Episode 125 - Letter to Herodotus 14 - Purpose and Method of Studying Nature - Conclusion
Date: 06/11/22
Link: https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/2543-episode-one-hundred-twenty-five-letter-to-herodotus-14-purpose-and-method-of-stu/
Summary
Section titled “Summary”Martin reads sections 78-83, the concluding passages of the Letter to Herodotus, which synthesize Epicurus’s entire physics program and its relationship to peace of mind, sure confidence, and happy living. The core epistemological argument runs through sections 79-80: even an expert in celestial observation can remain in greater fear if they don’t understand the nature of what they observe; Epicurus “despises” those who arbitrarily lock onto a single theory when multiple theories are consistent with the evidence, because picking one without evidence is no different from myth — and this position is linked to Principal Doctrines 23-25 on not rejecting any single sensation. Section 81 identifies the principal disturbance of human minds as thinking the gods are capricious immortals and fearing eternal punishment after death — both brought on “not by reasoned opinion but by some irrational presentiment” — and Cassius reads Ovid’s tribute to Lucretius (“these verses shall not perish until a single day consigns the world to destruction”). Virgil’s Eclogues (“Happy is he who has discovered the causes of things and has cast beneath his feet all fears, unavoidable fate, and the din of the devouring underworld”) is quoted as the best summary of Lucretius’s project, and the closing discussion addresses the frequently misread claim that Epicurus was not enthusiastic about science, with Cassius arguing he was fully committed to nature as the basis for all conclusions — pleasure being the fruit rather than the arbitrary starting premise. The episode concludes the nine-episode series on the Letter to Herodotus; Joshua cites Philodemus’s lament about Epicureans’ “unforgivable negligence” regarding the books, and the group announces the next topic: the Letter to Pythocles.
Transcript
Section titled “Transcript”Cassius: Welcome to Episode 125 of Lucretius Today. I’m your host Cassius, and today we complete Epicurus’s Letter to Herodotus. Next week we’ll turn to the Letter to Pythocles, but for today, let’s complete Herodotus by listening to Martin read the concluding section of the text.
Martin: Furthermore, we must believe that to discover accurately the cause of the most essential facts is the function of the science of nature, and that blessedness for us in the knowledge of celestial phenomena lies in this and in the understanding of the nature of the existences seen in these celestial phenomena, and of all else that is akin to the exact knowledge requisite for our happiness. In knowing too that what occurs in several ways or is capable of being otherwise has no place here, but that nothing which suggests doubt or alarm can be included at all in that which is naturally immortal and blessed. Now this we can ascertain by our mind is absolutely the case. But what falls within the investigation of risings and settings and turnings and eclipses and all that is akin to this is no longer of any value for the happiness which knowledge brings, but persons who have perceived all this but yet do not know what are the natures of these things and what are the essential causes are still in fear just as if they did not know these things at all. Indeed their fear may be even greater, since the wonder which arises out of the observation of these things cannot discover any solution or realize the regulation of the essentials. And for this very reason, even if we discover several causes for turnings and settings and risings and eclipses and the like, as has been the case already in our investigation of detail, we must not suppose that our inquiry into these things has not reached sufficient accuracy to contribute to our peace of mind and happiness. So we must carefully consider in how many ways a similar phenomenon is produced on earth when we reason about the causes of celestial phenomena and all that is imperceptible to the senses. And we must despise those persons who do not recognize either what exists or comes into being in one way only, or that which may occur in several ways in the case of things which can only be seen by us from a distance, and further are not aware under what conditions it is impossible to have peace of mind. If therefore we think that a phenomenon probably occurs in some such particular way, and that in circumstances under which it is equally possible for us to be at peace when we realize that it may occur in several ways, we shall be just as little disturbed as if we know that it occurs in some particular way. And besides all these matters in general, we must grasp this point: that the principal disturbance in the minds of men arises because they think that these celestial bodies are blessed and immortal and yet have wills and actions and motives inconsistent with these attributes, and because they are always expecting or imagining some everlasting misery such as is depicted in legends, or even fear the loss of feeling in death as though it would concern them themselves; and again because they are brought to this path not by reason and opinion but rather by some irrational presentiment. And therefore, as they do not know the limits of pain, they suffer a disturbance equally great or even more extensive than if they had reached this belief by opinion. But peace of mind is being delivered from all this and having a constant memory of the general and most essential principles. Therefore we must pay attention to internal feelings and to external sensations in general and in particular, according as the subject is general or particular, and to every immediate intuition in accordance with each of the standards of judgment. For if we pay attention to these, we shall rightly trace the causes whence arose our mental disturbance and fear; and by learning the true causes of celestial phenomena and all other occurrences that come to pass from time to time, we shall free ourselves from all which produces the utmost fear in other men. Here, Herodotus, is my treatise on the chief points concerning the nature of things in general, abridged so that my account would be easy to grasp with accuracy. I think that even if one were unable to proceed to all the detailed particulars of the system, he would from this obtain an unrivaled strength compared with other men. For indeed he will clear up for himself many of the detailed points by reference to our general system. And those very principles, if he stores them in his mind, will constantly aid him. For such is their character that even those who are at present engaged in working out the details to a considerable degree, or even completely, will be able to carry out the greater part of the investigations into the nature of the whole by conducting the analysis in reference to such a survey as this. And as for all who are not fully among those on the way to being perfected, some of them can from this summary obtain a hasty view of the most important matters without oral instruction, so as to secure peace of mind.
Cassius: Thank you, Martin. We have now read to the very end of the Letter to Herodotus. There are a lot of summary statements here about everything we’ve been talking about and how to apply it. We’re not introducing any new scientific observations today — we’re going back over the general way to look at things.
Starting with section 78: the first passage introduces this idea and emphasizes that even if we think that things occur in several ways, we don’t include anything that would cause doubt or alarm as part of divinity. What is naturally immortal and blessed doesn’t have anything to do with arbitrariness or punishment of friends and enemies. And the last sentence: “This we can ascertain by our mind is absolutely the case.” That’s a firm statement that you can look at the universe and observe things and come to conclusions. This goes back to a core theme: Epicurus isn’t just making everything subservient to an arbitrary decision to have a good time — he’s starting with the study of nature and deriving from it that living happily is what nature intends.
Joshua: I want to note that opening — “exact knowledge requisite for our happiness.” When you read some ancient sources claiming Epicurus was not very curious or not very smart, or was grudging about science and just wanted enough to get by — here he says that not only is that not the case, but that exact knowledge of natural phenomena is requisite for human happiness. That seems to me to be the main thrust of this whole letter.
Cassius: Exactly. And what connects this to sections 79 and 80 is that observation without understanding is not enough. Section 79 says people who have perceived all the astronomical phenomena “but yet do not know what are the natures of these things and what are the essential causes are still in fear just as if they did not know these things at all. Indeed their fear may be even greater, since the wonder which arises out of the observation of these things cannot discover any solution.” You can study eclipses and be able to predict them with precision and yet if you don’t understand the nature of what you’re seeing — that there are natural causes — you’re still vulnerable to those who will offer supernatural explanations.
Joshua: And that takes me to Babylonian astrologers who were technically very sophisticated in predicting celestial positions but couldn’t explain why the planets wandered. Ptolemy, in his book on the heavens — the Almagest — when he got to this issue he said: “When I trace at my pleasure the windings to and fro of the heavenly bodies, my feet no longer touch the earth but I stand in the presence of Zeus himself.” He couldn’t explain it, so he attributed it to Zeus. That’s exactly what section 79 is warning about: a man with enough knowledge to be frightened but not enough to be at peace.
Cassius: And section 80 is one of the crown jewels — about multiple causes. He says we must carefully consider in how many ways a similar phenomenon is produced on earth. We must despise those who don’t recognize that some things exist in one way only and that some may occur in several ways. If you can’t eliminate down to fewer than three or four possibilities, you’re still okay — as long as those three or four don’t include “there’s a monster about to destroy you.”
Joshua: Principal Doctrine 24 relates to this: if you reject any single sensation and fail to distinguish between your conclusions as opinion versus what is actually given in sensation, you’ll confound all your sensations with groundless opinions and reject every standard of judgment.
Cassius: And Principal Doctrine 25 as well: if on any occasion you don’t refer your actions to the end of nature but turn to some other nearer standard, your actions will not be consistent with your principles. It’s not okay to just accept the idea that “anything’s possible, so I’m not going to reach a conclusion.” That’s leaving the path of scientific inquiry and having recourse to myth — which is the word he uses, mython in the Greek.
Martin: Yes. By the celestial phenomena we don’t need to identify a single mechanism — just as long as we remain convinced there is a natural mechanism that keeps the celestial bodies in motion.
Cassius: Section 81 identifies the principal disturbance: thinking these celestial bodies are blessed and immortal and yet have wills inconsistent with blessedness — they’re always expecting everlasting misery. And “they are brought to this path not by reason and opinion but by some irrational presentiment.” And then the beginning of section 82: “But peace of mind is being delivered from all this and having a constant memory of the general and most essential principles.”
I want to quote Ovid, who wrote about Lucretius: “The verses of sublime Lucretius shall not perish until a single day shall consign the world to destruction.” And Joshua made an interesting observation about this.
Joshua: Yes — Epicurus knows the world is going to be destroyed eventually. He knows it, he thinks it’s true, and it sits on the shelf, because we’ve got our lives to live. It doesn’t send him into depression or nihilism. It should spur you to action while you have the time. That’s the Epicurean response — use your life productively before you get old. All the different clichés for that — make hay while the sun shines. Carpe diem.
Martin: There were no imminent signs that the breaking up of the earth would happen anytime soon. And from an Epicurean standpoint, you wouldn’t fear death either — you won’t sense it when it happens.
Cassius: And I’ll close the ranting by going back to what people sometimes conclude — that Epicurus’s primary motivation was fleeing pain. This perspective totally reverses it. He was not concerned about fleeing anything. He had an understanding that there’s not going to be an eternity of suffering. Principal Doctrine 3: if pain is really strong, it won’t last long; if it’s not so strong, it’s manageable. What you can’t change is that you’re only going to have a certain length of time to live. Nothing will provide extra life once you’re dead. The world at some point will suffer the same fate. And that’s one of those things that — once you really absorb it — is one of the best ways to pull out of depression and irritation, to realize you’re not extending your life one minute by worrying about something you can’t change.
Virgil put it better than I ever will, in what I think is the best summary of what Lucretius was trying to do in his 7,000 lines: “Happy is he who has discovered the causes of things and has cast beneath his feet all fears, unavoidable fate, and the din of the devouring underworld.”
Martin: Nothing to add.
Joshua: My closing thought is Philodemus’s line about “the unforgivable negligence of Epicureans with regard to the books.” When I first read that, I certainly saw myself in it. I hadn’t spent much time with these letters. There is a lot of value in doing this — we have here the only surviving works by Epicurus himself in any length. Whether you find them slightly dull at first approach — as I can imagine — or rough going, there is value in all of these letters. Hopefully we’ve done our job bringing some of that out. The main line I keep going back to is that Epicurus finds his chief happiness in the study of nature. That is, I think, absolutely crucial to understanding the whole program.
Cassius: And these letters survive because Diogenes Laertius, writing several centuries after Epicurus, of all the philosophers he covered chose to preserve three lengthy letters only from Epicurus — not from Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, or anyone else. That itself tells us something.
We’ve now finished the Letter to Herodotus. Next week we begin the Letter to Pythocles, and we invite everybody to join us at EpicureanFriends.com for the forum thread. Thanks for your time today — we’ll come back next week. Goodbye.
Joshua: Goodbye.
Martin: Bye.