History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps HoP 011 - All You Need Is Love, and Five Other Things - Empedocles
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Dec 13, 2010 AI Snips
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Discovery of Empedocles Papyrus
- A scholar named Ala Martin discovered new papyrus fragments of Empedocles's poetry in 1990 in a library in Strasbourg.
- These fragments expanded the extant remains of Empedocles, an exciting event in ancient philosophy studies.
Empedocles's Divine Claims
- Empedocles claimed divinity and was reputed to perform miracles and prophecy, affecting long hair, purple robes, and bronze-soled shoes.
- Legend has it he died by throwing himself into a volcano to prove his godhood, but this was likely a myth.
Empedocles on Reincarnation
- Empedocles believed in reincarnation, including that he remembered being a boy, girl, bird, fish, and even a bush.
- He advocated vegetarianism to avoid eating reincarnated family, linking morality to reincarnation beliefs.