As mentioned in an earlier related discussion on FB, I do not expect infinity and eternity of the universe to be the truth or to have any relevant meaning. Regarding the items under 5, I still need to make up my mind on some subtle differences I have with some of them and and verbalize those. Everything else is fine with me for now.
Posts by Martin
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Welcome Daryl!
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Welcome Brad!
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Hiram's book is indeed a good resource for how to practice Epicureanism on a daily basis.
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Examples how to “practice” Epicureanism on a daily basis are:
- Consciously apply hedonic calculus in decisions what spare time activities to do and what to buy, eat or drink
- Unless you are already overwhelmed with invitations from friends, ask friends to meet
- Try making friends with people who you regularly encounter and avoid making enemies
- Pay attention when you get increasingly angry about somebody or something, analyze the reasons and do not foster that anger further. Instead, just acknowledge that you got angry and get over it by focusing on something else, e.g. work, activities toward pleasure or recalling good memories. (If the rationale that anger is usually detrimental to pleasure is not enough and you find it difficult to wind down upcoming anger early, Buddhist wisdom traditions provide good techniques which are compatible with Epicurus' philosophy if you just apply the techniques and ignore the false metaphysics and other dead ends of Buddhism like killing off desire with some imaginary state of selflessness.)
- Focus on enjoying what you have already and do not let your desire for what you not (yet) have spoil that joy
- Do not take meals for granted as a subconscious side activity but consciously indulge in the pleasure which comes with eating. (Paradoxically, this may help limiting the food intake to a healthy amount).
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I am fine to proofread English texts for this project. We may need to figure out how to do this efficiently, e.g. by exchanging WORD documents.
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My personal opinion on VS 41:
1. I do not like the "must" or "shall" in the translations. I am a bit more comfortable with the "should" suggested by Matt Jackson in the post on VS 41 from June 2017 on the FB EP page.
2. Based on my hedonic calculus, I do not accept the existence of household duties beyond the minimum requirements to which I agreed by signing a rental contract or by buying an appartment in a house which is subject to a legal framework, i.e. duties which are usually easy and quickly to fulfill without daily chores. Briefly coordinating domestic aids would probably be an acceptable task for me but not spending considerable time for house-keeping by myself every day.
3. Whereas I know people who love multi-tasking, it goes beyond my capability. In most cases, I reject it outright for myself. I remember a case where a multi-tasking coworker made gross mistakes with unpleasurable consequences. The published
reports on traffic accidents caused or facilitated by diversions (due to e.g. texting, making phone calls, watching a video, reading a journal, drinking) strongly advise against multi-tasking at times when one task requires full attention.
4. I do sometimes smile when philosophizing or reading philosophical texts and feel joyful after I have found a great idea but laughing does usually not fit into philosophizing or reading philosophical texts (except for laughter about hilarious
nonsense or intentional jokes in those texts).
5. Discussing ideas with like-minded and/or open-minded people is a great pleasure but missionizing is not compatible with my hedonic calculus. Only if someone asks for an alternative world view, I would tell him about Epicurus' philosophy.
6. Recounting pronouncements is fine if a beginner wants to memorize or internalize the philosophy, which then increases his/her pleasure. For me, recounting pronouncements daily is waisting time which I would rather spend on more pleasurable activities or more or less painful preparations for future pleasures.
7. I like "goods" in translation D. This implies to actually use the tools and toys which I have collected. The actual use provides valuable feedback on which acquisitions were wise and which were poorly thought through or possibly expressions of an unhealthy desire for more possessions just for the sake of having more.
8. I disagree the least with translation D.
9. In summary, VS 41 seems to contradict the big picture of Epicurus' philosophy.
10. I hope I am still an Epicurean despite my disagreements with parts of VS 41.
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Interpretations of the translations of VS 41 and their differences:
Translation A mandates laughing and philosophizing simultaneously, postulates the existence of household duties, mandates employing our other faculties and mandates to missionize.
Translation B mandates to do all listed tasks simultaneously and replaces doing the household duties with managing the household and other business (i.e. coordinatig the work of slaves in Epicurus' case or coordinating the work of paid service providers and coworkers today).
Translation C sounds slighly less mandatory than the other translations. It urges to do all listed tasks simultaneously and replaces doing the household duties with managing one's household but lacks the extension to other business in B.
Translation D mandates the listed tasks and replaces the house-keeping with a more general home life, the other faculties/capabilities with other goods, the duty to missionize with a duty to just recount. It does not contain any requirement for multi-tasking.
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A: "We must laugh and philosophize at the same time and do our household duties and employ our other faculties, and never
cease proclaiming the sayings of the true philosophy." (as quoted here, on the Epicurean Friends page)
B: "At one and the same time we must philosophize, laugh, and manage our household and other business, while never ceasing to proclaim the words of true philosophy." (as quoted in a post in the FB EP page from June 2017)
C: "One shall laugh and at the same time philosophize, manage one's household, apply one's further capabilities, and never
cease proclaiming the sayings of the true philosophy." (translated by me from Krautz' German translation)
D: "One must laugh and seek wisdom and tend to one's home life and use one's other goods, and always recount the
pronouncements of true philosophy." (Peter Saint-Andre in http://www.monadnock.net/epicurus/vatican-sayings.html)
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Thanks for setting this up. It looks promising.
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