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Epicurus' dying wishes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2013

James Warren
James Warren
Affiliation:
Magdalene College, Cambridge
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It is now a recognised phenomenon in the study of ancient philosophy – especially of the Hellenistic period – that the various philosophical schools disseminated or fabricated stories about the life of their chosen founder which were supposed to embody the theories – especially the ethical theories – to which that school subscribed. This may be termed ‘biodoxography’: the presentation and manipulation of purportedly biographical anecdotes in order to illustrate a particular philosophical stance. This biodoxography could be used for various and sometimes conflicting ends. While a particular philosophical school might attempt to publicise and embody in the image of its founder what it thought was an attractive model for living, opponents of that school were encouraged by this very biodoxographical practice to scrutinise the details of a chosen figure-head's conduct in order to produce possible conflicts with the proposed doctrine. The greater the emphasis laid on the founder's life as a model and paradigm of a particular philosophy, the greater the profit in finding some contradiction between his behaviour and the doctrine of the school.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society (Second Series) , Volume 47 , 2001 , pp. 23 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s). Published online by Cambridge University Press 2001

References

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