Empedocles (; grc-gre,
Ἐμπεδοκλῆς; , 444–443 BC) was a
Greek pre-Socratic philosopher
Pre-Socratic philosophy, also known as early Greek philosophy, is ancient Greek philosophy before Socrates. Pre-Socratic philosophers were mostly interested in cosmology, the beginning and the substance of the universe, but the inquiries of the ...
and a native citizen of
Akragas, a Greek city in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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. Empedocles' philosophy is best known for originating the
cosmogonic theory of the four
classical elements. He also proposed forces he called Love and Strife which would mix and separate the elements, respectively.
Empedocles challenged the practice of animal sacrifice and killing animals for food. He developed a distinctive doctrine of
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...
. He is generally considered the last Greek philosopher to have recorded his ideas in verse. Some of his work survives, more than is the case for any other pre-Socratic philosopher. Empedocles' death was mythologized by ancient writers, and has been the subject of a number of literary treatments.
Life
Although the exact dates of Empedocles birth and death are unknown and ancient accounts of his life conflict on the exact details, they agree that he was born in the early 5th century BC in the Greek city of
Akragas in
Magna Graecia, present day
Sicily
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. Modern scholars believe the accuracy of the accounts that he came from a rich and noble family and that his grandfather, also named Empedocles, had won a victory in the horse-race at Olympia in
he 71st OlympiadOL. LXXI (496–95 BC), but little else can be determined with accuracy.
Primary sources of information on the life of Empedocles come from the
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
, several centuries after his own death and long after any reliable evidence about his life would have perished. Modern scholarship generally believes that these biographical details, including
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
's assertion that he was the "father of
rhetoric", his chronologically impossible tutelage under
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His poli ...
, and his employment as a doctor and miracle worker, were fabricated from interpretations of Empedocles' poetry, as was common practice for the biographies written during this time.
Philosophy
Based on the surviving fragments of his work, modern scholars generally believe that Empedocles was directly responding to
Parmenides' doctrine of
monism
Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished:
* Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...
and was likely acquainted with the work of
Anaxagoras, although it is unlikely he was aware of either the later
Eleatics or the doctrines of the
Atomists. Many later accounts of his life claim that Empedocles studied with the
Pythagoreans on the basis of his doctrine of reincarnation, although he may have instead learned this from a local tradition rather than directly from the
Pythagoreans.
Cosmogony
Empedocles established four ultimate
elements which make all the structures in the world—
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames ...
,
air,
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...
,
earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...
. Empedocles called these four elements "roots", which he also identified with the mythical names of
Zeus,
Hera,
Nestis, and
Aidoneus (e.g., "Now hear the fourfold roots of everything: enlivening Hera, Hades, shining Zeus. And Nestis, moistening mortal springs with tears"). Empedocles never used the term "element" (, ''stoicheion''), which seems to have been first used by
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
. According to the different proportions in which these four indestructible and unchangeable elements are combined with each other the difference of the structure is produced. It is in the aggregation and segregation of elements thus arising, that Empedocles, like the atomists, found the real process which corresponds to what is popularly termed growth, increase or decrease. Nothing new comes or can come into being; the only change that can occur is a change in the juxtaposition of element with element. This theory of the four elements became the standard
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
for the next two thousand years.
The four elements, however, are simple, eternal, and unalterable, and as change is the consequence of their mixture and separation, it was also necessary to suppose the existence of moving powers that bring about mixture and separation. The four elements are both eternally brought into union and parted from one another by two divine powers,
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
and
Strife (''
Philotes'' and ''
Neikos''). Love () is responsible for the attraction of different forms of what we now call
matter, and Strife () is the cause of their separation. If the four elements make up the universe, then Love and Strife explain their variation and harmony. Love and Strife are attractive and repulsive forces, respectively, which are plainly observable in human behavior, but also pervade the universe. The two forces wax and wane in their dominance, but neither force ever wholly escapes the imposition of the other.
As the best and original state, there was a time when the pure elements and the two powers co-existed in a condition of rest and inertness in the form of a sphere. The elements existed together in their purity, without mixture and separation, and the uniting power of Love predominated in the sphere: the separating power of Strife guarded the extreme edges of the sphere. Since that time, strife gained more sway and the bond which kept the pure elementary substances together in the
sphere
A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the c ...
was dissolved. The elements became the world of phenomena we see today, full of contrasts and oppositions, operated on by both Love and Strife. Empedocles assumed a cyclical universe whereby the elements return and prepare the formation of the sphere for the next period of the universe.
Empedocles attempted to explain the separation of elements, the formation of earth and sea, of Sun and Moon, of atmosphere. He also dealt with the first origin of plants and animals, and with the
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...
of humans. As the elements entered into combinations, there appeared strange results—heads without necks, arms without shoulders. Then as these fragmentary structures met, there were seen horned heads on human bodies, bodies of oxen with human heads, and figures of
double sex. But most of these products of natural forces disappeared as suddenly as they arose; only in those rare cases where the parts were found to be adapted to each other did the complex structures last. Thus the organic universe sprang from spontaneous aggregations that suited each other as if this had been intended. Soon various influences reduced creatures of double sex to a male and a female, and the world was replenished with organic life.
Psychology
Like
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His poli ...
, Empedocles believed in the
transmigration of the soul or
metempsychosis, that souls can be reincarnated between humans, animals and even plants. According to him, all humans, or maybe only a selected few among them, were originally long-lived
daimons who dwelt in a state of bliss until committing an unspecified crime, possibly bloodshed or perjury. As a consequence, they fell to Earth, where they would forced to spend 30.000 cycles of metempsychosis through different bodies before being able to return to the sphere of
divinity
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine< ...](_blank)
. One's behavior during his lifetime would also determine his next incarnation. Wise people, who have learned the secret of life, are closer to the divine, while their souls similarly closer are to the freedom from the cycle of reincarnations, after which they are able to rest in happiness for eternity. This cycle of mortal incarnation seems to have been inspired by the god
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
's punishment as a servant to
Admetus.
Empedocles was a
vegetarian and advocated vegetarianism, since the bodies of animals are also dwelling places of punished souls. For Empedocles, all living things were on the same spiritual plane; plants and animals are links in a chain where humans are a link too.
Empedocles is credited with the first comprehensive theory of light and vision. Historian
Will Durant noted that "Empedocles suggested that light takes time to pass from one point to another.". He put forward the idea that we see objects because light streams out of our eyes and touches them. While flawed, this became the fundamental basis on which later Greek philosophers and mathematicians like
Euclid
Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...
would construct some of the most important theories of light, vision, and optics.
['']Let There be Light
"Let there be light" is an English translation of the Hebrew (''yehi 'or'') found in Genesis 1:3 of the Torah, the first part of the Hebrew Bible. In Old Testament translations of the phrase, translations include the Greek phrase (''gen� ...
'' 7 August 2006 01:50 BBC Four
Knowledge is explained by the principle that elements in the things outside us are perceived by the corresponding elements in ourselves. Like is known by like. The whole body is full of
pores and hence
respiration takes place over the whole frame. In the organs of sense these pores are specially adapted to receive the effluences which are continually rising from bodies around us; thus
perception
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...
occurs. In vision, certain particles go forth from the eye to meet similar particles given forth from the object, and the resultant contact constitutes vision. Perception is not merely a passive reflection of external objects.
Empedocles also attempted to explain the phenomenon of
respiration by means of an elaborate analogy with the
clepsydra, an ancient device for conveying liquids from one vessel to another. This fragment has sometimes been connected to a passage in
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
's ''
Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...
'' where Aristotle refers to people who twisted wineskins and captured air in clepsydras to demonstrate that
void does not exist. The fragment certainly implies that Empedocles knew about the
corporeality of air, but he says nothing whatever about the void, and there is no evidence that Empedocles performed any experiment with clepsydras.
Writings
According to Diogenes Laertius, Empedocles wrote two poems, one "On Nature" and the other "On Purifications" which together comprised 5000 lines. However, only approximately 550 lines of his poetry survive, quoted in fragments by later ancient sources. In the old editions of Empedocles, about 450 lines were ascribed to "On Nature" which outlined his philosophical system, and explains not only the nature and history of the universe, including his theory of the four
classical elements, but also theories on causation, perception, and thought, as well as explanations of terrestrial phenomena and biological processes. The other 100 lines were typically ascribed to his "Purifications", which was taken to be a poem about ritual purification, or the poem that contained all his religious and ethical thought, which early editors supposed that it was a poem that offered a mythical account of the world which may, nevertheless, have been part of Empedocles' philosophical system.
However, with the discovery of the Strasbourg papyrus, which contains a large section of "On Nature" that includes many lines that were formerly attributed to "On Purifications" there is now considerable debate about whether the surviving fragments of his teaching should be attributed to two separate poems, with different subject matter, or whether they may all derive from one poem with two titles, or whether one title refers to part of the whole poem.
Legacy
Lucretius
Titus Lucretius Carus ( , ; – ) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which usually is translated into E ...
speaks of him with enthusiasm, and evidently viewed him as his model.
Death legend
According to
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
, he died at the age of sixty (), even though other writers have him living up to the age of one hundred and nine. Likewise, there are myths concerning his death: a tradition, which is traced to
Heraclides Ponticus, represented him as having been removed from the Earth; whereas others had him perishing in the flames of
Mount Etna.
Diogenes Laërtius records the legend that Empedocles died by throwing himself into
Mount Etna in Sicily, so that the people would believe his body had vanished and he had turned into an immortal god; the volcano, however, threw back one of his bronze sandals, revealing the deceit. Another legend maintains that he threw himself into the volcano to prove to his disciples that he was immortal; he believed he would come back as a god after being consumed by the fire.
Horace also refers to the death of Empedocles in his work ''
Ars Poetica'' and admits poets the
right to destroy themselves. In ', a comedic dialogue written by the second century satirist
Lucian of Samosata, Empedocles' final fate is re-evaluated. Rather than being incinerated in the fires of Mount Etna, he was carried up into the heavens by a volcanic eruption. Although a bit singed by the ordeal, Empedocles survives and continues his life on the Moon, surviving by feeding on dew.
Burnet states that Empedocles likely did not die in Sicily, that both the positive story of Empedocles being taken up to heaven and the negative one about him throwing himself into a volcano could be easily accepted by ancient writers, as there was no local tradition to contradict them.
Empedocles' death is the subject of
Friedrich Hölderlin
Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...
's play ''Tod des Empedokles'' (''
The Death of Empedocles'') as well as
Matthew Arnold's poem ''Empedocles on Etna''
See also
*
Empedocles (volcano)
Empedocles is a large underwater volcano located 40 km off the southern coast of Sicily named after the Greek philosopher Empedocles who believed that everything on Earth was made up of the four elements.
According to Italy's National Ins ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
Ancient Testimony
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References
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Further reading
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External links
Empedokles: Fragments translated by Arthur Fairbanks, 1898.
Empedocles by Jean-Claude Picot with an extended and updated bibliography
Empedocles: Fragmentsa
demonax.info*
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{{Authority control
Deaths from fire
5th-century BC Greek people
5th-century BC philosophers
5th-century BC poets
Ancient Acragantines
Ancient Greek shamans
Pluralist philosophers
Ancient Greek physicists
Philosophers of Magna Graecia
Natural philosophers
Philosophers of science
Presocratic philosophers
Philosophers of love
Sicilian Greeks
490s BC births
430s BC deaths