Epicureans

Dobbs, Betty Jo Teeter. "Stoic and Epicurean doctrines in Newton s system of the world." In Atoms, pneuma and tranquility Epicurean and Stoic themes in European thought, ed. Margaret J. Osier, 221-238. Cambridge Cambridge Univ P, 1991. 

Epicurean atomism was predicated on five basic assnmptions ... 

In addition, several new forms of atomism or corpuscularism were also introduced, the most famous of which were Descartes plenum theoiy and Newton s dynamic atomism, both of which rejected one or more of the basic assumptions of Epicurean atomism. Thus Descartes rejected both a lower hmit to particle divisibility and the existence of an interparticle vacumn or void, as well as insisting on a strong dichotomy between matter and soul, whereas Newton replaced mechanical entanglement with short-range interparticle forces of attraction and repulsion. 

Another atomist, prosecuted by the Italian church authorities, was Galileo Galilei (1564-1642 CE). He irritially used minimi to describe the smallest parts of substances but later applied the term to Epicurean atoms separated by a quantitatively infinite vacuum. The atomic structure of substances was necessary from mathematical reasoning, and the atom was indivisible without shape and dimensions. The qualities or properties (color, odor, taste, etc.) of atoms were not associated with atoms but with their serrsory detection by the observer (42). 

The most notable feature of the Epicurean theory was an attempt to endow the atoms with a property which should account in the evolution of organic life and of man, for the accepted fact of free will. It attempts this by assuming in the atoms that their motions are due to gravity and therefore would be in parallel vertical lines, never colliding, except for the assumed fact that they have an inherent... 

Upon his contempoi ai ies, the Epicurean atozziic theory seems to have exerted little iizfluence, and the same seems to be true of its revival by Lucretius. For writers of following cezituries who are not philosophers seem to take no interest in the atomic theory, but follow Plato or Ai istotle. 

I For much of my pregnancy with twins, I was more in touch with my survival instincts than my epicurean side. In the beginning I felt like a sick animal, uninterested in eating, just trying to get through days filled with nausea. 

Menius did not use the term Nicodemite, which may well have been a Calvinist neologism. Instead he called Crotus an Epicurean, the term commonly used of men who lacked piety and did not care about religion or to denote scoffers, skeptics, and hypocrites (see chap. 3). The following quotations come from a letter printed in Bocking 2 457-58, 462. 

Both Senguerd and De Voider were well disposed towards Cartesian natural philosophy, which attempts to reduce natural phenomena to quantitative descriptions of arithmic and geometry. However, Senguerd and De Voider were also critical of the French philosopher. Senguerd leaned more towards Gassendi s version of Epicurean atomism. De Voider, as we shall see later, also adopted some other philosophical ideas. Senguerd started teaching in... 

Osier, M. (1983). Providence and Divine Will in Gassendi s Views on Scientific Knowledge. journal of the History of Ideas, 44, 549-560 Osier, M.J. (1991). Fortune, fate and divination Gassendi s voluntarist theology and the baptism of Epicureanism. In M.J. Osier (Ed.), Atoms, Pneuma, and Tranquility. Epicurean and Stoic Themes in European Thought. Cambridge. 

Osier, M.J. (Ed.). (1991). Atoms, Pneuma, and Tranquility. Epicurean and Stoic Themes in European Thought. Cambridge. 

Veal is a specialty meat that is produced from young animals that are kept in very close confinement for their entire lives. The highest-quality, epicurean veal is pale-colored and very tender. To achieve this product grade, veal calves are tethered and confined closely so they cannot move very much, and they are fed a diet that is highly deficient in iron, which helps to lighten the color of their flesh. They are also removed from their mothers before they are fully weaned, because a milk diet also promotes the development of a less tender, red-colored flesh. 

Many people cultivate their own herb gardens of various species in the mint family that are used as flavorings. This is done to ensure a continuous and fresh supply of these flavorful herbs for use in aromatic, epicurean cooking. Recently, people have also began to grow these plants indoors under artificial sources of light so that they will continue to have access to fresh edible mints during the winter. 

Among Racine s plays, Phedre is often singled out as offering the most vivid portrait of passion, and it is indeed a stunning portrayal of the power of adulterous love. Stephen Holmes has recently argued for a connection between Ph tre s psychology and Descartes s Passions of the Soul, emphasizing her weakness of will and inability to control her emotions.112 In my opinion Racine has more in common with La Rochefoucauld. Whether one reads Racine as a Jansenist and therefore close to La Rochefoucauld,113 or (less plausibly) as a neo-Epicurean and therefore close to La Rochefoucauld,114 he is far from the neo-Stoic views of Descartes. 

Although Aristotle developed a powerful matter theory, he was, like Plato, not an atomist. He argued that there were too many logical problems with the idea of indivisible, imperceptible objects that nonetheless had fixed existence. While Platonic and then later Aristotelian philosophy came to dominate Western thinking about the material world, the atomist thought of Democritus did not disappear completely. The philosophical school founded by Epicurus of Samos (341-270 b.c.e.) based its theory of matter on atoms. Our best record of Epicurean atomism comes from the Roman poet Lucretius (95—55 b.c.e.), who wrote a poem entitled De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things). Lucretius says ... 

In other words, atoms are the basic stuff of nature, the primary and most foundational, and all of matter was built up of these primordial germs. The suggestion that the structure of atoms was hard (since they were indivisible) implied that atoms could not fill all space and there had to be regions that did not contain atoms. This would be like filling a jar with marbles. Where Aristotle and Plato objected to the very idea of a void, the Epicureans were comfortable with the idea, and it provided an easier way to describe motion. Since the void could not oppose motion, atoms were free to move about, while a universe filled with matter suggested that motion was unnecessarily complicated or might even be impossible. Lucretius went on to say ... 

While the Epicurean model appeals to us as being closer to the modern view of atoms and is sometimes pointed to as the origin of atomic theory, in historical terms, it had little effect on the development of natural philosophy. The reason for this was twofold. First, the Epicureans were known less for their physical theories than for their ideas about social and personal behavior, favoring the pursuit of pleasure. Our modern use of the term epicure for someone who enjoys good food and drink reflects this. The second reason that... 

Atom The word comes originally from the Greek word atomos, meaning uncut or indivisible. The ancient Greek philosophers known as the Epicureans believed that matter was composed on small, hard particles they called atomos. The idea and the word was revived in the 1600s to represent the smallest fundamental particle of matter. Today it means the smallest part of an element that can exist independently and interact chemically. 

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