Empedocles
Pre-Socratic philosopher who proposed the four classical elements and the forces of Love and Strife.
Empedocles of Acragas formulated a four-part theory of roots (air, water, earth, and fire) with two active principles of Love and Strife.[1] The exact dates of his birth and death are unknown, but ancient accounts agree he was born in the early 5th century BC in Akragas, Sicily.[2] According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, evidence from the late fifth century Hippocratic text On Ancient Medicine already critiques Empedocles for linking the study of nature and medicine, and he is reported to have been a founder of the Sicilian school of medicine.[1]
Quick Facts
- Region
- Western philosophy
- Era
- Pre-Socratic philosophy
- Born
- c. 494 BC
- Birthplace
- Akragas, Sicily
- Main interests
- Cosmogony, biology
- Notable ideas
- Classical four elements: fire, air, earth and water; Love and Strife as opposing physical forces
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Modern scholars believe Empedocles came from a rich family and that his grandfather won a horse race at Olympia in 496–495 BC.[2] Primary sources on his life come from the Hellenistic period, centuries after his death, and are often considered unreliable.[3] The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that a late biography by Diogenes Laertius is often a romantic confection derivative of Empedocles' own verses.[1] According to the fourth-century BCE sophist Alcidamas, Empedocles was a student of Parmenides and later an adherent of Anaxagoras and Pythagoras.[1]
Empedocles established four ultimate elements—fire, air, water, earth—which he called "roots"[4] He was a vegetarian and advocated vegetarianism because animal bodies are dwelling places of punished souls.[5] The doctrine of metempsychosis, where souls are reincarnated across humans, animals, and plants, is attributed to Empedocles, a belief he shared with Pythagoras.[6]
What the cited sources add
A 2026 study revealed 30 previously unpublished verses by Empedocles from a papyrus fragment in Cairo.[7] The papyrus, designated P.Fouad inv. 218, contains fragments of the poem "Physica"[7] The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states that Empedocles composed two poems, On Nature and the Purifications.[1] Aristotle credits Empedocles with being the first to distinguish clearly the four elements.[1]
The Stanford Encyclopedia reports that Empedocles is reported to have been a physician and a founder of the Sicilian school of medicine.[1] The same source notes that Empedocles supposedly travelled widely, visiting Thurii, Olympia, and elsewhere in the Peloponnese.[1] The biographical tradition persistently attributes democratic sensibilities to Empedocles.[1]
References
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy-Empedocles. facts only, no text reused. plato.stanford.edu
- Wikipedia, "Empedocles" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kingsley Parry 2020, p. §1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Empedocles" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Inwood 2001, p. 6–8; Inwood 2001, p. 6–8 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Empedocles" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wallace 1911; Ströker, "Element and Compound. On the Scientific History of Two Fundamental Chemical Concepts", Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English, September 1968, p. 718–724 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Empedocles" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fragments of Empedocles 136 - 139 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Empedocles" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Inwood 2001, p. 6–8; Inwood 2001, p. 6–8; Primavesi 2008, p. 261–268; Inwood 2001, p. 6–8; Primavesi 2008, p. 261–268; Inwood 2001, p. 6–8; Wallace 1911 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Baum, "Thirty previously unpublished verses by Empedocles discovered on a papyrus from Cairo", Phys.org, 1 April 2026. facts only, no text reused. phys.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Empedocles (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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