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Epicurus: Pleasure And Atomism United
- Epicurus combined ethical hedonism with a physical atomist theory to form a unified philosophy.
- He founded a school in Athens advocating pleasure as the highest good and atoms-in-void naturalism.
Atomism Grounded In Sense Experience
- Epicurean atomism starts from sensory evidence: we perceive bodies and change, so fundamental unseen parts must exist.
- They posit indestructible atoms to avoid regress and explain coming-to-be as rearrangement.
The Void Is As Important As Atoms
- The void is as philosophically crucial as atoms because motion requires empty space.
- Epicureans argued that without the void motion would be impossible and our observations would be inexplicable.