The Principal Doctrines
Epicurus
Nov 2014 · Interactive Media · Narrated by Josh Verbae
5.0star
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Audiobook
15 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by peace and freedom from fear, the absence of pain, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends.
He taught that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans; the universe is infinite and eternal; and events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms.
Although much of Epicurus' written work has been lost, his surviving principal doctrines form a complete foundation of his teaching. This audiobook adaptation features all 40 principles.
Ratings and reviews
5.0
3 reviews
Arti Texture
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9 October 2022
So much wisdom. Very good narration.
Mihai Milan
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30 May 2023
Great little audiobook for a bus ride.
Gulfstream
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9 October 2022
Love it.
About the author
Epicurus founded his philosophical school and lived with his friends in his "Garden" in Athens when the city was witnessing the rise of Macedonian dominance and Greek politics reflected the ongoing crisis in values and virtues. Many thinkers felt the growing need for intellectual conservatism and voluntary withdrawal to secure a life of imperturbability. That his school became a model followed in other cities, including Rome, for more than 500 years is both testimony to the strong appeal Epicurus's ethical doctrines exerted and a sign of the logical conviction the theory of Atomism generated in his followers. Epicurus, who knew the pre-Socratics well, revived and extended the Atomism of Democritus and Leucippus by finding broader applications for Atomism in psychology, physics, and ethics. Although the principles of the physical teachings of Epicurus were destined for a significant revival, and in certain ways, experimental confirmation in modern times, the special appeal of his philosophy was basically ethical. His physics remains the background to support a way of life aiming at the enhancement of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Epicurus's theories sought to reveal the causes of pain, especially fear, whether of death or of divine intervention. He taught that only the acquisition of knowledge helps in the effort to cope with fears and secure a happy life. His influence was felt strongly in Italy and it found in Rome an eloquent spokesman in Lucretius, whose masterwork, De Rerum Natura, is by far the most complete exposition of Epicureanism.
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