Posts by Kalosyni

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  • March 3, 2025 - First Monday Epicurean Philosophy Zoom - Agenda

    Hi Everyone! For our upcoming First Monday Epicurean Philosophy Discussion, coming up next Monday night...
    the discussion topic is "Thomas Jefferson's Epicurean Outline".

    Here is some reading material, which is optional, yet may enhance your participation. We will present the material at the meeting as well:

    On The Organization Of Thomas Jefferson’s Summary of the Philosophy of Epicurus – NewEpicurean

    On that webpage you can find the specific section of the letter that we will be discussing, as well as a link to the full letter.

    And for those who may enjoy seeing the actual image of the letter you can find that here:

    https://www.loc.gov/resource/mtj1.051_0891_0894/?sp=4

    We will be sure to leave time for meet-and-greet as well as answer any questions - so this meeting is especially suitable to for new members.

    Please see previous post above for those who are new and wish to attend.

    Hope to see you there!

  • Toronto Canada Meetup Group (Discussion on Implementation)

    And also, "Congratulations" (just as Don said above) because it's pretty awesome, and I've thought about starting a group myself, but I'm feeling that where I live may make it a bit difficult. (Also, to come up with answers to people's questions right off the cuff, could prove challenging...the forum gives space and time for answering :))

    Quote from AxA

    Some of the objections that came up:

    - Pain as a source of meaning vs boring bland state of continuous pleasure (I did not even get into the whole "pleasure as absence of pain" definitional issue, and this came up at the end and was never really addressed)

    Perhaps this was a reaction to a phrase such as "living a life of simple pleasures" ? (...would need to know what exactly they were reacting to)... or simply the idea of "continuous pleasure" which comes up in Cicero's Torquatus section as a goal for an Epicurean. I could see the idea of continuous pleasure as being just a kind of idealized goal, or perhaps it would be said of the wise elder or Epicurean teacher).

    As for pleasures, all pleasures...both ones which are sensory, vary with intensity, location, and duration, as well as those of good health, good internal feeling, and satisfaction with one's life. The sensory pleasures are always in flux, and pain will come because of the natural state of living.

    Also, I think that there are two (or more) flavors of Epicurean philosophy (and Epicureans). 1) the early time when Epicurus was alive (or early Garden, and generations close to the time of Epicurus) and would include the lifestyle of Epicurean philosophy students. 2) later Roman times which were removed from the core studies and included wealthy Romans.

    We see in Diogenese Laertius Book 10, that Metrodorus (who was Epicurus' closest student) left for 6 months to journey across the Aegean Sea to visit his family in his home town of Lampsacus. This of course would have likely had some level of risk, but the Epicurean would wisely minimize risk by making the journey at the safest time of year for crossing.

    Regarding "pain as a source of meaning" - that possibly could be a remnant left over from Christianity: If God is all powerful then why does he allow suffering to exist in the world? Their answer: because he wants to test you and teach you important lessons. (No wonder the world is so screwed up, because the "perfect love" of God is itself evil. As humans (human animals) we inherently dislike pain and suffering, so then to try to extract some meaning from it seems twisted.(for more on the Trilemma you can check out this)

  • Toronto Canada Meetup Group (Discussion on Implementation)

    Quote from AxA

    One guy even said afterwards that this was exactly the philosophy he's been looking for.

    Are you offering (or planning to offer) anything for those individuals? ....those who may want more resources, such as books to read: "Living for Pleasure" by Emily Austin (for someone who is not wanting a deep dive but it generally explains it well) and "Epicurus and His Philosophy" by DeWitt (for someone who enjoys detailed deep dives). I myself would hesitate to recommend the forum itself, because it is a very time consuming endeavor, so only good for those who have tremendous concentration and time to sift through things (I really need to finish working on some basic introductory materials). Cassius has produced some introductory videos, many which are very detailed and which may be good for some folks to check out. This early one is a good one to start with, as it is not too long, but yet covers 5 important aspects:

  • March 3, 2025 - First Monday Epicurean Philosophy Zoom - Agenda

    Coming up on March 3rd...First Monday Epicurean Philosophy Zoom!

    -- Meet-and-greet and Epicurean philosophy discussion with time for questions.

    New forum members are welcome!

    Agenda:

    • Welcome and meet-and-greet
    • Topic: "Thomas Jefferson's Epicurean Outline" - short presentation followed by discussion
    • Time for any questions

    Those who have not previously attended a First Monday, let us know that you are interested by posting in this thread or by sending a private message (to Kalosyni or Cassius)...so that you can be added to the group private message containing the link (sent out on the day before the meeting).

    Hope to see you there! :)

  • Health Benefits of Dancing

    Also the Kalamatianos:

    Source

  • Health Benefits of Dancing

    About the Greek dance "Syrto":

    Quote

    Syrtó (pronounced seer-TOH). The name translates literally as “to pull”, but more accurately as “to lead”. It’s considered the most ancient of Greek dances, going back possibly 2500 years. Syrtó is at its heart simply walking to a slow, quick quick rhythm. If a slow step is two beats long, and a quick step is one beat, then Slow, Quick Quick, (or S,Q,Q,) would be 4 beats (2+1+1). One Syrtó dance is 4 sets of S,Q,Q, 12 steps (16 beats) in total.

    Source

  • Episode 268 - Pleasure Is The Guide Of Life (The Role of Pleasure In Life)

    Quote from Godfrey

    I would point out that Epicurus separates desires from pleasures. In doing so, he is able to clarify that there are various categories of desires which allow for personal evaluation, whereas all pleasures are good as a matter of biology.

    The categories of desires are: natural and necessary, natural and unnecessary, and unnatural. These are described in various PDs as well as in the Letter to Menoikeus.

    I sometimes have trouble keeping track of desire distinctions vs. pleasure, but thinking further...

    Desire is the motivation to act, with the outcome of the actions being either pleasure or pain.

    Some desires lead to more pain, some lead to a mix of pain and pleasure, and some lead to all pleasure.

    But we sometimes must endure some pain in the short-term, either to avoid a greater pain in the future or to experience a greater pleasure in the future (for the long-term health of the body and well-being of the soul) -- which is why there are the categories of desires.

  • Brochure By AxA - Toronto

    Quote from Cassius

    we're up against a veritable army of nay-sayers and manipulators,

    Or to say it another way...some people feel very attached to ideas about God and the supernatural, and may feel upset by ideas which are nearly similar to atheism (except for very small differences). And we see Epicurus taught in his private garden rather than in public spaces. Thus there is the debate on "live unknown". We've got a thread discussing various interpretations on that here.

  • Happy Twentieth of February 2025

    AxA We have some posts on ancient Greek/Roman food here:

Finding Things At EpicureanFriends.com

What's the best strategy for finding things on EpicureanFriends.com? Here's a suggested search strategy:

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