Epicureanism at the Origins of Modernity. By Catherine Wilson

Abstract

By pointing us to the Epicurean flavor of many of the ideas that pervaded seventeenth- and eighteenth-century metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and natural and political philosophy—Catherine Wilson's work offers a great opportunity to improve our understanding of what was involved in the transformation of Scholastic doctrines into modern philosophy. Her professed aim is to show that “Epicureanism was addressed, adopted and battled against by the canonical philosophers of this period” (emphasis mine). It is important to bear this particular focus of Wilson's project in mind and to remember that she did not set out merely to show that canonical figures, such as Descartes, Spinoza, and Locke, were quasi-Epicureans. In what follows, I will offer three reasons why these reminders are necessary in order to appreciate the breadth and quality of Wilson's discussion. First, some reviewers have castigated Wilson's book for its limited focus and methodology. Thus, Margaret Osler has claimed that Wilson ignores traditions apart from Epicureanism that were decisive in their influence on modern thinkers such as Gassendi, Boyle, and Locke (Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, March 24, 2009). And Eric Schliesser, who offered a defense of Wilson against Osler (Mind 119/474, April 2010), yet voices concern that Wilson sees Epicurean influences where there are none. Let me address these points in turn. Concerning Osler's objection, it needs to be mentioned that Wilson is often rather careful to show that particular elements of modern approaches are reminiscent of certain Epicurean key aspects: Descartes' vortex theory, for example, is taken to borrow heavily from the ancient depiction of the universe as a heap of atoms, albeit without the admission of a void. Wilson's discussion neither implies that there were no other influences present in Descartes' writings nor that he was not a critic of large portions of Epicurean thought. Since it is the aim of Wilson's book to draw attention to Epicurean ingredients in early modern philosophy, it seems acceptable if in this and other contexts she is reluctant to give a detailed account of what further doctrines and schools have made an impact on a particular thinker.