Epikouros of Samos
Epikouros out-of Samos (existed 341 – 270 BC), whose name’s commonly Latinized as Epicurus, was a beneficial Hellenistic Greek philosopher and also the eponymous inventor of Greek philosophical college of Epicureanism. The fresh new Epicureans believed that brand new gods didn’t come with involvement after all for the person activities and you will have been known for their doubt off claims regarding supernatural phenomena.
You have almost certainly viewed it quote related to Epikouros. It’s by far the most popular phrasing of your Problem of Worst available:
Anything is definite that’s one to Epikouros yes never ever presented this new Epicurean trilemma using this text
“Is he [we.e. God] prepared to end worst, not able? next is actually the guy impotent. Is actually the guy able, although not happy? up coming is actually the guy malicious. Try the guy one another in a position and you will ready? whence following try evil?”
The new trilemma was first demonstrated with this particular wording of the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume (lived 1711 – 1776) in his publication Dialogues regarding Absolute Religion, which had been completed in 1776 eventually prior to Hume’s demise and authored posthumously when you look at the 1779. Exactly why it phrasing of one’s trilemma is sometimes misattributed so you can Epikouros is simply because Hume credited the fresh argument by itself so you’re able to Epikouros and other people appear to misunderstood him, thought he was myself quoting Epikouros rather than paraphrasing.
ABOVE: Portrait decorated for the 1754 of the Allan Ramsay of the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume, the real writer of the latest types of this new therefore-named “Epicurean trilemma” that is will cited to the misattribution so you’re able to Epikouros
Hume mainly based his description of your own Issue of Evil with the an excellent description regarding very early Religious apologist Lactantius (lived c. 250 – c. 325 Advertising) within the section thirteen, passages twenty using twenty-one of is own treatise De- Ira Dei (“Regarding Wrath from Jesus“). Lactantius writes, just like the translated because of the William Fletcher:
“In case it membership is true, which the Stoics were during the zero manner able to see, one argument also off Epicurus is carried out aside. Goodness, according to him, possibly would like to pull away evils, which can be incapable; or He is ready, that’s hesitant; otherwise He’s none happy neither able, otherwise He could be one another willing and you may able. In the event the He’s willing and that is not able, They are feeble, that is not according to the reputation of God; in the event the He could be ready and you can hesitant, He could be jealous, that is similarly at variance that have God; if He is none ready neither able, He’s each other jealous and you will feeble, and therefore not God; if He or she is each other willing and able, which by Casual Sex dating sites yourself is suitable so you can God, as to the resource next try evils? Otherwise why does He maybe not take them out? I know that many of the brand new philosophers, who protect providence, are acclimatized to feel interrupted by this dispute, and so are nearly passionate against the often to acknowledge that God requires no interest in things, and this Epicurus particularly aims at.”
No disagreement whatsoever along these lines you to takes place in any kind of the new extant web log off Epikouros. This might not at all times indicate something, while the vast majority of everything Epikouros typed could have been forgotten. We only have about three away from Epikouros’s letters (i.elizabeth. the fresh new Page so you can Menoikeus, the fresh Page to Pythokles, in addition to Page to Herodotos) as well as 2 selections from quotations from his today-destroyed performs (i.elizabeth. the principle Doctrines and also the Vatican Sayings).
Epikouros you are going to therefore provides hypothetically showed a disagreement along the outlines out-of just what Lactantius refers to in just one of their work which can be no longer extant, such as his treatise With the Gods, which the 3rd-century Offer Greek biographer Diogenes Laertios praises among Epikouros’s most readily useful performs, or his treatise Toward Character, that is known to possess spanned 30-7 amounts, but hence simply survives inside the fragments. Nonetheless, it can improve uncertainty one to Lactantius will not state and this treatise Epicurus is supposed to said so it into the.
