, not divine decree.
The human soul is mortal because, like everything, it is composed of atoms, but made up the most perfect, rounded and smooth. It disappears with the destruction of the body. We don't have to fear death because, firstly, nothing follows after the disappearance of the body, and, secondly, the experience of death is not so: "the most terrible evil, death, is nothing for us, since when we exist, death does not exist, and when death exists, we do not exist "(Epicurus," Letter to Menoeceus ").
Nature has set a target of every action of living beings (including men) seeking pleasure, as shown by the fact that children and animals instinctively tend to seek pleasure and shy away from pain. Pleasure and pain are the main reasons for each action of living beings. Pure pleasure is the highest good, pain the supreme evil.
The pleasures and pains are the result of the realization or impairment of appetites. Epicurus distinguishes three kinds of appetites:
Natural and necessary: eating, drinking, sleeping; They are easy to please.
Natural but not necessary: as the erotic; they are not difficult to master and are not needed for happiness.
Those that are not natural nor necessary: we must reject them completely.
Types of pleasures: since man is composed of body and soul there are two general types of pleasures:
Pleasures of the body: Although considered to be the most important, in the background the proposal is to give up these pleasures and seek the lack of body pain. There are soul aches and pains of the body, but the body is bad because the pain of the soul is directly or indirectly related to body aches occurring in the present or to anticipations of future pains. Epicurus believed there was no need to fear bodily pain because when it is intense and unbearable, it is also usually shorter. When it lasts longer and is less intense, it is more bearable. He also believed one should relieve physical pain with the memory of past joys, and in extreme cases, to suicide.
Pleasures of the soul: the pleasure of the soul is greater than the pleasure of the body: pleasures of the body are effective in the present, but those of the soul are more durable; the pleasures of the soul, Epicurus believed, can eliminate or reduce bodily pains or displeasures.
Epicurean physics[edit]
Epicurus' philosophy of the physical world is found in his Letter to Herodotus: Diogenes Laertius 10.34–83.
If the sum of all matter ("the totality") was limited and existed within an unlimited void, it would be scattered and constantly becoming more diffuse, because the finite collection of bodies would travel forever, having no obstacles. Conversely, if the totality was unlimited it could not exist within a limited void, for the unlimited bodies would not all have a place to be in. Therefore, either both the void and the totality must be limited or both must be unlimited and – as is mentioned later – the totality is unlimited (and therefore so is the void).
Forms can change, but not their inherent qualities, for change can only affect their shape. Some things can be changed and some things cannot be changed because forms that are unchangeable cannot be destroyed if certain attributes can be removed; for attributes not only have the intention of altering an unchangeable form, but also the inevitable possibility of becoming—in relation to the form's disposition to its present environment—both an armor and a vulnerability to its stability.
Further proof that there are unchangeable forms and their inability to be destroyed, is the concept of the "non-evident." A form cannot come into being from the void—which is nothing; it would be as if all forms come into being spontaneously, needless of reproduction. The implied meaning of "destroying" something is to undo its existence, to make it not there anymore, and this cannot be so: if the void is that which does not exist, and if this void is the implied destination of the destroyed, then the thing in reality cannot be destroyed, for the thing (and all things) could not have existed in the first place (as Parmenides said, ex nihilo nihil fit: nothing comes from nothing). This totality of forms is eternal and unchangeable.
Atoms move, in the appropriate way, constantly and for all time. Forms first come to us in images or "projections"—outlines of their true selves. For an image to be perceived by the human eye, the "atoms" of the image must cross a great distance at enormous speed and must not encounter any conflicting atoms along the way. The presence of atomic resistance equal atomic slowness; whereas, if the path is deficient of atomic resistance, the traversal rate is much faster (and clearer). Because of resistance, forms must be unlimited (unchangeable and able to grasp any point within the void) because, if they weren't, a form's image would not come from a single place, but fragmented and from several places. This confirms that a single form cannot be at multiple places at the same time.
Epicurus for the most part follows Democritean atomism but differs in proclaiming the clinamen (swerve or declination). Imagining atoms to be moving under an external force, Epicurus conceives an occasional atom "swerving" for reasons peculiar to itself, i.e. not by external compulsion but by "free will". In this, his view absolutely opposes Democritean determinism as well as developed Stoicism. Otherwise he conceives of atoms as does Democritus – in that they have position, number, and shape. To Democritus' differentiating criteria, Epicurus adds "weight", but maintains Democritus' view that atoms are necessarily indivisible and hence possess no demonstrable internal space.
And the senses warrant us other means of perception: hearing and smelling. As in the same way an image traverses through the air, the atoms of sound and smell traverse the same way. This perceptive experience is itself the flow of the moving atoms; and like the changeable and unchangeable forms, the form from which the flow traverses is shed and shattered into even smaller atoms, atoms of which still represent the original form, but they are slightly disconnected and of diverse magnitudes. This flow, like that of an echo, reverberates (off one's senses) and goes back to its start; meaning, one's sensory perception happens in the coming, going, or arch, of the flow; and when the flow retreats back to its starting position, the atomic image is back together again: thus when one smells something one has the ability to see it too [because atoms reach the one who smells or sees from the object.]
And this leads to the question of how atomic speed and motion works. Epicurus says that there are two kinds of motion: the straight motion and the curved motion, and its motion traverse as fast as the speed of thought.
Epicurus proposed the idea of 'the space between worlds' (metakosmia) the relatively empty spaces in the infinite void where worlds had not been formed by the joining together of the atoms through their endless motion.
Epistemology[edit]
Epicurean epistemology has three criteria of truth: sensations (aisthêsis), preconceptions (prolepsis), and feelings (pathê). Prolepsis is sometimes translated as "basic grasp" but could also be described as "universal ideas": concepts that are understood by all. An example of prolepsis is the word "man" because every person has a preconceived notion of what a man is. Sensations or sense perception is knowledge that is received from the senses alone. Much like modern science, Epicurean philosophy posits that empiricism can be used to sort truth from falsehood. Feelings are more related to ethics than Epicurean physical theory. Feelings merely tell the individual what brings about pleasure and what brings about pain. This is important for the Epicurean because these are the basis for the entire Epicurean ethical doctrine.
According to Epicurus, the basic means for our understanding of things are the "sensations" (aestheses), "concepts" (prolepsis), "emotions" (pathe), and the "focusing of thought into an impression" (phantastikes epiboles tes dianoias).
Epicureans reject dialectic as confusing (parelkousa) because for the physical philosophers it is sufficient to use the correct words which refer to the concepts of the world. Epicurus then, in his work On the Canon, says that the criteria of truth are the senses, the preconceptions and the feelings. Epicureans add to these the focusing of thought into an impression. He himself is referring to those in his Epitome to Herodotus and in Principal Doctrines.[18]
The senses are the first criterion of truth, since they create the first impressions and testify the existence of the external world. Sensory input is neither subjective nor deceitful, but the misunderstanding comes when the mind adds to or subtracts something from these impressions through our preconceived notions. Therefore, our sensory input alone cannot lead us to inaccuracy, only the concepts and opinions that come from our interpretations of our sensory input can. Therefore, our sensory data is the only truly accurate thing which we have to rely for our understanding of the world around us.
And whatever image we receive by direct understanding by our mind or through our sensory organs of the shape or the essential properties that are the true form of the solid object, since it is created by the constant repetition of the image or the impression it has left behind. There is always inaccuracy and error involved in bringing into a judgment an element that is additional to sensory impressions, either to confirm [what we sensed] or deny it.
—  Letter to Herodotus, 50
Epicurus said that all the tangible things are real and each impression comes from existing objects and is determined by the object that causes the sensations.
—  Sextus Empiricus, To Rationals, 8.63
Therefore all the impressions are real, while the preconceived notions are not real and can be modified.
—  Sextus Empiricus, To Rationals, 7.206–45
If you battle with all your sensations, you will be unable to form a standard for judging which of them are incorrect.
—  Principal Doctrines, 23
The concepts are the categories which have formed mentally according to our sensory input, for example the concepts "man", "warm", and "sweet", etc. These concepts are directly related to memory and can be recalled at any time, only by the use of the respective word. (Compare the anthropological Sapir–Whorf hypothesis). Epicurus also calls them "the meanings that underlie the words" (hypotetagmena tois phthongois: semantic substance of the words) in his letter to Herodotus. The feelings or emotions (pathe) are related to the senses and the concepts. They are the inner impulses that make us feel like or dislike about certain external objects, which we perceive through the senses, and are associated with the preconceptions that are recalled.
In this moment that the word "man" is spoken, immediately due to the concept [or category of the idea] an image is projected in the mind which is related to the sensory input data.
—  Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, X, 33
First of all Herodotus, we must understand the meanings that underlie the words, so that by referring to them, we may be able to reach judgments about our opinions, matters of inquiry, or problems and leave everything undecided as we can argue endlessly or use words that have no clearly defined meaning.
—  Letter to Herodotus, 37
Apart from these there is the assumption (hypolepsis), which is either the hypothesis or the opinion about something (matter or action), and which can be correct or incorrect. The assumptions are created by our sensations, concepts and emotions. Since they are produced automatically without any rational analysis and verification (see the modern idea of the subconscious) of whether they are correct or not, they need to be confirmed (epimarteresis: confirmation), a process which must follow each assumption.
For beliefs they [the Epicureans] use the word hypolepsis which they claim can be correct or incorrect.
—  Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, X, 34
Referring to the "focusing of thought into an impression" or else "intuitive understandings of the mind", they are the impressions made on the mind that come from our sensations, concepts and emotions and form the basis of our assumptions and beliefs. All this unity (sensation – concept or category – emotion – focusing of thought into an impression) leads to the formation of a certain assumption or belief (hypolepsis). (Compare the modern anthropological concept of a "world view".) Following the lead of Aristotle, Epicurus also refers to impressions in the form of mental images which are projected on the mind. The "correct use of impressions" was something adopted later by the Stoics.
Our assumptions and beliefs have to be 'confirmed', which actually proves if our opinions are either accurate or inaccurate. This verification and confirmation (epimarteresis) can only be done by means of the "evident reason" (henargeia), which means what is self-evident and obvious through our sensory input.
An example is when we see somebody approaching us, first through the sense of eyesight, we perceive that an object is coming closer to us, then through our preconceptions we understand that it is a human being, afterwards through that assumption we can recognize that he is someone we know, for example Theaetetus. This assumption is associated with pleasant or unpleasant emotions accompanied by the respective mental images and impressions (the focusing of our thoughts into an impression), which are related to our feelings toward each other. When he gets close to us, we can confirm (verify) that he is Socrates and not Theaetetus through the proof of our eyesight. Therefore, we have to use the same method to understand everything, even things which are not observable and obvious (adela, imperceptible), that is to say the confirmation through the evident reason (henargeia). In the same way we have to reduce (reductionism) each assumption and belief to something that can be proved through the self-evident reason (empirically verified). Verification theory and reductionism have been adopted, as we know, by the modern philosophy of science. In this way, one can get rid of the incorrect assumptions and beliefs (biases) and finally settle on the real (confirmed) facts.
Consequently the confirmation and lack of disagreement is the criterion of accuracy of something, while non-confirmation and disagreement is the criterion of its inaccuracy. The basis and foundation of [understanding] everything are the obvious and self-evident [facts].
—  Sextus Empiricus, To Rationals, 7.211–16
All the above-mentioned criteria of knowledge form the basic principles of the [scientific] method, that Epicurus followed in order to find the truth. He described this method in his work On the Canon or On the Criteria.
If you reject any sensation and you do not distinguish between the opinion based on what awaits confirmation and evidence already available based on the senses, the feelings and every intuitive faculty of the mind, you will send the remaining sensations into a turmoil with your foolish opinions, thus getting rid of every standard for judging. And if among the perceptions based on beliefs are things that are verified and things that are not, you are guaranteed to be in error since you have kept everything that leads to uncertainty concerning the correct and incorrect.[19]
(Based on excerpt from Epicurus' Gnoseology Handbook of Greek Philosophy: From Thales to the Stoics Analysis and Fragments, Nikolaos Bakalis, Trafford Publishing 2005, ISBN 1-4120-4843-5)
Tetrapharmakos[edit]
Main article: Tetrapharmakos
Part of Herculaneum Papyrus 1005 (P.Herc.1005), col. 5. Contains Epicurean tetrapharmakos from Philodemus' Adversus Sophistas.
Tetrapharmakos, or "The four-part cure", is Epicurus' basic guideline as to how to live the happiest possible life. This poetic doctrine was handed down by an anonymous Epicurean who summed up Epicurus' philosophy on happiness in four simple lines:
Don't fear god,
Don't worry about death;
What is good is easy to get, and
What is terrible is easy to endure.
—  Philodemus, Herculaneum Papyrus, 1005, 4.9–14
Notable Epicureans[edit]
De rerum natura manuscript, copied by an Augustinian friar for Pope Sixtus IV, c. 1483, after the discovery of an early manuscript in 1417 by the humanist and papal secretary Poggio Bracciolini
One of the earliest Roman writers espousing Epicureanism was Amafinius. Other adherents to the teachings of Epicurus included the poet Horace, whose famous statement Carpe Diem ("Seize the Day") illustrates the philosophy, as well as Lucretius, as he showed in his De Rerum Natura. The poet Virgil was another prominent Epicurean (see Lucretius for further details). The Epicurean philosopher Philodemus of Gadara, until the 18th century only known as a poet of minor importance, rose to prominence as most of his work along with other Epicurean material was discovered in the Villa of the Papyri.
Julius Caesar leaned considerably toward Epicureanism, which e.g. led to his plea against the death sentence during the trial against Catiline, during the Catiline conspiracy where he spoke out against the Stoic Cato.[20]
In modern times Thomas Jefferson referred to himself as an Epicurean:
If I had time I would add to my little book the Greek, Latin and French texts, in columns side by side. And I wish I could subjoin a translation of Gassendi's Syntagma of the doctrines of Epicurus, which, notwithstanding the calumnies of the Stoics and caricatures of Cicero, is the most rational system remaining of the philosophy of the ancients, as frugal of vicious indulgence, and fruitful of virtue as the hyperbolical extravagances of his rival sects.[21]
Other modern-day Epicureans were Gassendi, Walter Charleton, François Bernier, Saint-Evremond, Ninon de l'Enclos, Denis Diderot, Frances Wright and Jeremy Bentham. Christopher Hitchens referred to himself as an Epicurean.[22] In France, where perfumer/restaurateur Gérald Ghislain refers to himself as an Epicurean,[23] Michel Onfray is developing a post-modern approach to Epicureanism.[24] In his recent book titled The Swerve, Stephen Greenblatt identified himself as strongly sympathetic to Epicureanism and Lucretius.
Modern usage and misconceptions[edit]
In modern popular usage, an epicurean is a connoisseur of the arts of life and the refinements of sensual pleasures; epicureanism implies a love or knowledgeable enjoyment especially of good food and drink—see the definition of gourmet at Wiktionary.
Because Epicureanism posits that pleasure is the ultimate good (telos), it has been commonly misunderstood since ancient times as a doctrine that advocates the partaking in fleeting pleasures such as constant partying, sexual excess and decadent food. This is not the case. Epicurus regarded ataraxia (tranquility, freedom from fear) and aponia (absence of pain) as the height of happiness. He also considered prudence an important virtue and perceived excess and overindulgence to be contrary to the attainment of ataraxia and aponia.[12]
Instead, Epicurus preferred "the good", and "even wisdom and culture" to the "pleasure of the stomach"[25]. While some twentieth-century commentary has sought to diminish this and related quotations, the consistency with Epicurean philosophy overall has more recently been explained. When Epicurus sought moderation at meals, he was also not averse to moderation in moderation, that is, to occasional luxury. His community also became known for its feasts of the twentieth (of the Greek month) [26] .
See also[edit]
Book: Epicureanism
Epicurea
Epicurean paradox
Epikoros (Judaism)
Hedonic treadmill
Lucretius
List of English translations of De rerum natura
Philosophy of happiness
Cārvāka, a hedonic Indian school
Separation of church and state
Zeno of Sidon
Dehellenization
Notes[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b David Konstan. "Epicurus". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Jump up ^ The Hidden History of Greco-Roman Vegetarianism
Jump up ^ Dombrowski, Daniel (1984). The Philosophy of Vegetarianism. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-87023-431-6.
Jump up ^ MacGillivray, Erlend D (2012). "The Popularity of Epicureanism in Late-Republic Roman Society. The Ancient World, XLIII (2012) pp.151-172". The Ancient World. XLIII: 151-172.
Jump up ^ Michael Frede (1999). "Epilogue". The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy. pp. 795–96.
Jump up ^ Lactantius, De Ira Deorum, 13.19 (Epicurus, Frag. 374, Usener). David Hume paraphrased this passage in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion: "EPICURUS's old questions are yet unanswered. Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? whence then is evil?"
^ Jump up to: a b Mark Joseph Larrimore, (2001), The Problem of Evil, pp. xix–xxi. Wiley-Blackwell
Jump up ^ Reinhold F. Glei, Et invidus et inbecillus. Das angebliche Epikurfragment bei Laktanz, De ira dei 13, 20–21, in: Vigiliae Christianae 42 (1988), pp. 47–58
Jump up ^ Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism, 175: "those who firmly maintain that god exists will be forced into impiety; for if they say that he [god] takes care of everything, they will be saying that god is the cause of evils, while if they say that he takes care of some things only or even nothing, they will be forced to say that he is either malevolent or weak"
Jump up ^ Trans. Robert Pinsky, The Inferno of Dante, p. 320 n. 11.
Jump up ^ On Goals, 1.65
^ Jump up to: a b Epicurus, "Letter to Menoeceus", contained in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book X
Jump up ^ The Story of Philosophy: The Essential Guide to the History of Western Philosophy. Bryan Magee. DK Publishing, Inc. 1998.
Jump up ^ Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy, pp. 239–40
Jump up ^ Epicurus (c 341–270 BC) British Humanist Association
Jump up ^ Tim O'Keefe, Epicurus on Freedom, Cambridge University Press, 2005, p. 134
Jump up ^ Epicurus Principal Doctrines tranls. by Robert Drew Hicks (1925)
Jump up ^ Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, X, 31.
Jump up ^ Principal Doctrines, 24.
Jump up ^ Cf. Sallust, The War With Catiline, Caesar's speech: 51.29 & Cato's reply: 52.13).
Jump up ^ "Full text of "The writings of Thomas Jefferson;"". archive.org. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
Jump up ^ Townhall.com::Talk Radio Online::Radio Show
Jump up ^ Anon., Gérald Ghislain – Creator of The Scent of Departure. IdeaMensch, July 14, 2011.
Jump up ^ Michel Onfray, La puissance d'exister: Manifeste hédoniste, Grasset, 2006
Jump up ^ Cyril Bailey, Epicurus: The Extant Remains, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1926, p.131
Jump up ^ Michael Symons, "Epicurus, the foodies’ philosopher", pp. 13-30, in Fritz Allhoff and Dave Monroe, eds, Food & Philosophy: Eat, think, and be merry, Malden (MA, USA): Blackwell Publishing, 2007
Further reading[edit]
Dane R. Gordon and David B. Suits, Epicurus. His Continuing Influence and Contemporary Relevance, Rochester, N.Y.: RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press, 2003.
Holmes, Brooke & Shearin, W. H. Dynamic Reading: Studies in the Reception of Epicureanism, New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Jones, Howard. The Epicurean Tradition, New York: Routledge, 1989.
Neven Leddy and Avi S. Lifschitz, Epicurus in the Enlightenment, Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 2009.
Long, A.A. & Sedley, D.N. The Hellenistic Philosophers Volume 1, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987. (ISBN 0-521-27556-3)
Long, Roderick (2008). "Epicureanism". In Hamowy, Ronald. The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE; Cato Institute. p. 153. doi:10.4135/9781412965811.n95. ISBN 978-1-4129-6580-4. LCCN 2008009151. OCLC 750831024.
Martin Ferguson Smith (ed.), Diogenes of Oinoanda. The Epicurean inscription, edited with introduction, translation, and notes, Naples: Bibliopolis, 1993.
Martin Ferguson Smith, Supplement to Diogenes of Oinoanda. The Epicurean Inscription, Naples: Bibliopolis, 2003.
Warren, James (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Epicureanism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Wilson, Catherine. Epicureanism at the Origins of Modernity, New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Zeller, Eduard; Reichel, Oswald J., The Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics, Longmans, Green, and Co., 1892
External links[edit]
Society of Friends of Epicurus
Epicureans on PhilPapers
Epicurus.info – Epicurean Philosophy Online
Epicurus.net – Epicurus and Epicurean Philosophy
Karl Marx's Notebooks on Epicurean Philosophy
Marx's Doctoral Dissertation On the Difference between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature
NewEpicurean.com
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Isomer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the chemical concept. For "isomerism" of atomic nuclei, see nuclear isomer.
An isomer (/ˈaɪsəmər/; from Greek ἰσομερής, isomerès; isos = "equal", méros = "part") is a molecule with the same molecular formula as another molecule, but with a different chemical structure. That is, isomers contain the same number of atoms of each element, but have different arrangements of their atoms.[1][2] Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties, unless they also have the same functional groups. There are two main forms of isomerism (/ˈaɪsəmərɪzm/ or /aɪˈsɒmərɪzm/): structural isomerism (or constitutional isomerism) and stereoisomerism (or spatial isomerism).
Contents
[hide]
1 Structural isomers
1.1 Example: propanols and methoxyethane
1.2 Example: propadiene and propyne
2 Stereoisomers
3 Isomerization
4 Medicinal chemistry
5 History
6 Other types of isomerism
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Structural isomers[edit]
Main article: Structural isomer
The different types of isomers, including position isomers 2-fluoropropane and 1-fluoropropane on the left
In structural isomers, sometimes referred to as constitutional isomers, the atoms and functional groups are joined together in different ways. Structural isomers have different IUPAC names and may or may not belong to the same functional group.[3] This group includes chain isomerism whereby hydrocarbon chains have variable amounts of branching; position isomerism, which deals with the position of a functional group on a chain; and functional group isomerism, in which one functional group is split up into different ones.
For example, two position isomers would be 2-fluoropropane and 1-fluoropropane, illustrated on the left side of the diagram above.
In skeletal isomers the main carbon chain is different between the two isomers. This type of isomerism is most identifiable in secondary and tertiary alcohol isomers.
Tautomers are structural isomers that spontaneously interconvert with each other, even when pure. They have different chemical properties and, as a consequence, distinct reactions characteristic to each form are observed. If the interconversion reaction is fast enough, tautomers cannot be isolated from each other. An example is when they differ by the position of a proton, such as in keto/enol tautomerism, where the proton is alternately on the carbon or oxygen.
Example: propanols and methoxyethane[edit]
A simple example of isomerism is given by propanol: It has the formula C3H8O (or C3H7OH) and occurs as two isomers: propan-1-ol (n-propyl alcohol; I) and propan-2-ol (isopropyl alcohol; II)
Note that the position of the oxygen atom differs between the two: It is attached to an end carbon in the first isomer, and to the center carbon in the second.
There is, however, another isomer of C3H8O that has significantly different properties: methoxyethane (methyl-ethyl-ether; III). Unlike the isomers of propanol, methoxyethane has an oxygen connected to two carbons rather than to one carbon and one hydrogen. Methoxyethane is an ether, not an alcohol, because it lacks a hydroxyl group, and it has chemical properties more similar to other ethers than to either of the above alcohol isomers.
Example: propadiene and propyne[edit]
Propadiene (or allene) and propyne (or methylacetylene) are examples of isomers containing different bond types. Propadiene contains two double bonds, whereas propyne contains one triple bond.
Propadiene
Propyne
Stereoisomers[edit]
Main article: Stereoisomerism
In stereoisomers the bond structure is the same, but the geometrical positioning of atoms and functional groups in space differs. This class includes enantiomers which are non-superposable mirror-images of each other, and diastereomers, which are not. Enantiomers always contain chiral centers and diastereomers often do, but there are some diastereomers that neither are chiral nor contain chiral centers.[4] Another type of isomer, conformational isomers (conformers), may be rotamers, diastereomers, or enantiomers depending on the exact compound. For example, ortho- position-locked biphenyl systems have enantiomers.
E/Z isomers, which have restricted rotation at a double bond, are configurational isomers. They are classified as diastereomers, whether or not they contain any chiral centers.[4] E/Z notation depicts absolute stereochemistry, which is an unambiguous descriptor based on CIP priorities.
"Cis–trans isomers" are used to describe any molecules with restricted rotation in the molecule. For molecules with C=C double bonds, these descriptors describe relative stereochemistry only based on group bulkiness or principal carbon chain, and so can be ambiguous. This is especially problematic for double bonds that have more than two substituents. An obsolete term for cis–trans isomerism is "geometric isomerism".[5] For alkenes with more than two substituents, E-Z notation is used instead of cis and trans. If possible, E and Z (written in italic type) is also preferred in compounds with two substituents.[6]
The two isomeric complexes, cisplatin and transplatin
Cis and trans isomers also occur in inorganic coordination compounds, such as square planar MX2Y2 complexes and octahedral MX4Y2 complexes. A related type of geometric isomerism is facial–meridional (fac-mer) isomerism in octahedral MX3Y3 complexes, in which each set of three identical ligands either occupies one face of the octahedron or is situated on one meridian of the octahedron.
Note that, although conformers can be referred to as stereoisomers, they are not stable isomers, since bonds in conformers can easily rotate, thus converting one conformer to another, which can be either diastereomeric or enantiomeric to the original one.
While structural isomers typically have different chemical properties, stereoisomers behave identically in most chemical reactions, except in their reaction with other stereoisomers. Enzymes, however, can distinguish between different enantiomers of a compound, and organisms often prefer one isomer over the other.
Enantiomers differ in the direction of their optical rotation of polarized light, and are therefore sometimes described as optical isomers.[7][8] However this term is ill-defined and has also been used to describe other stereoisomers as well as enantiomers.[9] Its use is therefore strongly discouraged and the molecules should instead be described as either enantiomers or diastereomers as appropriate.[10][9]
Isomerization[edit]
Main article: Isomerization
Isomerization is the process by which one molecule is transformed into another molecule that has exactly the same atoms, but the atoms are rearranged.[11] In some molecules and under some conditions, isomerization occurs spontaneously. Many isomers are equal or roughly equal in bond energy, and so exist in roughly equal amounts, provided that they can interconvert relatively freely, that is the energy barrier between the two isomers is not too high. When the isomerization occurs intramolecularly, it is considered a rearrangement reaction.
An example of an organometallic isomerization is the production of decaphenylferrocene, [(η5-C5Ph5)2Fe] from its linkage isomer.[12][13]
Synthesis of fumaric acid
Industrial synthesis of fumaric acid proceeds via the cis-trans isomerization of maleic acid:
Medicinal chemistry[edit]
Examples of isomers having different medical properties can be easily found. For example, in the placement of methyl groups. In substituted xanthines, theobromine, found in chocolate, is a vasodilator with some effects in common with caffeine; but, if one of the two methyl groups is moved to a different position on the two-ring core, the isomer is theophylline, which has a variety of effects, including bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory action. Another example of this occurs in the phenethylamine-based stimulant drugs. Phentermine is a non-chiral compound with a weaker effect than that of amphetamine. It is used as an appetite-reducing medication and has mild or no stimulant properties. However, a different atomic arrangement gives dextromethamphetamine, which is a stronger stimulant than amphetamine.
In medicinal chemistry and biochemistry, enantiomers are a special concern because they may possess quite different biological activity. Many preparative procedures afford a mixture of equal amounts of both enantiomeric forms. In some cases, the enantiomers are separated by chromatography using chiral stationary phases. They may also be separated through the formation of diastereomeric salts. In other cases, enantioselective synthesis have been developed.
As an inorganic example, cisplatin (see structure above) is an important drug used in cancer chemotherapy, whereas the trans isomer (transplatin) has no useful pharmacological activity.
History[edit]
Isomerism was first noticed in 1827, when Friedrich Woehler prepared silver cyanate and discovered that, although its elemental composition was identical to silver fulminate (prepared by Justus von Liebig the previous year),[14] its properties were quite different. This finding challenged the prevailing chemical understanding of the time, which held that chemical compounds could be different only when they had different elemental compositions. After additional discoveries of the same sort were made, such as Woehler's 1828 discovery that urea has the same atomic composition as the chemically distinct ammonium cyanate, Jöns Jacob Berzelius introduced the term isomerism in 1830 to describe the phenomenon.[15]
− C ≡ N + − O − {\displaystyle {\ce {^{-}\!C{\equiv }{\overset {+}{N}}-O^{-}}}}
The fulminate ion consists of the atoms C, N, and O arranged with N as the middle atom that is bound to each of the other two.
⊖ O − C ≡ N {\displaystyle {\ce {^{\ominus }\!O-C{\equiv }N}}}
In comparison, the cyanate ion consists of the atoms N, C, and O arranged with C as the middle atom that is bound to each of the other two.
In 1848, Louis Pasteur separated tartaric acid into tiny crystals of its two mirror-image forms.[16][17] The individual molecules of each were the left and right optical stereoisomers, solutions of which rotate the plane of polarized light to the same degree but in opposite directions.
Other types of isomerism[edit]
Other types of isomerism exist outside this scope. In general, topological isomers called topoisomers are large molecules that wind about and form different-shaped knots or loops. Molecules with topoisomers include catenanes and DNA. Topoisomerase enzymes can knot DNA and thus change its topology. There are also isotopomers or isotopic isomers that have the same numbers of each type of isotopic substitution but in chemically different positions. In nuclear physics, nuclear isomers are excited states of atomic nuclei. Spin isomers have differing distributions of spin among their constituent atoms.
See also[edit]
Chirality (chemistry)
Cis-trans isomerism
Cyclohexane conformation
Electromerism
Ligand isomerism
Nuclear isomer
Stereocenter
Structural isomerism
Tautomer
Vitamer
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Petrucci R.H., Harwood R.S. and Herring F.G. "General Chemistry" (8th ed., Prentice-Hall 2002), p. 91
Jump up ^ The word "isomer" was coined by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779–1848) in 1830. See: Jac. Berzelius (1830) “Om sammansättningen af vinsyra och drufsyra (John’s säure aus den Voghesen), om blyoxidens atomvigt, samt allmänna anmärkningar om sådana kroppar som hafva lika sammansättning, men skiljaktiga egenskaper” (On the composition of tartaric acid and racemic acid (John's acid of the Vosges), on the molecular weight of lead oxide, together with general observations on those bodies that have the same composition but different properties) Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Academiens Handling (Transactions of the Royal Swedish Science Academy), vol. 49, pages 49–80; see especially page 70. Reprinted in German in: J.J. Berzelius (1831) “Über die Zusammensetzung der Weinsäure und Traubensäure (John's säure aus den Voghesen), über das Atomengewicht des Bleioxyds, nebst allgemeinen Bemerkungen über solche Körper, die gleiche Zusammensetzung, aber ungleiche Eigenschaften besitzen," Annalen der Physik und Chemie, vol. 19, pages 305–335; see especially page 326. Reprinted in French in: J.J. Berzelius (1831) “Composition de l’acide tartarique et de l’acide racémique (traubensäure); poids atomique de l’oxide de plomb, et remarques générals sur les corps qui ont la même composition, et possèdent des proprietés différentes,” Annales de Chimie et de Physique, vol. 46, pages 113–147; see especially page 136.
Jump up ^ Smith, Janice Gorzynski (2010). General, Organic and Biological Chemistry (1st ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 450. ISBN 978-0-07-302657-2.
^ Jump up to: a b Ernest L. Eliel and Samuel H. Wilen (1994). Stereochemistry of Organic Compounds. Wiley Interscience. pp. 52–53.
Jump up ^ IUPAC definition of geometric isomerism
Jump up ^ IUPAC definition of cis and trans
Jump up ^ Petrucci R.H., Harwood R.S. and Herring F.G. "General Chemistry" (8th ed., Prentice-Hall 2002), p. 996-7 ISBN 0-13-014329-4
Jump up ^ Whitten K.W., Gailey K.D. and Davis R.E. "General Chemistry" (4th ed., Saunders College Publishing 1992), p. 976-7 ISBN 0-03-072373-6
^ Jump up to: a b Ernest L. Eliel and Samuel H. Wilen (1994). Stereochemistry of Organic Compounds. Wiley Interscience. p. 1203.
Jump up ^ Optical isomers [obsolete] IUPAC Gold Book
Jump up ^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "isomerization".
Jump up ^ Brown, K. N.; Field, L. D.; Lay, P. A.; Lindall, C. M.; Masters, A. F. (1990). "(η5-Pentaphenylcyclopentadienyl){1-(η6-phenyl)-2,3,4,5-tetraphenylcyclopentadienyl}iron(II), [Fe(η5-C5Ph5){(η6-C6H5)C5Ph4}], a linkage isomer of decaphenylferrocene". J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. (5): 408–410. doi:10.1039/C39900000408.
Jump up ^ Field, L. D.; Hambley, T. W.; Humphrey, P. A.; Lindall, C. M.; Gainsford, G. J.; Masters, A. F.; Stpierre, T. G.; Webb, J. (1995). "Decaphenylferrocene". Aust. J. Chem. 48 (4): 851–860. doi:10.1071/CH9950851.
Jump up ^ F. Kurzer (2000). "Fulminic Acid in the History of Organic Chemistry". J. Chem. Educ. 77 (7): 851–857. Bibcode:2000JChEd..77..851K. doi:10.1021/ed077p851.
Jump up ^ Esteban, Soledad. (2008). "Liebig–Wöhler Controversy and the Concept of Isomerism". J. Chem. Educ. 85 (9): 1201. Bibcode:2008JChEd..85.1201E. doi:10.1021/ed085p1201.
Jump up ^ L. Pasteur (1848) "Mémoire sur la relation qui peut exister entre la forme cristalline et la composition chimique, et sur la cause de la polarisation rotatoire" (Memoir on the relationship which can exist between crystalline form and chemical composition, and on the cause of rotary polarization)," Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences (Paris), vol. 26, pages 535–538.
Jump up ^ L. Pasteur (1848) "Sur les relations qui peuvent exister entre la forme cristalline, la composition chimique et le sens de la polarisation rotatoire" (On the relations that can exist between crystalline form, chemical composition, and the sense of rotary polarization), Annales de Chimie et de Physique, 3rd series, vol. 24, no. 6, pages 442–459.
External links[edit]
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