16. Epicurus, the Garden, and the Golden Age
- Dan O'Brien PhD Research Fellow Associate Lecturer
Published Online: 13 AUG 2010
DOI: 10.1002/9781444324563.ch16
Copyright © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Book Title
Gardening - Philosophy for Everyone
Additional Information
How to Cite
Campbell, G. (2010) Epicurus, the Garden, and the Golden Age, in Gardening - Philosophy for Everyone (ed D. O'Brien), Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444324563.ch16
Editor Information
Oxford Brookes University, UK
Publication History
- Published Online: 13 AUG 2010
- Published Print: 24 SEP 2010
Book Series:
Book Series Editors:
- Fritz Allhoff
Series Editor Information
Western Michigan University, USA
ISBN Information
Print ISBN: 9781444330212
Online ISBN: 9781444324563
- Summary
- Chapter
Keywords:
- Epicurus, the garden, and the Golden Age;
- Epicurus, citizen of Athens - but he was always something of an outsider;
- rivals of the Epicureans, the Stoics (“Men of the Stoa”), from their practice of teaching in Stoa Poikile (“Painted Colonnade”);
- Epicurus' system of philosophy - only true philosophy, and community of friends;
- Epicurean school was a community based on friendship – friendship, considered most important;
- Epicurus, philosophy was not worthy of the name - if it had no therapeutic value;
- Epicurus' garden, important ethical function - source of pleasure that heals both body and soul;
- Epicurus, had a hedonistic theory of ethics - arguing that pleasure was the goal of human action;
- Lucretius, the Roman Epicurean poet of first century BCE - “hence fear of punishments taint the prizes of life”;
- simple déjeuner sur l'herbe - more pleasurable than banquets in gilded halls
Summary
This chapter contains sections titled:
The School in the Garden
Prehistory and the Rise of Cities
The Locus Amoenus and the Origins of Agriculture
Diogenes of Oinoanda and the Future Epicurean Golden Age
Notes