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Epicurus and His Philosophy (Minnesota Archive Editions) Paperback – January 1, 1954

5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
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Epicurus and His Philosophy was first published in 1954. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

In this volume, the first comprehensive book in English about Epicurus, existing data on the life of the ancient philosopher is related to the development of his doctrine. The result is a fascinating account that challenges traditional theories and interpretations of Epicurean philosophy. Professor DeWitt demonstrates the fallacy of centuries of abuse of Epicurus and the resulting distortion of most discussions of Epicureanism that appear in standard philosophical works. Of major significance to students of philosophy and theology are the findings that show the importance of Epicureanism as a source of numerous Christian beliefs.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Univ Of Minnesota Press
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1954
  5. Dimensions
    5.75 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0816657459
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0816657452
  8. See all details
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From the Back Cover


Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible to scholars, students, researchers, and general readers. Rich with historical and cultural value, these works are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. The books offered through Minnesota Archive Editions are produced in limited quantities according to customer demand and are available through select distribution partners.

About the Author


Mr. DeWitt was a professor of Latin at Victoria College, University of Toronto.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Univ Of Minnesota Press (January 1, 1954)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0816657459
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0816657452
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
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Top reviews from the United States

Andy Hahn
5.0 out of 5 stars A relevant book for the modern world
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2013
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DeWitt does a great job in explaining the history and teaching of Epicurus. As he clearly explains why Epicurus and his teachings were resented not only by Stoics, but eventually Christians as well as Jews. His philosophy has been misrepresented through ancient and modern times. He notes many interesting ramifications of this philosophy over the years, (e.g., that the book of Ecclesiastes has much in it that reflects Epicureanism).

DeWitt considers why Epicureanism was so vehemently maligned in the ancient world, He more importantly refutes much of the false accusations that came to smear the philosophy with the moniker of hedonism. Pleasure was the main focus of this philosophy, but constructed under the umbrella of logic and self-control. Basic concepts of his philosophy are explained; Ataraxy – the inner peace and tranquility of mind, taking care of the body and one’s health, living a balanced life so that one does not have to pay for over indulgence later. All these precepts were intended to realize a happier and more fulfilling life. Although Epicurus taught that the gods exist, he felt that they could care less about the affairs of men; so the practical view of life was to enjoy it to the fullest prior to death and the end of one’s existence. He recognizes the importance of friends and society but advises one to avoid those that cause trouble in life; there for interfering with ataraxy. His view that the cosmos was composed of atoms and a vacuum was strongly resisted by the ancient philosophers, but has been proven fundamentally correct. Truly Epicurus was one of the great minds of the ancient world.

As DeWitt brings to life the tenets of this ancient way of life one comes to see that many of these concepts modern society has come to recognize as beneficial to health and a sound mental outlook. Rather than living a life with one’s head in the clouds expecting an afterlife, Epicurus' intent was to cause people to reflect on one’s earthly existence and how to make the most out of it.

DeWitt has done a great job explaining this ancient philosophy in a lucid and intelligent manner. I recommend this book, not only to those interested in ancient Greek history and philosophy, but also to those interested in thought provoking insights on how we might live a more fulfilling life.
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Josh Elbert
5.0 out of 5 stars The Seminal Text on His Life and Teachings
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2018
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Epicurus mixed his philosophy--a clear draught of good mental health--during the Macedonian conquest of Greece, a time of great social uncertainty and political upheaval. Lucretius, his ablest successor, likewise set to his pen in a time of turmoil--the Roman Civil War that marked the end of the Republic. If it isn't too dramatic, I might say that my own deep dive into Epicureanism follows the trajectory. The fraternity of western democracies in Europe is fracturing; the renaissance of nationalism and xenophobia turns brother against brother, and friend against friend; and my own country has succumbed to the siren of demogoguery, in the person of a man for whom truth has no fixity, and wisdom no value.

Against these troubles a voice echoes through the ages, calling us to a blessed and happy life, even in the face of fear, suffering, and pain--even in the face of death. You know his name, but if you wish to know the man behind the name, you must also know his world. DeWitt's book is the seminal text in the field, laying bare the life of "that great man"--in the words of Lucian of Samosata--"whose holiness and divinity of nature were not shams, who alone had and imparted true insight into the good, and who brought deliverance to all that consorted with him."
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Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars The most comprehensive book available on Epicurus
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2021
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Absolutely indispensable if you want to understand the life of Epicurus. Almost 70 years old, and still the best biography ever written about this criminally underappreciated philosopher.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2016
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In-depth narrative of the complete life of Epicurus.
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Glenn Russell
5.0 out of 5 stars The one book on Epicurus you must read
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2012
Norman Wentworth DeWitt has written a most extraordinary book on Epicurus. As a way of review, here are a number of quotes along with my brief comments.

"Another device consistently practiced by Epicureans was to begin with the synoptic view (broad overview). He thought of his writings as maps drawn to larger and smaller scales. The process of learning was regarded as a progression from general maps with few details to regional maps, as it were, with a proportionate increase in detail". ---------- In other words, in teaching students his philosophy, Epicurus started with a general overview and then went back and filled in the details. And this is exactly what DeWitt does in his book: first giving us the general overview of Epicurean philosophy in the first chapters and then filling in the details in the later chapters.

"The man himself was revered as an ethical father, a savior, and a god. Men and women wore his image on finger-rings; they displayed painted portraits of him in their living rooms; the more affluent honored him with likenesses in marble." ---------- One big reason Epicurus was held in such esteem - he freed people from their primal fears: fear of death and fear of the wrath of the gods. Is it any wonder followers who embraced his philosophy held him to be a savior and wanted to look upon his face as a constant reminder of his principles?

"His name became an abomination to orthodox Jews. The Christians, though by no means blind to the merits of his ethics, abhorred him for his denial of divine providence and immortality." ---------- DeWitt provides the historical and cultural context of Epicurus and Epicureanism in the ancient world. Epicurus developed a powerful philosophy embraced for hundreds of years, which included a vision that the gods are too blissful to concern themselves with humans and that `Death is nothing to us'. These were two good reasons those holding opposite beliefs despised Epicurus.

"In the succession of philosophers the place of Epicurus is immediately after Plato and Pyrrho the skeptic. Platonism and skepticism were among his chief abominations. The false opinion is to think of him opposed to Stoicism."
---------- DeWitt provides the historical backdrop of what Epicurus was encountering: Platonists, Aristotelians and Skeptics. Usually Epicureanism is contrasted with Stoicism. This is inaccurate since the Stoic philosophy came after Epicurus. Epicurus was strongly anti-Platonism; matter of fact, Epicurus in many respects was the anti-Plato. DeWitt cites four main Platonic ideas (noted below) and elaborates on how Epicurus rejected all four:

1) ". . . dramatization of logic, which is called dialectic, best exemplified by the Platonic dialogues."
---------- Epicurus judged Platonic dialogues as unnecessarily complex; according to Epicurus, a student needs to study clearly stated principles, not wade through dramatic logic.

2) "The theory of ideas was rejected as an absurdity by the young Epicurus, because he was a materialist and denied all existences except atoms and space." --------- Epicurus disdained a separate world of ideas or forms up in some abstract realm; his view was to equate the cosmos with nature, which is very much in keeping with our modern day physics.

3) "... the belief that the body was a tomb or prison-house, which blurred the vision of reason and prevented perfection of knowledge. All that the human being perceived was the transient appearance of things as opposed to the eternal ideas. This to Epicurus was virtually skepticism." ---------- Epicurus clearly understood the grave dangers of rejecting and hating the body and the evidence of the senses; with great foresight, he anticipated what such a rejection and hatred of the body can lead to: the masochistic scourging and whipping and starving of the body during the medieval period.

4) ". . . planets were declared to be gods (by Plato). This seemed both shocking and absurd to Epicurus; shocking because it meant having more gods to fear, absurd because august gods were assumed to become hurling balls of fire." ---------- Again, Epicurus saw the world much in the same way as a modern university physicist.

Below ere are key Epicurean ideas along with my comments that are particularly relevant for our 21st century:

". . . the new creed (of Epicurus) became applicable to women as well as to men and to human beings of all ages, whether slave or free." ---------- Here we have a clear example of how Epicureanism differed from the provincial philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. The philosophy of Epicurus was urbane and universal, thus Greeks and non-Greeks, men and women and even slaves could become Epicureans.

"It was Epicurus who first extended brotherly love to embrace mankind and exalted it as the impelling motive for revealing to men the way to happiness." And " . . . he did not shrink from choosing the suspected name of pleasure as the designation of the goal of life."
----- So, with Epicurus we have a philosophy holding all men and women to be our brothers and sisters and viewing pleasure as a key to our experience of happiness. What a treasure from the ancient world.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Good is Life
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2015
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Epicurus was a much maligned philosopher and Norman Wentworth DeWitt produced a superb study to organise existing data into a biographical sketch, present a fresh interpretation of his doctrines and also to place Epicurus as part of the transition from the classical philosophies of Greece to the Christian religion.

The book was written more than 60 years ago and so a few or the social comparisons with the 'modern world' are already a little dated, yet it is remarkable how much meaning Norman Wentworth DeWitt has been able to extract from the comparatively small number of written sources - and also set that meaning against the concepts current at the the time. There was no doctrine of a divine and benevolent creator, the concept of 'will' did not exist, and there was no thought of human equality or the rights of man.

Epicurus believed that Nature taught that pleasure or happiness was the goal and consummation of living and that since body and souls were only material (soma) there was no afterlife and 'life' was therefore the greatest good. Norman Wentworth DeWitt argues that Vatican Saying 42, normally translated as:

"The same time produces both the beginning of the greatest good and the dissolution of the evil."

is a mistranslation, slipping an extra letter into one word, resulting in 'pleasure' being the greatest good. The saying should be interpreted as:

"The same span of time includes both beginning and termination of the greatest good."

meaning that life is the greatest good and that moderate pleasure is the telos or goal to achieve it.

Throughout the book Norman Wentworth DeWitt argues from the summary to the detailed (in Epicurean manner) explaining how Epicurus built on his Twelve Elementary Principles of Physics and extended them into a practical philosophy of how to live. This is reflected in chapters such as 'The New Physics', The New Freedom', 'The New Hedonism', 'The True Piety', 'The New Virtues'. Indeed you can argue that Epicurus' philosophy was centred in man and not the state or theology - something that does not seem so controversial in modern times but which was quite unusual in Epicurus' times.

All in all a masterful book examining the structure (and errors) of Epicurus philosophy. Who knew that Vatican Saying 42 was the answer to life, the universe and everything?
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F Kingdon Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2014
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A great read and the author avoids philosophical claptrap.
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