Is Epicurean Friendship Altruistic
TL;DR: In this article, the A. defend la these selon laquelle la conception epicurienne de l'amitie est compatible avec la these psychologique de l egoisme and la these morale de lhedonisme defendues par Epicure.
Abstract: L'A. defend la these selon laquelle la conception epicurienne de l'amitie est compatible avec la these psychologique de l'egoisme et la these morale de l'hedonisme defendues par Epicure. Soulevant la question de l'altruisme a la lumiere du principe de charite, l'A. montre que l'amour de l'autre participe du propre plaisir du sage, qui est capable de mourir pour son ami.
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01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: Meyer et al. as discussed by the authors argued that the Epicurean view of the law is best understood as a kind of inclusive positivism, and that the justness of a law is an accidental property.
Abstract: This dissertation concerns a cluster of related issues surrounding the Epicurean conception of justice. First, I show that the Epicureans defend a sophisticated kind of social contract theory and maintain a kind of legal positivism, views that are widely held today and so are of continuing interest for contemporary readers. In doing so, I argue that thinking about justice and law forms an integral part of Epicurean philosophy (pace the standard view). Second, I take up some neglected issues regarding justice and so provide detailed accounts of the metaphysics of moral properties in Epicureanism as well as of Epicurean moral epistemology. After the introduction in chapter 1, I set out the main features of the Epicurean view of justice and law in chapters 2-4. In chapter 2, I explain the basics of the Epicurean conception of justice as an agreement and relate it to Epicurean ethics as whole. In chapter 3, I examine Epicurean culture stories and I point out in what way the Epicurean view is a kind of social contract theory. In chapter 4, I argue that the most important aspect of the Epicurean conception of justice from a metaethical perspective is that justice, a moral fact, depends on benefit, a natural fact about the world. On the basis of this analysis, I subsequently argue that the Epicurean conception of the law is best understood as a kind of inclusive positivism. After having laid out the Epicurean view in this way, I enlarge the conversation in chapters 5-7. In chapter 5, I discuss the motivations Epicurean agents have to be just and comment on the relationship between contractual justice, that is, justice that comes about by agreements, and aretetic justice, that is, justice understood as a virtue or character disposition. In chapter 6, I turn to the metaphysics of justice, arguing that the just, for the Epicureans, is an accidental property. In chapter 7, finally, I show that Epicurean agents come to have an understanding of justice via sense experience in the same way that they have an understanding of everyday objects. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Philosophy First Advisor Susan Sauvé Meyer
32 citations
Book•
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TL;DR: O'Keefe argues that the sort of freedom which Epicurus wanted to preserve is significantly different from the 'free will' which philosophers debate today, and that in its emphasis on rational action it has much closer affinities with Aristotle's thought than with current preoccupations.
Abstract: In this 2005 book, Tim O'Keefe reconstructs the theory of freedom of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341–271/0 BCE). Epicurus' theory has attracted much interest, but our attempts to understand it have been hampered by reading it anachronistically as the discovery of the modern problem of free will and determinism. O'Keefe argues that the sort of freedom which Epicurus wanted to preserve is significantly different from the 'free will' which philosophers debate today, and that in its emphasis on rational action it has much closer affinities with Aristotle's thought than with current preoccupations. His original and provocative book will be of interest to a wide range of readers in Hellenistic philosophy.
27 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that Epicurean contractarianism is both possible and necessary once we understand Epicureans practical rationality in a new way, which is not clear how it is possible to reconcile hedonism with the demands of justice.
Abstract: Epicurean contractarianism is an attempt to reconcile individualistic hedonism with a robust account of justice. The pursuit of pleasure and the requirements of justice, however, have seemed to be incompatible to many commentators, both ancient and modern. It is not clear how it is possible to reconcile hedonism with the demands of justice. Furthermore, it is not clear why, even if Epicurean contractarianism is possible, it would be necessary for Epicureans to endorse a social contract. I argue here that Epicurean contractarianism is both possible and necessary once we understand Epicurean practical rationality in a new way. We are left with an appealing version of teleological, individualistic contractarianism that is significantly different from Hobbesian contractarianism.
17 citations
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TL;DR: The authors confronte deux fragments antithetiques d'Epicure sur la nature du but de l'existence, le plaisir, which dans un cas est vu comme paix de l"âme et du corps (ataraxie), mais dans l'autre accepte leplaisir des sens and se rapproche de l'shedonisme.
Abstract: L'A. confronte deux fragments antithetiques d'Epicure sur la nature du but de l'existence, le plaisir, qui dans un cas est vu comme paix de l'âme et du corps (ataraxie), mais dans l'autre accepte le plaisir des sens et se rapproche de l'hedonisme. L'A., partisan de la seconde interpretation, explique ses convictions et commente la doctrine d'Epicure
58 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: L'amitie epicurienne met-elle en question l'auto-suffisance? La critique ancienne : l'amitié epicurien est ignoble| la critique moderne : elle est egoiste as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: L'amitie epicurienne met-elle en question l'auto-suffisance? La critique ancienne : l'amitie epicurienne est ignoble| la critique moderne : elle est egoiste
28 citations
"Is Epicurean Friendship Altruistic" refers background in this paper
...22 O'Connor (1989)....
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...O'Connor (1989), 184, argues along similar lines, and calls Torquatus' argument 'lame'....
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