Epicurus’ Human Beings

Abstract This book examines the pragmatics of Epicurus’ writings with respect to their use, their format, and their functioning in one’s efforts to become, and remain, untroubled. Epicurus’ letters and maxims are written to impact and train the reader’s capacity to reach and maintain a state of ataraxia; that is, the absence of troubles. This book advocates a reading that takes Epicurus’ intentions at face value and tests them, defending the argument that they not only describe a way of life but also instantiate his care, thus bringing the doctrine closer to its application through an examination of its intended practitioners: human beings. The corpus of this study consists of the three letters and the maxims transmitted by Diogenes Laertius. Each chapter is dedicated to one of these texts and subdivided into two main sections. In the first section, close readings and philosophical interpretations provide a heuristic analysis of Epicurus’ conception of human beings as agents and patients. In the second section, a review of person deixis offers a text-centred counterpart. Together, the chapters delineate how human beings are portrayed theoretically and addressed linguistically. Additional attention is paid to the issue of authenticity in the case of certain texts. A final Appendix applies the same methodology to the Letter to Mother, found in Diogenes of Oenoanda’s monumental inscription.