Here You Will Do Well To Tarry - Here Our Highest Good Is Pleasure!

Welcome Friends of Epicurus! Thanks to those who attended our online discussion on May 19th. Our next discussion will be in June and our topic will be: Chapter 9 of DeWitt's Epicurus and His Philosophy - "The New Physics." As the date and time approach please check this scheduling thread for any last-minute updates. The link to the online chat forum is here. Discussion outlines are posted in this section of the forum, and the discussion plan for Chapter 9 is here.

EpicureanFriends is the place for friendly discussion of the philosophy of Epicurus. Our goal is to host a warm group of people who are studying and learning about Epicurean philosophy as a way of life, not as a matter of history or for purely academic reasons.


Navigate This Website In One Of Three Ways: (1) View detailed discussion in our Forums arranged by Topic, starting with our General Forum. (2) View our Dashboard, which is the best place to return on future visits for the latest postings. (3) View short comments by individual users in a Facebook-style Timeline.


If you have come across Epicurean philosophy in the past but been confused by commentators who assert - incorrectly - that Epicurus advocated an ascetic or passive lifestyle, you'll want to check out our table of Major Issues In Understanding Epicurean Philosophy. We're glad to help with your study of Epicurus - just ask in the forums! In the meantime, here is the advice of Thomas Jefferson on living an active Epicurean life:


"I take the liberty of observing that you are not a true disciple of our master Epicurus in indulging the indolence to which you say you are yielding. One of his canons, you know, was that “that indulgence which prevents a greater pleasure, or produces a greater pain, is to be avoided.” Your love of repose will lead, in its progress, to a suspension of healthy exercise, a relaxation of mind, an indifference to everything around you, and finally to a debility of body, and hebetude of mind, the farthest of all things from the happiness which the well-regulated indulgences of Epicurus ensure; fortitude, you know is one of his four cardinal virtues. That teaches us to meet and surmount difficulties; not to fly from them, like cowards; and to fly, too, in vain, for they will meet and arrest us at every turn of our road. Weigh this matter well; brace yourself up." - Thomas Jefferson to William Short, October 31, 1819.


For a brief introduction to the views that are discussed on this website, check the video below. We hope you will also review our Community Standards / Terms of Use for registering as a participant here, which also discusses the major characteristics of Epicurean Philosophy:




A Feature of Our Forum - Follow The Advice Of Epicurus: Outline Your Understanding Of Philosophy

Epicurus' Letter to Herodotus: "Those who have made some advance in the survey of the entire system ought to fix in their minds under the principal headings an elementary outline of the whole treatment of the subject. For a comprehensive view is often required, the details but seldom. ... For it is impossible to gather up the results of continuous diligent study of the entirety of things unless we can embrace in short formulas and hold in mind all that might have been accurately expressed even to the minutest detail."


Thomas Jefferson wrote in a private letter "I too am an Epicurean" and drafted his own outline of Epicurean philosophy.  If you'd like to see what Jefferson wrote, and  get help in drafting your own, click here.





For a detailed summary of Epicurean Philosophy assembled from the passages of the ancient texts, see the video below:



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