The Ethics of Epicurus and its Relation to Contemporary Doctrines

This is the first English translation of a compelling and highly original reading of Epicurus by Jean-Marie Guyau. This book has long been recognized as one of the best and most concerted attempts to explore one of the most important, yet controversial ancient philosophers whose thought, Guyau claims, remains vital to modern and contemporary culture. Throughout the text we are introduced to the origins of the philosophy of pleasure in Ancient Greece, with Guyau clearly demonstrating how this idea persists through the history of philosophy and how it is an essential trait in the Western tradition.

With an introduction by Keith Ansell-Pearson and Federico Testa, which contextualizes the work of Guyau within the canon of French thought, and notes on both further reading and on Epicurean scholarship more generally, this translation also acts as a critical introduction to the philosophy of Guyau and Epicurus.

List of contents

Note on the Translation

Editors' Introduction: Jean-Marie Guyau on Epicurus and the Art of Living: A Novel Approach to the History of Philosophy
Foreword: On the Method Used for the Exposition of Systems
Introduction: Epicureanism in Antiquity and Modernity

Book One: The Pleasures of the Flesh
Chapter 1: Pleasure: The End of Life and the Principle of All Ethics
Chapter 2: Fundamental Pleasure: The Stomach
Chapter 3: The Rule of Pleasure: Utility. - Happiness, The Sovereign Good
Chapter 4: Desire. - The Ultimate End of Desire: Rest, Enjoyment of Self

Book Two: The Pleasures of the Soul
Chapter 1: Intellectual and Moral Serenity - Science, Opposed by Epicurus to the Idea of Miracle
Chapter 2: Freedom - Contingency in Nature, the Condition of Human Freedom
Chapter 3: Tranquillity in the Face of Death. - Epicurean Theory of Death, and its Relation to Contemporary Theories

Book Three: Private and Public Virtues
Chapter 1: Courage and Temperance. Love and Friendship. The Genesis of Friendship. The Conduct of the Sage in Human Society.
Chapter 2: Justice and the Social Contract
Chapter 3: Progress in Humanity
Chapter 4: Epicurean Piety. The Struggle against Divinity understood as Efficient Cause
Conclusion: Epicureanism and its Analogies with Modern Positivism. The Success of Epicureanism in Antiquity

Book Four: The Modern Successors of Epicurus
Chapter 1: The Epoch of Transition Between Ancient Epicureanism and Modern Epicureanism - Gassendi and Hobbes
Chapter 2: La Rochefoucauld - The Psychology of Epicureanism
Chapter 3: Spinoza - Synthesis of Epicureanism and Stoicism
Chapter 4: Helvétius
Chapter 5: The Spirit of Epicureanism in Eighteenth-Century France

Conclusion: Contemporary Epicureanism

Bibliography
Index

About the author

Jean-Marie Guyau (1854 –1888) was a French philosopher and poet. His central works include Esquisse d’une morale sans obligation ni sanction (A Sketch of Morality Independent of Obligation or Sanction) and L’Irréligion de l’avenir (The Non-Religion of the Future). His works met an enthusiastic reception by important thinkers of his time, such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Pierre Kropotkin and Henri Bergson.Keith Ansell Pearson holds a Personal Chair in Philosophy at the University of Warwick, UK. He is the author of acclaimed monographs on Nietzsche and Bergson and has published a number of essays on Guyau’s ethics.Federico Testa is Lecturer in Sociology and Humanites at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, UK. He is the translator and co-editor of The Selected Writings of Pierre Hadot (with M. Sharpe, Bloomsbury, 2020) and Jean-Marie Guyau’s The Ethics of Epicurus (with K. Ansell-Pearson, Bloomsbury, 2021).Federico Testa is Lecturer in Sociology and Humanites at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, UK. He is the translator and co-editor of The Selected Writings of Pierre Hadot (with M. Sharpe, Bloomsbury, 2020) and Jean-Marie Guyau’s The Ethics of Epicurus (with K. Ansell-Pearson, Bloomsbury, 2021).

Summary

This is the first English translation of a compelling and highly original reading of Epicurus by Jean-Marie Guyau. This book has long been recognized as one of the best and most concerted attempts to explore one of the most important, yet controversial ancient philosophers whose thought, Guyau claims, remains vital to modern and contemporary culture. Throughout the text we are introduced to the origins of the philosophy of pleasure in Ancient Greece, with Guyau clearly demonstrating how this idea persists through the history of philosophy and how it is an essential trait in the Western tradition.

With an introduction by Keith Ansell-Pearson and Federico Testa, which contextualizes the work of Guyau within the canon of French thought, and notes on both further reading and on Epicurean scholarship more generally, this translation also acts as a critical introduction to the philosophy of Guyau and Epicurus.

Foreword

The first English translation of Jean-Marie Guyau’s highly original, major study of Epicurean philosophy, which demonstrates Epicureanism’s profound impact on the shape of modern culture and contemporary philosophy.

Additional text

This is a beautiful translation of a game-changing classic in Epicurean scholarship. A work of philosophy in its own right, Guyau exquisitely captures the illusive nature of an ethics of the “whole of life” and reveals its uniquely emancipatory potential. Finally, English readers can discover the magic of Guyau’s prose that influenced many of the greatest thinkers of 19th materialism!

Product details

• Authors: Jean-Marie Guyau, GUYAU JEAN MARIE, Guyau Jean-Marie Guyau
• Assisted by: Keith Ansell Pearson (Editor), Testa Federico Testa (Editor), Ansell Pearson Keith Ansell-Pearson (Editor), Federico Testa (Editor), Federico Testa (Translation)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.10.2021
• EAN: 9781350013919
• ISBN: 978-1-350-01391-9
• No. of pages: 304
• Series: Re-inventing Philosophy as a Way of Life
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works