The Ethics of Epicurus and its Relation to Contemporary Doctrines

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. Federico Testa is an Associate Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study of the University of Warwick, UK. His current research focuses on Michel Foucault’s politics of life, French contemporary philosophy and the revival of Hellenistic tradition within Modern and Contemporary philosophy. 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.

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