Epicurean Perceptual Content

Epicurean epistemology is usually summarised in a controversial thesis according to which all perceptions are true . Although it seems very problematic and counterintuitive, careful investigation of the main sources shows us that Epicurus’ claim for the truth of perceptions is not so hasty but is supported with some serious arguments . in the paper, i examine the thesis according to which “all perceptions are true”, but my main focus is to analyse the content of Epicurean perception through the following questions: (i) what kind of content do Epicurean perceptions have; (ii) what are the proper objects of perception; (iii) can we ascribe to such content truth and falsity? in the first part, i say something general about the thesis and point out some basic characteristics of perceptions due to which they serve as a criterion of truth . Next i try to show that the proper objects of perceptions are eidola and not external objects because only in that case can Epicurus maintain the truth of all perceptions, including illusions, hallucinations, dreams and other misperceptions . in the third part, i argue that such Epicurean perceptual content can be explained by the modern notion of non-conceptual content, which helps us to understand the special feature of Epicurean perceptions and also the important difference between perception and belief in Epicurean epistemology . in the final part, i discuss the notion of alethes which i suggest implies that perception is “factive” . KEyWoRDS: Epicurus, factive, non-conceptual content, perception, truth . Epicurean epistemological theory, as well as other theories from the Hellenistic period, is motivated by two important questions: (i) whether knowledge is attainable at all; and (ii) if it is attainable, what are its foundations . Epicurus’ answers to these questions show that he wants to defend the possibility of knowledge and to claim that the foundation of knowledge is our sensory experience . By claiming that knowledge is attained through the senses, Epicurus is placing himself on the side of empiricist tradition . However, his radical epistemological empiricism is combined with and even defended through atomistic theory, according to which the knowledge of the real structure of 168 Prolegomena 14 (2) 2015 the world goes beyond the scope of our experience and reveal the real atomistic nature of things . Since atomism reveals that the true nature of things lies only on atomistic level, it opens a serious epistemological problem: a gap between the appearances, which are mere subjective experiences, and the objective reality explained in terms of different atomical configurations . Namely, appearances are not considered as genuine pieces of knowledge since they do not reveal the truth, but just the contrary, they misrepresent the real atomistic nature of things . Epicurus and his followers wanted to save both kinds of knowledge and commit themselves to an epistemology that is strongly empiricist, claiming that knowledge and related concepts are grounded in experience . the overall epistemological project attempts to block possible skeptical inclinations and secure knowledge about the world by providing a standard or the criterion by which we can firmly determine the truth necessary for acquiring knowledge of reality . in fulfilling this task Epicurus aims to show that there is an ultimate and exclusive connection between perceptions and knowledge, where all perceptions necessarily need to be taken as infallible criterion of truth . in other words, Epicurus proposes a specific epistemological framework in which he maintains that the possibility of any knowledge is guaranteed exclusively on the assumption of the incorrigibility of all perceptions . in the paper, i shall examine the thesis according to which “all perceptions are true”, but my main focus is to analyze the content of Epicurean perception through the following questions: (i) what kind of content Epicurean perceptions have; (ii) what are the proper objects of perception; (iii) can we ascribe to such content truth and falsity? in the first part i will say something general about the thesis and point out some basic characteristics of perceptions because of which they serve as the criterion of truth . Next i will try to show that the proper objects of perceptions are eidola and not external objects because only in this way Epicurus can maintain the truth of all perceptions, including illusions, hallucinations, dreams and other misperceptions . in the third part i will argue that such Epicurean perceptual content can be explained by the modern notion of non-conceptual content, which help us to understand special feature of Epicurean perceptions and also important difference between perception and belief in Epicurean epistemology . in this part i will try to argue that the modern notion of nonconceptual content can be helpful for the clarification of the following issues in Epicurean epistemology: (i) for the specification of the Epicurean content and its objects; (ii) for the explanation of the difference between perception and belief; (iii) for the understanding of the truthfulness that is ascribed to the content . in the final part, i will discuss the notion of alethes, which i suggest imply that perception is “factive” . 169 A . GAvRAN MiloŠ: Epicurean Perceptual Content