Epicurus & Apikorsim : : The Influence of The Greek Epicurus and Jewish Apikorsim on Judaism / / Yaakov Malkin.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Gorgias Press Backlist eBook-Package 2001-2013
• VerfasserIn: Malkin, Yaakov,
• Place / Publishing House: Piscataway, NJ : : Gorgias Press, , [2009]; ©2009
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (170 p.)
• Other title: Frontmatter --; DEDICATION --; Only in Judaism did the name of the philosopher Epicurus come to mean “heretic”, and Epicureanism “heresy”. All heresy however, derives from belief – religious or otherwise. --; The contrasts between views, beliefs and heresies further the development of Judaism as a culture – which is, like all culture, a ‘functional unity of contrasting elements’. (Cassirer) --; From Epicurus’ Belief in the Reality of Knowledge of the Physical and Human World Stems Rejection of Life After Death and Divine Providence --; From Epicurus’ Belief in Pleasure and Happiness as Life’s Purpose and Supreme Moral Value Stems Rejection of any Obligation to Observe Religious Precepts Imposed in God’s Name --; Definitions of Apikorsut in Judaism and the Laws that Attest to its Proliferation Apikorsut in the Mishnah, Judah Halevi’s Kuzari and the Writings of Maimonides --; Epicurean Influence in the Books of Ecclesiastes and Job, Written in the Hellenistic Period --; Apikorsim Have Contributed to the Development of Judaism and its Many Beliefs, Casting Past Judaisms in a New Light --; Biblical Judaism – Debate between Monotheists and Polytheists, and between Theodicists and those who Doubt the Justness of the Judge of all the Earth --; Apikorsim and Debate among Jews of the Middle Ages in Areas Under Muslim Rule --; The Renaissance and Enlightenment Accelerate the Secularisation Process in Judaism as Well, Following Spinoza --; The Distinct Character of Jewish Apikorsim – Whose Lives and Education are Influenced by Jewish National Culture --; A-theistic and Epicurean Philosophies Develop in the Middle of the First Millennium BCE --; Epicureanism Spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin in the Hellenistic Period --; The Difference between Epicureanism and the Platonism that Prevailed at the Schools in Epicurus’ Time --; Commitment to the Principles of Justice and Moral Values that Stem from the Epicurean Belief that Man’s Ultimate Goal is the Improvement of Life and the Multiplication and Refinement of its Pleasures --; In the Late Middle Ages, Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment - Man, His Pleasures and His Happiness Are Once Again the Ultimate Goal of Morality --; Prevailing Epicurean Ideas in the Age of Enlightenment: Pursuit of Happiness, Unity of Body and Soul, Existence of a Single World, Motion of Particles in Matter --; Epicurean Principles Guide the Actions of Individuals in Contemporary Western Culture; and the Ways in which they Approach the Contrasts and Interdependence of the Free-Market Economy and the Welfare State --; The First Jewish Apikoros – Ninth Century Freethinker Hiwi al-Balkhi, Influenced by the Islamic Rationalist Movements --; The Subjects of Hiwi’s Criticism: Biblical Criticism, the Relationship between God and the World, God’s Corporeality, Miracles, the Religious Precepts, Punishment and Reward, the World to Come
• Format: Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
• ISBN: 9781463219314; 9783111024141; 9783110663037
• DOI: 10.31826/9781463219314
• Access: restricted access
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Yaakov Malkin.

This book describes the influence of Epicurus on Judaism. Judaism is the only national culture which has adopted the name of this Greek philosopher, using it as a term designating Jews who believe in freedom to choose their way of life, without obligation to obey religious precepts. Today, most Jews live as "Apikorsim". The heresy implicit in the denial of the existence of a personal God includes a denial of belief in life after death. Apikorsim believe that the purpose of life and of morality is found in striving for happiness.