伊比鳩魯論神的存在

Epicurus on the Existence of the Gods

伊比鳩魯及其學派的神觀：神祇存在，祂們存在於世界與世界的間隔中，且不關心屬人的事務，並過著平靜祥和的生活，從古至今受到許多哲學家及學者的批判。對此觀點主要的批判是，伊比鳩魯關於神祇存在的論述，僅指出神祇是存在於人的心靈之中的觀念，且非獨立在心靈之外具體存在。這個批判進一步顯示，雖然伊比鳩魯及其學派提出了關於神祇存在的論述，但該學派其實倡議無神論。這篇文章的論證目的是，透過爬梳陸克瑞提烏斯《論萬物的本質》中的相關段落及討論伊比鳩魯的知識理論，以檢視這個主張是否是對伊比鳩魯及其學派的神觀恰當的理解。

It is notoriously well-known that not only do Epicurus and the Epicureans claim that the gods exist, but also assert that they peacefully and happily live in the intermundia, and are not concerned with human affairs. The main critique of this idea is that it merely shows that the gods exist as ideas in the human mind, but do not have an independent existence of the mind. What follows from this critique is that though Epicurus and his followers hold the idea of the existence of the gods, yet they are in fact atheists. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether this is a proper understanding of the idea of the gods of Epicurus and the Epicureans, by going through the relevant passages in Lucretius De Rerum Natura and exploring the school's epistemology.