Philosophy of Empedocles. Teachings of Empedocles
“Love and enmity!
Both of them are immortal...”
Empedocles
I Introduction.
One of the most important consequences of the Greco-Persian wars was the movement of the center of economic and cultural life in Greece from East to West. Ruined and deprived of eastern markets, the Ionian cities lost their former importance. Athens, Sparta and Sicily come to the fore.
Empedocles' activities took place in Agrigentum on the coast of Sicily. Agrigent was in the 5th century. BC. one of the most significant commercial Greek cities on the Sicilian coast. The exact date of birth and death of Empedocles is not known. Some ancient authors report that he lived 60 years, others over 100 years. Some sources refer the conditional date of the philosopher’s “prosperity” to the 84th Olympiad (about 444 BC). It is believed that Empedocles was of noble family; in the political war that was raging in Agrigentum during his time, he supported the side of democracy, achieved a high position in it and with a firm hand sought to protect the young democratic structure in Agrigentum from attempts to restore aristocratic power. In the legends about the life and work of Empedocles, there are many clearly fantastic and fictitious features. It is not easy to separate the grain in the reports of ancient writers from later unreliable reports. Empedocles appears as a sage, as a doctor and a miracle worker of superhuman power. His activity was as multifaceted as the activity of the first Milesian philosophers: Empedocles entered the history of Greek culture as an outstanding philosopher, poet, master of oratory, and founder of the school of eloquence in Sicily. Aristotle said that Empedocles was the first to invent rhetoric and that he knew how to express himself skillfully, using metaphors and other means of poetic language. He stated his philosophical views not in a prose treatise, but in the poem “On Nature”. Empedocles is perhaps the first, after Pythagoras, ancient philosopher about whom a large literature, partly polemical, arose in ancient times. Zeno of Elea and Melis wrote against the philosopher. A monograph on Empedocles was written by Aristotle's greatest student, Theophrastus. Plutarch and Epicurian Hermachus dedicated special works to Empedocles. We find numerous judgments about Empedocles and polemics with him on various issues in Aristotle.
Empedocles, as well as the first Milesian philosophers, is characterized by a combination of depth of speculation, broad and accurate observation with practical tendencies - with the desire to make knowledge serve life. Philosophy was not yet separated from science by Empedocles, and in science itself the theoretical view is not separated from the formulation of various practical problems. Thus, Empedocles studied biological and physiological phenomena and developed a number of hypotheses related to these phenomena. But at the same time he became famous as the founder of a medical school famous in antiquity. A number, undoubtedly, in a well-known part of fantastic reports, have been preserved of the remarkable exploits of Empedocles in the conquest of nature by man. For all the obvious exaggerations they contain, these reports show that Empedocles amazed his contemporaries with his scope and ingenuity in solving large practical problems.
A story has been preserved about how Empedocles changed the climate of Agrigentum: he allegedly made a passage in the rocks that surrounded the city with a wall, and thereby opened the way into it through the resulting gap for beneficial warm winds. From the point of view of the technical capabilities of that time, this message is so incredible that, of course, it is not necessary to take it seriously. However, this naive and fantastic story reflected a real feature of Empedocles’ activity - the desire to connect speculation, theory with practical activity.
II Basic ideas of the philosophy of Empedocles.
Empedocles received his philosophical training at the Elean school. One of the results of Eleatic philosophy had a great influence on the subsequent development of Greek philosophical thinking 5th century BC e. This result is the thought of the Eleans, according to which a truly existing being cannot but perish and not arise. They developed this position with great force, but connected it with their conviction in the immutability of the truth of the existing elements of being. This idea, after the Eleans, becomes the prerequisite for the largest materialistic teachings 5th and first half of the 4th century. BC e. Such are the teachings of Empedocles in Sicily, Anaxagoras in Athens, and Democratus in Abdera. Even if we observe in the world what is called genesis, birth, change or death, destruction, destruction, then this is only a deceptive appearance. All these phenomena must be explained in such a way that any explanation does not undermine the basic and original thesis about eternity and immutability, about the non-emerging and non-perishing nature of the true of existence. Among the Eleans, true existence is one; in it there cannot only be origin, change, and death, but there cannot be any plurality. Empedocles rejects the strict Leonism of the Eleans. He does not try to explain all the variety of forms and phenomena from one - a single material principle. He recognizes four such principles - basic and irreducible material elements. These are fire, air, water, earth. Empedocles calls these material principles “the roots of all things.” However, it is impossible to explain the visible phenomena of nature by assuming only the existence of these four “roots”. To explain what appears to people as the origin or genesis of all things natural world, it is necessary, according to Empedocles, in addition to the existence of four “roots” (material elements, principles), to also admit the existence of two opposite to each other driving forces. The elements, or “roots,” are set in motion by these forces: they either connect, come together, combine, or, on the contrary, they separate, move away from each other, or diverge. According to Empedocles, the life of nature consists in combination and separation, in qualitative and quantitative mixing and, accordingly, in the qualitative and quantitative separation of material elements, which in themselves, as elements, remain unchanged.
There is still a lot here from ancient mythology. Material principles, or elements, are characterized by Empedocles not as bone, inanimate and dead matter, but as divine beings - alive and capable of feeling. Material elements are not divorced from driving forces. All elements have a driving force. From this driving force of all elements, Empedocles distinguishes two specific driving forces. The active driving force appears in the form of two opposing forces. He calls the force that produces the connection, the force that produces the connection, love (or friendship, affection, harmony, even Aphrodite, after the name of the goddess of love that connects a man and a woman). He calls the force that produces division hatred (enmity, Ares). Empedocles' view of motive force has its roots in the very ancient ideas of the Greeks.
The originality of Empedocles, in contrast to his predecessors, was that, having borrowed his theory of the 4 primary substances from the very ancient Greek tradition, Empedocles connected it with the concept of the element, which he found in the second part of the poem of Parmenides, where the author set out his physical hypotheses and where a clearer physical concept of the element has already emerged. Having thus separated the moving or active cause from the material elements of nature, Empedocles then introduces an element of bifurcation into each of these two foundations - both the active driving force and the material “roots of all things”. He divides material elements into two classes. In addition to the driving forces of love and enmity, which, strictly speaking, are not elements of things, the driving principle for Empedocles is also the material element of fire. In this sense, Empedocles contrasts fire and air as male deities with earth and water as female deities. Sometimes he considers all four elements as living substances.
On the question of the relationship of unity to plurality, the philosophy preceding Empedocles put forward deeply opposing points of view of the Eleans and Heraclitus. For the Eleans, only unity is conceivable, there is no plurality, it is only an illusion of the senses. For Heraclitus, the one and the many exist simultaneously: all from one and from all one. Empedocles outlines a compromise, more “gentle” point of view. According to his view, the opposites of unity and plurality, love and enmity exist not simultaneously, but sequentially. Empedocles represents the life of nature as a cyclical or rhythmic process in which love, which unites physical elements, and enmity, which separates them, alternately prevail. The world is ruled alternately by love and enmity. During the reign of love, everything becomes unified, nature is an endless “ball”, and the originality of individual material elements is no longer preserved in it. At this time we will not find in it either the peculiar properties of fire, or the peculiar properties of any other of the elements - each loses its own appearance here. On the contrary, during the reign of hostility, everything becomes many, the uniqueness of the elements appears, they stand out and become isolated. Between periods of complete dominance of love and the same dominance of enmity there are transitional periods. Having retreated to the periphery of the world during the reign of enmity, which had established itself in the center of the world, Love begins to victoriously advance towards this center and partially dominate until it achieves complete triumph. At this time, hostility is removed from the center to the periphery. But as soon as love achieves victory, enmity will again begin to move towards the center, and love towards the periphery. The world process is the rhythmic repetition and return of these phases. With all the changes that occur during this process, the material elements themselves neither arise nor perish.
III Metaphysics of Empedocles.
Of the four physical elements, Empedocles especially important role fire plays. The philosopher, recognizing the beginning of everything as enmity and love, said that everything arose from fire and will be resolved into fire. This is one of the proofs of the strong influence that, apparently, the teachings of Heraclitus had on Empedocles. In view of the special significance that fire has in the physics of Empedocles, we can say about Empedocles that, strictly speaking, he operates with two physical elements: fire, which he considers in itself, and the elements opposite to fire, which for him are earth, air and water. But were, according to Empedocles, the four “roots of all things” eternal elements of nature, or did he think that they were formed from even more primordial principles? On this issue we find an important message from Aetius. He claims that, according to the teachings of Empedocles, even before the formation of the “four elements” there existed very small material particles - equally partial elements that preceded the “four roots”. If this is so, then the philosophy of Empedocles plays a certain role in the preparation of the future theory of atomism. On the basis of all these concepts and teachings, Empedocles developed his explanation of “genesis,” that is, the origin of all natural things. By genesis he understood only the connection or composition of eternal, non-emerging elements. According to Aristotle: “The connections (they) should be like a wall (built) of bricks and stones.
He owns the poem “On Nature,” from which 340 verses have survived, as well as the religious poem “Purification” (otherwise known as “Redemption”; about 100 verses have survived).
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His biography is difficult to separate from the legends on which the story of Empedocles cited by Diogenes Laertius is largely based. Some information about him is restored from his own writings, known from fragments.
His activities took place in the Sicilian city of Acragante (Agrigente). There were legends about him as a miracle worker of extraordinary power, who was able to resurrect a woman who had previously been without breathing for a whole month. He mastered the art of eloquence and even founded a school of oratory in Sicily. While developing the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, Empedocles said about himself that he was previously a man and a woman, a fish, a bird, and an animal.
According to some reports, at one time Empedocles was a Pythagorean, but was expelled for publicizing the teachings of Pythagoras.
The legend of his death, associated with the idea of turning a man into a god, became widespread. They say that, anticipating death, he threw himself into the mouth of Mount Etna. One of the explanations for suicide was an attempt to hide one’s death in order to be counted among the gods, arising from lifetime self-deification and hope for glory. However, Empedocles' suicide is seen not only as an attempt to be considered a deity, but also as an attempt, arising from his philosophy, to actually become a god. According to legend, the gods really accepted him, but not completely - the philosopher’s bronze sandals were thrown out of the volcano.
Teaching
The basis of Empedocles’ teaching is the concept of four elements, which form the “roots” of things, the so-called arche. These roots are fire, air, water and earth. Their correspondents were Hades, Zeus, Nestis (the Sicilian water deity) and Hera. They fill all space and are in constant motion, moving, mixing and separating. They are unchanging and eternal. All things seem to be made up of these elements, “just like a wall is made of bricks and stones.” Other gods were also derivatives of these 4 “roots”. These 4 “roots” of things are distributed most evenly in human blood. The “roots” of things are “passive” principles.
Empedocles rejects the idea of the birth and death of things. The latter are formed through mixing and combining elements in certain proportions. Thus, a bone consists of two parts water, two parts earth and four parts fire.
The source of the movement occurring in nature is not the “roots” themselves, since they are unchangeable, but two opposing forces - Love (Phileia), personifying unity and goodness, and Hatred (Neikos), personifying multitude and evil. They are “active” principles. These two forces have very definite physical qualities. Thus, “sticky Love” has all the properties of moisture, and “destructive Hate” has all the properties of fire. Thus, the whole world is a process of mixing and separating the mixed. If Love begins to dominate, then Sfairos is formed - a ball in which Hatred is on the periphery. When Enmity penetrates Sfairos, the elements move and they find themselves separated. Then the reverse process begins, which ends with the reconstruction of Sfairos - a homogeneous motionless mass with a spherical shape. In total there were 4 phases: 1) acosmic - domination and victory of Love (Sfairos); 2) cosmic - the transition from Love to Hate; 3) acosmic - domination and victory of Hatred; 4) cosmic - the transition from Hatred to Love. Humanity lived in phase 4.
Thus, Empedocles' concept boils down to the following scheme. There is unity and plurality in the world, but not simultaneously, as in Heraclitus, but sequentially. A cyclical process takes place in nature, in which Love first dominates, connecting all elements - “the roots of all things”, and then Enmity reigns, separating these elements. When Love dominates, then unity reigns in the world, and the qualitative originality of individual elements disappears. When Enmity dominates, the originality of material elements appears, a multitude appears. The dominance of Love and the dominance of Enmity are separated by transitional periods.
The world process consists of these repeating cycles. In the process of all the changes that occur, the elements themselves do not arise or are destroyed, they are eternal.
In his philosophy, Empedocles expressed many brilliant thoughts, but at the time when Empedocles lived, they could not be confirmed empirically. Thus, he wrote that light requires a certain time to propagate, that is, the speed of light is very large, but still a finite value. Even Aristotle in the 4th century.
BC e. considered this opinion to be erroneous. Empedocles, like the Eleatics, recognized the law of conservation - nothing comes from nothing. Also remarkable was Empedocles' idea of the survival of biological species, which were distinguished by their expediency. In this one can already see the beginnings, albeit naive, of an approach to the theory of natural selection. Like Anaximander, he believed that the living came from the non-living, but the difference was that in the beginning parts of the body and organs appeared, then, as Love intensified in the world, they randomly connected, as a result of which two-headed, four-armed, etc. appeared. n. The most adapted organisms survived, and this was a certain expedient plan. In medicine, Empedocles is one of the founders of the movement, whose representatives believed that it was impossible for anyone to know the art of medicine who had not first studied what a person is. In his theory of sensory perception, Empedocles puts forward a profound idea that the process of sensory perception depends on the structure of bodily organs. Cognition is carried out in the following way: like is perceived by like. For example, the sense organs adapt to what is perceived, but if the structure of the sense organ is such that it cannot adapt to what is perceived, then this object is not perceived. Or
cosmic love
is known like human love.
The sense organs have peculiar pores through which “outflows” from the perceived object penetrate. If the pores are narrow, then the “outflows” cannot penetrate, and perception does not occur.
Empedocles' theory of sensations had a great influence on subsequent ancient Greek thought - Plato, Aristotle, atomists.
In the partially preserved poem “Purification,” he outlined the Pythagorean doctrine of the transmigration of souls, retribution and atonement.
Notes
- Literature Books Asmus V. F.
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- Russell B. Empedocles // History of Western philosophy and its connection with political and social conditions from antiquity to the present day. - 5th ed. - Novosibirsk: Sib. University Publishing House, 2007. - pp. 90-95. - 992 s. - 3,100 copies.
- - ISBN 978-5-379-00305-0. Syomushkin A.V.
- Empedocles. - M.: Mysl, 1985. - 191 p. - (Thinkers of the past). - 60,000 copies. Trubetskoy S. N.
- Books Empedocles // History of ancient philosophy. - M.: Typo-lithography T-va I. N. Kushnerev and Co., 1906. - T. 1. - P. 116-124. - 212 s.
- // Hellenic poets of the 7th-3rd centuries. BC e. / Rep. ed. M. L. Gasparov. - M.: Ladomir, 1999. - P. 183-201. - 515 s. - (Ancient classics). - 2,000 copies.
- - ISBN 5-86218-237-3.
- Kingsley, Peter. Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition. - Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. ISBN 0-19-814988-3.
Primavesi, Oliver. Empedokles Physika I. Eine Rekonstruktion des zentralen Gedankengangs. - De Gruyter, Berlin und New York 2008. ISBN 978-3-11-020925-9.
- Wright, M. R. Empedocles: The Extant Fragments (new ed.). London: Bristol Classical Press, 1995. ISBN 1-85399-482-0. Articles
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- Empedocles: divinity and suicide // ΣΧΟΛΗ.
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- Afonasina A. S. Empedocles on breathing // ΣΧΟΛΗ. 2015. T. 9.2. pp. 353-362.
- Afonasina A. S. Strasbourg papyrus of Empedocles // ΣΧΟΛΗ. 2016. T. 10.1. pp. 214-226.
Egorov A. S. The poetic language of Empedocles // In the book: Philosophy. Language. Culture / Rep. ed.: V.V. Gorbatov. Vol. 3. - St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2012. No. 22. P. 237-248.
Egorov A. S. Empedocles and the problem of Greek shamanism // Questions of philosophy. - 2007. - No. 8. - P. 97-105.
In the philosophy of Empedocles, the influence of the Pythagoreans and Parmenides is noticeable. In the poem “On Nature,” Empedocles developed the doctrine of the four eternal and unchanging elements - fire, air, water and earth. They fill all space and are in constant motion, moving, mixing and separating. All things are formed from a combination of these elements in various proportions, “like a wall made of bricks and stones.” Thus, a bone consists of two parts water, two parts earth and four parts fire. Empedocles rejects the idea of the birth and death of things.
The combination and separation of elements is due to the existence of two forces - Love (philia) and Enmity (phobia), the alternating predominance of which determines the cyclical nature of the world process. These two forces have very definite physical qualities. Thus, “sticky Love” has all the properties of moisture, and “destructive Enmity” has all the properties of fire. During the period of the dominance of Love, the elements are fused together, forming a huge homogeneous ball - Sphairos, at rest; the predominance of Enmity leads to the isolation of elements.
In his philosophy, Empedocles expressed many brilliant ideas; for example, he wrote that light takes a certain time to spread. Empedocles' idea about the survival of biological species, which were distinguished by their expediency, was remarkable; His description of the origin of living beings during the period of the growing power of Love contains moments that anticipate the idea of natural selection.
Empedocles paid considerable attention to problems of medicine, anatomy and physiology; he became the founder of the Sicilian medical school. Empedocles believed that it is impossible to master healing if you do not know and study the human body. In his theory of sensory perception, he expressed the idea that the process of perception depends on the structure of bodily organs. Empedocles believed that like is perceived by like, therefore the senses adapt to what is sensed. The sense organs, according to Empedocles, have peculiar pores through which “outflows” from the perceived object penetrate. If the pores are narrow, then the “outflows” cannot penetrate, and perception does not occur. Empedocles' theory of sensations had a great influence on subsequent ancient Greek thought - Plato, Aristotle, and atomists.
In his poem “Purifications” (of which about a hundred verses have come down to us), Emedocles outlined the religious and ethical doctrine of metempsychosis (transmigration of souls). There were legends about Empedocles among his contemporaries as a miracle worker of extraordinary power who was able to resurrect a woman who had previously been without breathing for a whole month. He had all sorts of talents and virtues, was an outstanding orator and even founded a school of oratory in Sicily. The death of Empedocles is also shrouded in legend; they said that he threw himself into the mouth of Mount Etna so that he could be honored as a god.
Aphorisms, quotes, sayings, phrases.
- - It is better to be the subject of envy than compassion.
- - The mind grows in people in accordance with the knowledge of the world.
- - Nothing can come from nothing, and in no way can what exists be destroyed.
- - If opposing opinions are not expressed, then there is nothing to choose the best from.
- “The Akragants eat as if they will die tomorrow, and build houses as if they will live forever.
- - Since ancient times, people have had wise and beautiful sayings; We should learn from them.
philosopher empedocles orator
The ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles left a legacy of only 2 poems, and they were preserved only in the form of fragments and quotes, but in them descendants discovered many bold ideas that anticipated the distant future. In the biography of a thinker, it is difficult to separate facts from legends. Contemporaries believed that he had supernatural powers and was even capable of reviving the dead, and the thinker himself willingly supported the idea of his divine origin. in the book "History of Western Philosophy" named Empedocles
"a mixture of philosopher, prophet, man of science and charlatan."
Childhood and youth
Little is known about the philosopher’s early years, and even information about his date of birth is contradictory. Most historians are inclined to believe that it was 490 BC. The main part of the thinker’s life was spent in the city of Acragante (now Agrigento) in Sicily, which is why in surviving written evidence he is often called Empedocles of Acragante. Some sources also contain the clarification “son of Exenet.”
Biographical information about the philosopher is known mainly from the work of Diogenes Laertius, Empedocles’s own writings and the works of other ancient thinkers. He became the founder of the school of oratory, wrote the texts of speeches and was famous for his eloquent speeches. Aristotle considered him the founder of rhetoric.
Empedocles was a staunch supporter of democracy and advocated that young Acragantus follow this path. His position in society was significant, and his position was convincing, but he was unable to maintain the desired way of life in the city. Supporters of tyranny seized power and sentenced the philosopher to exile from the city. After the defeat, Empedocles withdrew from politics, completely immersing himself in philosophy.
Contemporaries believed that Empedocles traveled a lot, and this was the source of his deep knowledge - supposedly only the priests of Egypt could teach him the art of divination, and the secrets of witchcraft and medicine - the eastern sages, but there was evidence that ancient thinker really been to different countries, no.
In his native lands, the philosopher was considered a miracle worker and magician. Various miracles were attributed to him, including the resurrection of the dead - supposedly he was able to revive a woman who had lain lifeless for 30 days. He was nicknamed the Wind Baner - according to legend, when the wind once became so strong that it damaged the crops, Empedocles ordered to make skins from donkey skins and stretch them over the hills and peaks, after which the weather improved.
The philosopher is also credited with saving Selinunte from a plague epidemic: he ordered a rock to be broken through to let fresh air into the dying city, and soon the northern winds healed the atmosphere and carried away the disease.
Philosophy
Empedocles expressed his ideas in poetic form. Pre-Socratic thinkers preserved, recording in their works, two of his poems: “Purification” and “On Nature”. Presumably, both of them had 5 thousand lines, but only 450 have survived. The verses included in the poems express his thoughts not only accurately, but also elegantly: Empedocles was a master of style and skillfully used metaphors and other techniques of poetic art.
In his youth, Empedocles supported the Pythagorean movement, but then he was expelled from the ranks of his students - either because he made secret knowledge public, or because he appropriated the achievements of others (there is no consensus on this matter). Some ideas, in particular the doctrine of proportion, later formed the basis of the thinker’s natural philosophy.
The teachings of Empedocles are based on the doctrine of arche - the fundamental principle underlying the 4 elements, which correspond to 4 deities - , and Nestis. The elements, being eternal and unchanging, constantly move, fill space and form all things around, including the human body. For example, blood consists of 4 elements in equal proportions, and bones are made up of 4 parts fire, 2 earth and 2 fire. At the same time, the elements themselves are passive and do not create anything, but move due to the collision of 2 opposing forces - Philea (Love) and Neikos (Hate).
Empedocles considered birth and death to be incorrect concepts, behind which there is a simple connection and separation of elements. This dualism underlies all existence, forming a cyclical process in which unity and plurality appear successively.
In his poetic poems, the philosopher expressed dozens of brilliant thoughts that were ahead of his time. Then, of course, such bold ideas could not be confirmed empirically, and Empedocles’ views seemed fantastic to his contemporaries, but with the development of science, scientists were surprised to discover the beginnings of many important ideas in ancient scrolls.
For example, Empedocles supported the law of conservation (first stated by the Eleatics), arguing that nothing arises from the void. In his treatise “On Nature,” he wrote that light travels at a certain speed, which is large but finite. Also in the works of Empedocles, the foundations of the theory of natural selection were discovered, developed: the philosopher argued that species are constantly changing, and only the fittest of them survive.
Naturally, his teaching does not have much in common with the ideas of modern biology - for example, the thinker believed that the first animals were mechanical, random connections of individual organs, including human ones, but his hypotheses were reflected and developed in the works of his followers and laid the foundations fundamentals of the study of organic life.
This is not the only contribution to science made by the philosopher. Empedocles was the author of the concept of air as a certain substance, recorded observations of the facts of centrifugal force and pointed out that the Moon shines not with its own, but with reflected light. He was also interested in the topic of childbirth: he considered the birth of opposite-sex twin children especially mysterious and tried to explain this phenomenon through the theory of transmigration of souls.
The ancient philosopher had ideas and conjectures in the field of medicine, especially with regard to physiology and sensory perception. He was one of the first who tried to separate healing from witchcraft and blind beliefs. Empedocles insisted that medicine is a science, not secret magical knowledge, and the doctor is obliged to study the human body, and not just follow ancient legends.
From the point of view of epistemology, Empedocles was a supporter sensory knowledge and was an optimist regarding its boundaries, arguing that the truth exists and there are no fundamental obstacles to its comprehension. At the same time, a person experiences the world through sensations: his organs adapt to the object being studied and perceive information through special pores. The wider the pores, the more multifaceted and complex information can be perceived and learned through them.
Together with Anaxagoras, Empedocles laid the foundations for the development of Greek philosophy, from which the teachings of atomists, works, etc. later grew.
Personal life
Nothing is known about the wife of the great philosopher. However, he had descendants: Satyr in his “Biographies” mentions that Empedocles had a son, whom the thinker named Exenetus in honor of his father. Also in some sources there is a mention of a daughter who, either intentionally or accidentally, burned part of the philosopher’s remaining unfinished manuscripts.
Empedocles had an extravagant demeanor and liked to emphasize his superiority over others. He wore the clothes of a priest - a purple robe, a golden belt and a Delphic crown, appeared everywhere surrounded by a retinue and enthusiastic students, and his majestic arrogance inspired awe in his fellow citizens. From his parents he inherited a decent fortune, which he preferred to spend in an original way, giving dowries to poor girls he half knew and organizing successful marriages for them.
Death
There are many versions about how Empedocles died - from everyday to fantastic. Diogenes Laertius cites 2 of them. According to the first, famous philosopher was taken to heaven alive, and “sacrifices must be made to him, as if he had become a god.” According to the second, Empedocles chose suicide: sensing the approach of death, he threw himself into the mouth of the Etna volcano. Fellow citizens learned of his death when they discovered his bronze sandals in the ashes near the mountain.
However, in some written evidence of that time, simpler versions are found: perhaps Empedocles fell from a cart going to a holiday in Messene, broke his hip and, falling ill after that, died. It is also mentioned that he actually slipped and fell into the sea. Being a weak old man, the philosopher could not cope with the oncoming wave and drowned.
Which interpretation is correct and what exactly caused the death is not known for certain. Historians even disagree on how old the thinker was at the time of his death: 60, 77 or 109.
Descendants erected a statue of Empedocles in his hometown. Later, the Romans moved it to the capital and placed it in the square in front of the Senate building. Sculptural portraits of the philosopher have also been preserved, from which one can get a rough idea of his appearance.
Quotes
Many striking misfortunes dull inquisitive thoughts.
It is a pity who has a vague opinion in his soul about immortals.
There is one cosmos, but the cosmos does not constitute the Universe, but forms only a certain, small part of the Universe, the rest of it is raw matter.
Nothing can come from nothing, and there is no way that what exists can be destroyed.
Empedocles of the Sicilian city of Acraganta was not only a large ancient philosopher, but also a poet, orator, doctor, priest, “miracle worker” and, thanks to his fascinating eloquence and energy, an active politician, a supporter of slave democracy, despite his aristocratic origins. Aristotle called him "the inventor of rhetoric." Empedocles' teachers are considered to be Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, Xenophanes and Parmenides, but he philosophical views do not coincide with their teachings. In his two poems “On Nature” and “Purifications,” which have come down to us in fragments, Empedocles develops a unique natural philosophical system, in which he tries to unite the views of all previous philosophers.
Empedocles' doctrine of the cosmos as a living organism
The spontaneous materialism of Empedocles' philosophy is also projected onto his understanding of the development of the cosmos, where love and enmity play a decisive role as the main material driving principles.
Empedocles defines the primary stage in which the entire cosmos is in the term sphairos. There is no certainty at this stage; everything merges into an indistinguishable unity. This state of the cosmos actually represents a certain most perfect mixture and true unity of the elements, in which they are still represented. This is the period of the universal power of love; and here enmity is placed “outside” the world, repressed.
The second stage of cosmic development begins with the emergence of single, separate things. This occurrence is caused by the gradual arrival of enmity, which at this stage tends to displace love. The main elements in this period are still partially connected and at the same time partially separated.
The third stage in the development of space is determined by the unambiguous hegemony of hostility. Love is forced out of the world and drags out a miserable existence on its sidelines. The elements are more or less separated during this period.
The fourth stage is determined by the return of the power of love. The elements unite again. This is how Empedocles characterizes the cosmogonic process of development. It consists of constantly repeating four stages, in which enmity and love alternately take over. In this development, with the mingling power of love and enmity, the separation and union again of the four basic elements occurs, and, in fact, this is how concrete things are formed.