Theory and Practice in Epicurean Political Philosophy: Security, Justice and Tranquility

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The opponents of Epicureanism in antiquity, including Cicero, Plutarch and Lactantius, succeeded in establishing a famous clich: the theoretical and practical disinterest of Epicurus and the Epicureans in political communities. However, this anti-Epicurean literature did not provide considerations of Epicurean political theory or the testimonies about Epicurean lifestyle. The purpose of this book is to shed light on the contribution of Epicurean thought to political life in the ancient world. Incorporating the most up-to-date material, including papyri which have been recovered from Herculaneum, documents of Greek epigraphy and the prosopography of the Roman Epicureans, this volume will bring to the foreground new testimonies surrounding the public activities of the Epicureans. In this way, the reader will learn that Epicurean political theory is, in fact, a crucial ingredient of its philosophy. As a result, this connection creates an ongoing dialogue with the Greek philosophical tradition, revealing the presence of Plato in the Epicurean philosophy.

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This volume provides an up-to-date and searching reconstruction of Epicurean political thought, which sets the familiar slogans of Live unknown! and Do not engage in politics! within the subtle and careful framework of Epicurean philosophy. It makes a positive case for a nuanced and sophisticated philosophical outlook and presents the wide range of evidence for Epicureans practical political engagement from the Hellenistic Garden to the Roman Imperial period. -- James Warren, Professor of Ancient Philosophy and Fellow of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, UK

Author Bio

Javier Aoiz is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Santiago, Chile. He is a founding member of the Venezuelan Society of Phenomenology, the Latin American Association of Ancient Philosophy and the Group of Philosophical Research University of Salamanca-University Simon Bolivar. His publications include Alma y tiempo en Aristteles (2007) and Hierocles el Estoico, Elementos de tica, Extractos de Estobeo y Glosas de la Suda (co-authored with Deyvis Deniz, 2014). Marcelo D. Boeri is Professor of Philosophy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Chile. He served as a co-editor of Methexis (International Journal for Ancient Philosophy) and as a member of the editorial board of the International Plato Studies series (International Plato Society). His publications include Los Filsofos Estoicos: Ontologa, Lgica, Fsica y tica (coauthored with Ricardo Salles, 2014) and is co-editor of Soul and Mind in Greek Thought: Psychological Issues in Plato and Aristotle (2018).