Epicurean Primitivism: An Analysis of Lucretius On the Nature of Things Book 5

In the Greek tradition of political thought, one alleged political theory stands apart from the rest, namely the one expounded by Epicurus and his followers. It is generally held that Epicurus and the Epicureans did not have a political theory, and that Epicurus sought refuge from the turmoil of political life by retreating into his school. In place of political life, Epicureans formed a small society of like-minded friends. This view of Epicurus' social theory, I shall argue, is fundamentally misguided. One impact of this understanding of Epicurus' doctrines has led scholars to disregard many of the important sayings by Epicurus with respect to political jus t i ce , and on account of this , we face a fundamental misunderstanding of Epicurus' overall social theory. For the purposes of this paper, I shall focus on the so-called Epicurean primitivism. I shall argue that, in spite of some of the Epicurean sayings that might suggest otherwise, Epicurus does have an interest in politics, and the alleged Epicurean primitivism is unfounded. Some of the evidence used to support the primitivist thesis is the emphasis Epicurus places on friendship, which has led some commentators to believe that he rejected society altogether. In conjunction with a passage from Diogenes of Oenoanda , which refers to a Utopian time when the life of the gods will pass to men, 2 implies that the Epicureans had no real interest in political justice. Further, the Epicurean motto "Live Unknown" has led many commentators to believe that Epicurus advocated some 'back to nature' or some primitivism in social arrangements, or even a rejection of society altogether. This view has been championed by Benjamin Farrington who, in The Faith of Epicurus, argues that the Epicurean Garden resembles the primitive 'city of pigs' described by Socrates in Book 2 of Plato's Republic. Farrington envisions the Epicurean community to be a form of society where