Epicureanism and the atomic swerve
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23167283 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Maurice Pope (Science Oxford, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1986 |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 77-97 |
| Publication date | 1986-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Symbolae Osloenses (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0039-7679 • E-ISSN: 1502-7805 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00397678608590799 |
| OpenAlex | W2039300961 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 22 |
| References cited | 3 |
Before Marx the atomic swerve was little regarded by champions of Epicureanism: since Guyau it has been central, though attempts to explain the mechanism of free will by it have failed. This is because they assume the occurrence of swerves inside the soul. But the swerve is only attested for the downward‐falling atoms ‐and as an instantaneous side‐step not as a change of direction. Swerves are the pluralist counterpart to Aristotle's unmoved mover, a cosmological principle and not the cause of particular happenings. On this view good sense can be made of Epicurus’ hitherto puzzling statements on predestination, nouthesia, and luck.
Epicureanism · Epistemology · Luck · Predestination · Soul · Classical Philosophy and Thought · Philosophy
Epilogue
Chronology
Epicurean epistemology
Epicurean psychology
Stoic psychology
Hellenistic physics and metaphysics
Organization and structure of the philosophical schools
Philosophy, science and medicine
Stoic epistemology
Social and political thought
The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy
Sources
Introduction
The Socratic legacy
Epicurean ethics
Explanation and causation
Language
Academic epistemology
Stoic ethics
Determinism and indeterminism
Theology
Logic
| Citations per year | 0.81 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1999 - 1999 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |