Fundamentals of Epicurean Philosophy – An Outline

Fundamentals of Epicurean Philosophy – Click here for larger text, here for smaller text, and here for frame-free version.  Please click here for dispute as to translation of PD6.

This outline represents my latest aid to discussing Epicurus with people who are new to the philosophy. I can’t represent that I have stated or ordered each and every one of these points in exactly the same way that an ancient Epicurean would have done, but I hope I have covered the main points and that others may find this useful.   If you see points I have left out, or you think deserve correction or amplification, please let me know.

One other purpose I hope to serve here is to provide a list of major points that can be used to be sure new readers get the full scope of the foundation.  Often it seems that Epicurus is discussed solely in terms of a couple of simple ethical points, and it is important to see how the big picture ties together by remembering that his ethics are built squarely on his view of the universe and his theory of knowledge.

I have prepared this in the form of a “collapsible” outline which might make looking at the major points easier, but as you drill down through each item I have attempted to cite major points of reference for each one.  I hope to work further on this and provide it in an easier-to-read format.  For the time being, I have been struggling to figure out how to include an outline like this (written in javascript) in WordPress, and I am afraid the format may prove hard to read on mobile devices.