Empedocles

A detailed Summary of Empedocles


Empedocles was a major Greek philosopher. This man was born in Agrigentum, Sicily, in 490? - 430 BC. He was not only a philosopher but a statesman, poet, and knowledge of natural history and medicine. After his father's death he extended his career in politics. He favored the democratic side and had many fellow citizens support him. He then obtained royal positions in Agrigentum. He was offered the crown but rumor has it that he refused. His study was a combination of scientific study and mystical religion of the Orphic type. Differing from Pythagoras, he focused on medicine instead of mathematics. The skill that he possessed in medicine and natural philosophy allowed him to perform many wonders. He pretended to drive away noxious winds


Empedocles's philosophy was based on the extant fragments of his poems on nature and purification. He said that all things are composed of four primary elements: earth, air, fire, and water. There are two active and opposing forces, love and hate (affinity and antipathy), act upon these elements. These forces combine and separate the elements into infinitely varied forms. According to Empedocles, his view points are that reality is cyclical. At the beginning of the cycle, the four elements are bound together by the principle of love. When hate penetrates the cycle, the elements begin to separate. Love then reunites everything, then hate begins the process over again. Empedocles also believed that no change involving the creation of new matter is po

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Approximate Word count = 512
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