more on this theme     |     more from this text

Single Idea 1837

[filed under theme 16. Persons / F. Free Will / 7. Compatibilism ]

Full Idea

The best men have no belief in necessity (set up by some as mistress of all), but refer some things to fortune, some to ourselves, because necessity is irresponsible, and fortune is unstable, while our own will is free.

Gist of Idea

We should not refer things to irresponsible necessity, but either to fortune or to our own will

Source

Epicurus (Letter to Menoeceus [c.291 BCE], 133), quoted by Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers 10.27

Book Ref

Diogenes Laertius: 'Diogenes Laertius', ed/tr. Yonge,C.D. [Henry G. Bohn 1853], p.472

The 101 ideas from Epicurus

14027 If we are to use words in enquiry, we need their main, unambiguous and uncontested meanings [Epicurus]
14028 Nothing comes to be from what doesn't exist [Epicurus]
14029 If disappearing things went to nothingness, nothing could return, and it would all be gone by now [Epicurus]
14030 The totality is complete, so there is no room for it to change, and nothing extraneous to change it [Epicurus]
14031 Space must exist, since movement is obvious, and there must be somewhere to move in [Epicurus]
14032 Totality has no edge; an edge implies a contrast beyond the edge, and there can't be one [Epicurus]
14033 Bodies are unlimited as well as void, since the two necessarily go together [Epicurus]
14034 There exists an infinity of each shape of atom, but the number of shapes is beyond our knowledge [Epicurus]
14035 Atoms just have shape, size and weight; colour results from their arrangement [Epicurus]
14036 There are endless cosmoi, some like and some unlike this one [Epicurus]
6010 Illusions are not false perceptions, as we accurately perceive the pattern of atoms [Epicurus, by Modrak]
14037 Atoms only have shape, weight and size, and the properties which accompany shape [Epicurus]
14038 There cannot be unlimited division, because it would reduce things to non-existence [Epicurus]
14039 Above and below us will never appear to be the same, because it is inconceivable [Epicurus]
14040 Observation and applied thought are always true [Epicurus]
14041 The soul is fine parts distributed through the body, resembling hot breath [Epicurus]
14043 The void cannot interact, but just gives the possibility of motion [Epicurus]
14042 The soul cannot be incorporeal, because then it could neither act nor be acted upon [Epicurus]
14044 The perceived accidental properties of bodies cannot be conceived of as independent natures [Epicurus]
14045 Accidental properties give a body its nature, but are not themselves bodies or parts of bodies [Epicurus]
14046 A 'body' is a conception of an aggregate, with properties defined by application conditions [Epicurus]
14047 Bodies have impermanent properties, and permanent ones which define its conceived nature [Epicurus]
14048 Astronomical movements are blessed, but they don't need the help of the gods [Epicurus]
14049 We aim to know the natures which are observed in natural phenomena [Epicurus]
14050 We aim to dissolve our fears, by understanding their causes [Epicurus]
14052 Begin philosophy when you are young, and keep going when you are old [Epicurus]
14053 It is absurd to fear the pain of death when you are not even facing it [Epicurus]
14054 Fearing death is absurd, because we are not present when it occurs [Epicurus]
14055 The wisdom that produces a good life also produces a good death [Epicurus]
1833 Pleasure is the first good in life [Epicurus]
14056 We only need pleasure when we have the pain of desire [Epicurus]
14057 All pleasures are good, but it is not always right to choose them [Epicurus]
14058 Pleasure is the goal, but as lack of pain and calm mind, not as depraved or greedy pleasure [Epicurus]
1835 True pleasure is not debauchery, but freedom from physical and mental pain [Epicurus]
14060 Prudence is the greatest good, and more valuable than philosophy, because it produces virtue [Epicurus]
14059 The best life is not sensuality, but rational choice and healthy opinion [Epicurus]
1836 Prudence is more valuable than philosophy, because it avoids confusions of the soul [Epicurus]
14061 Our own choices are autonomous, and the basis for praise and blame [Epicurus]
1837 We should not refer things to irresponsible necessity, but either to fortune or to our own will [Epicurus]
14062 Sooner follow mythology, than accept the 'fate' of natural philosophers [Epicurus]
14063 Sooner a good decision going wrong, than a bad one turning out for the good [Epicurus]
1828 God does not intervene in heavenly movements, but is beyond all action and perfectly happy [Epicurus]
14051 A cosmos is a collection of stars and an earth, with some sort of boundary, movement and shape [Epicurus]
21386 We should accept as explanations all the plausible ways in which something could come about [Epicurus]
14526 The rational soul is in the chest, and the non-rational soul is spread through the body [Epicurus]
1831 Wise men should partake of life even if they go blind [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
1483 Bath water is too hot for some, too cold for others [Epicurus, by Plutarch]
1482 If two people disagree over taste, who is right? [Epicurus, by Plutarch]
2668 Epicurus says if one of a man's senses ever lies, none of his senses should ever be believed [Epicurus, by Cicero]
6018 Epicurus was the first to see the free will problem, and he was a libertarian [Epicurus, by Long/Sedley]
20922 Epicurus showed that the swerve can give free motion in the atoms [Epicurus, by Diogenes of Oen.]
14525 Stoics say time is incorporeal and self-sufficient; Epicurus says it is a property of properties of things [Epicurus]
6035 Soul is made of four stuffs, giving warmth, rest, motion and perception [Epicurus, by Aetius]
1845 Justice has no independent existence, but arises entirely from keeping contracts [Epicurus]
1840 Pleasure is the chief good because it is the most natural, especially for animals [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
7814 It was Epicurus who made the question of the will's freedom central to ethics [Epicurus, by Grayling]
1909 How can pleasure or judgement occur in a heap of atoms? [Sext.Empiricus on Epicurus]
3562 Fine things are worthless if they give no pleasure [Epicurus]
1820 The criteria of truth are senses, preconceptions and passions [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
1821 Sensations cannot be judged, because similar sensations have equal value, and different ones have nothing in common [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
1822 Reason can't judge senses, as it is based on them [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
1824 To name something, you must already have an idea of what it is [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
3557 The end for Epicurus is static pleasure [Epicurus, by Annas]
4549 Epicurus denied knowledge in order to retain morality or hedonism as the highest values [Nietzsche on Epicurus]
1823 We can't seek for things if we have no idea of them [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
13291 Slavery to philosophy brings true freedom [Epicurus]
14523 We should come to philosophy free from any taint of culture [Epicurus]
1484 We should say nothing of the whole if our contact is with the parts [Epicurus, by Plutarch]
22733 Epicurus accepted God in his popular works, but not in his writings on nature [Epicurus, by Sext.Empiricus]
22758 Philosophy aims at a happy life, through argument and discussion [Epicurus]
21668 Epicurus rejected excluded middle, because accepting it for events is fatalistic [Epicurus, by Cicero]
21676 Epicureans say disjunctions can be true whiile the disjuncts are not true [Epicurus, by Cicero]
1487 When entering a dark room it is colourless, but colour gradually appears [Epicurus]
2670 Epicurus despises and laughs at the whole of dialectic [Epicurus, by Cicero]
14527 If god answered prayers we would be destroyed, because we pray for others to suffer [Epicurus]
1839 Pains of the soul are worse than pains of the body, because it feels the past and future [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
1842 Pleasures only differ in their duration and the part of the body affected [Epicurus]
12044 Only Epicurus denied purpose in nature, for the whole world, or for its parts [Epicurus, by Annas]
2637 For Epicureans gods are made of atoms, and are not eternal [Epicurus, by Cicero]
2633 Epicurus saw that gods must exist, because nature has imprinted them on human minds [Epicurus, by Cicero]
2639 Some say Epicurus only pretended to believe in the gods, so as not to offend Athenians [Epicurus, by Cicero]
1841 We choose virtue because of pleasure, not for its own sake [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
1829 A wise man would be happy even under torture [Epicurus, by Diog. Laertius]
1843 Friendship is by far the most important ingredient of a complete and happy life [Epicurus]
20907 Democritus says atoms have size and shape, and Epicurus added weight [Epicurus, by Ps-Plutarch]
21669 Atoms don't swerve by being struck, because they move in parallel, so the swerve is uncaused [Cicero on Epicurus]
21680 What causes atomic swerves? Do they draw lots? What decides the size or number of swerves? [Cicero on Epicurus]
14516 There is no necessity to live with necessity [Epicurus]
22240 The aim of medicine is removal of sickness, and philosophy similarly removes our affections [Epicurus]
5949 Epicurus says colours are relative to the eye, not intrinsic to bodies [Epicurus, by Plutarch]
14524 Bodies are combinations of shape, size, resistance and weight [Epicurus]
14517 We value our own character, whatever it is, and we should respect the characters of others [Epicurus]
14518 In the study of philosophy, pleasure and knowledge arrive simultaneously [Epicurus]
14513 Justice is a pledge of mutual protection [Epicurus]
14519 It is a great good to show reverence for a wise man [Epicurus]
3560 Justice is merely a contract about not harming or being harmed [Epicurus]
14515 A law is not just if it is not useful in mutual associations [Epicurus]
14520 It is small-minded to find many good reasons for suicide [Epicurus]
14521 If everything is by necessity, then even denials of necessity are by necessity [Epicurus]
3563 Pleasure and virtue entail one another [Epicurus]
14522 What happens to me if I obtain all my desires, and what if I fail? [Epicurus]