Geuzenveld-Slotermeer in Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands — Northwestern Europe
Epicurus
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, October 31, 2023
1. Epicurus Marker
Hij werd geboren op het Griekse eiland Samos. Volgens deze oud-Griekse filosoof ging het leven om geluk. Geluk- kig zijn bereikte je volgens hem door te proberen pijn te vermijden en het genot na te streven. In 306 v Chr. opende hij zijn beroemde Tuin van Epicurus, waarin genot als hoogste goed werd gecultiveerd. Deze manier van denken wordt ook wel aangeduid als hedonisme. Hij was de grondlegger van het naar hem vernoemde epicurisme, een van de scholen uit de hellenistische filosofie. In tegenstelling tot wat men verwachtte leidde hij zélf juist een zeer sober leven.
Epicurus was born on the Greek island of Samos. According to this ancient Greek philosopher, life was about happiness. According to him, happiness was achieved by trying to avoid pain and pursuing pleasure. In 306 B.C. he opened his famous Garden of Epicurus, in which pleasure was cultivated as the highest good. This way of thinking is also referred to as hedonism. He was the founder of Epicureanism, one of the schools of Hellenistic philosophy, named after him. Contrary to what people expected, he himself led a very austere life.
Erected by Geef Straten Een Gezicht.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Give Streets a Face / Geef Straten Een Gezicht series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 306 BCE.
Location. 52° 22.456′ N, 4° 48.927′ E. Marker is in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland (North Holland). It is in Geuzenveld-Slotermeer. It is at the intersection of Epicurusstraat and Socratesstraat, on the left when traveling west on Epicurusstraat. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Epicurusstraat 1, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland
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Regionally, it is in Europe, the European Union, Atlantic Europe, the Benelux Low Countries, the Schengen Area, Western Europe, and the Western World. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Holy Roman Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Socrates (within shouting distance of this marker); Parmenides (within shouting distance of this marker); Plato (about 180 meters away, measured in a direct line); Confucius (about 180 meters away); Van Moerkerken (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Nijhoff (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Du Perron (approx. half a kilometer away); Krijn Breuer (approx. 0.6 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Amsterdam.
Also see . . . Epicurus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
Excerpt: The philosophy of Epicurus (341–270 B.C.E.) was a complete and interdependent system, involving a view of the goal of human life (happiness, resulting from absence of physical pain and mental disturbance), an empiricist theory of knowledge (sensations, together with the(Submitted on November 11, 2023.)perception of pleasure and pain, are infallible criteria), a description of nature based on atomistic materialism, and a naturalistic account of evolution, from the formation of the world to the emergence of human societies. Epicurus believed that, on the basis of a radical materialism which dispensed with transcendent entities such as the Platonic Ideas or Forms, he could disprove the possibility of the soul’s survival after death, and hence the prospect of punishment in the afterlife. He regarded the unacknowledged fear of death and punishment as the primary cause of anxiety among human beings, and anxiety in turn as the source of extreme and irrational desires. The elimination of the fears and corresponding desires would leave people free to pursue the pleasures, both physical and mental, to which they are naturally drawn, and to enjoy the peace of mind that is consequent upon their regularly expected and achieved satisfaction. It remained to explain how irrational fears arose in the first place: hence the importance of an account of social evolution. Epicurus was aware that deeply ingrained habits of thought are not easily corrected, and thus he proposed various exercises to assist the novice. His system included advice on the proper attitude toward politics (avoid it where possible) and the gods (do not imagine that they concern themselves about human beings and their behavior), the role of sex (dubious), marriage (also dubious) and friendship (essential), reflections on the nature of various meteorological and planetary phenomena, about which it was best to keep an open mind in the absence of decisive verification, and explanations of such processes as gravity (that is, the tendency of objects to fall to the surface of the earth) and magnetism, which posed considerable challenges to the ingenuity of the earlier atomists. Although the overall structure of Epicureanism was designed to hang together and to serve its principal ethical goals, there was room for a great deal of intriguing philosophical argument concerning every aspect of the system, from the speed of atoms in a void to the origin of optical illusions.Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, October 31, 20232. Epicurus Marker - wide view
Credits. This page was last revised on December 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 11, 2023, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 128 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 11, 2023, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
