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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2024

Jan Maximilian Robitzsch
Jan Maximilian Robitzsch
Affiliation:
Universität Greifswald
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Summary

This chapter discusses the nomos-phusis debate of the fifth and fourth century BCE and introduces the book’s main argument: that the Epicureans defend a sophisticated middle position (vis-à-vis Plato and Aristotle, on the one hand, and some sophists, on the other) in this debate when it comes to justice. On the Epicurean view, justice is neither fully natural nor conventional; there is a robust virtue of justice and it is always better to be just than to be unjust, but it is not always better to obey the laws.

Keywords

EpicurusEpicureanismjusticelawagreementssocial contractethicspoliticsnomos-phusis debate
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Chapter
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Epicurean Justice
Nature, Agreement, and Virtue
 , pp. 1 - 13
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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