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The Nature of Truth in Epicurus: ἀλήθεια

  • Pacatus
  • September 25, 2026 at 2:17 PM
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    • September 25, 2026 at 2:17 PM
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    I’m sure that this has been discussed before, but it just struck me again in terms of Epicurean criteria of truth …

    The Greek word for “truth” here is ἀλήθεια, which stems from the adjective ᾰ̓ληθής – which attaches the negating ἀ to λῆθος: concealment or hiddeness. Thus “truth” is that which is unconcealed, or has been revealed.

    Elli puts it thus in a wonderful essay:

    ἀλήθεια — alētheia: truth as the unveiling of what escapes oblivion; the presence that resists forgetfulness [“When Science Returns to the Hellenic Worldview: Empathy and Consciousness Redeemed”]

    It strikes me that this understanding of truth – as ἀ - λήθεια – ties in well with Epicurus’ Canon of truth, i.e. that which is uncovered or revealed by αἴσθησῐς, πᾰ́θος and πρόληψῐς. That which cannot be concealed or veiled by idealistic or supernaturalistic conceptions: the truth of experience will out.

    Anyway, that’s a nuance which struck me. As I said, it likely has been discussed here before (and maybe I just forgot ;().

    "We must try to make the end of the journey better than the beginning, as long as we are journeying; but when we come to the end, we must be happy and content." (Vatican Saying 48)

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    • September 25, 2026 at 2:46 PM
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    • #2

    Yes - clear or open vs hidden strikes me as a good way to look at it --- as opposed to "eternal" or "unchanging" or "transcendent" or anything that implies that there is a "higher" truth than that which we can clearly determine through the rational use of the evidence of the senses, anticipations, and feelings.

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