Posts by Kalosyni

I find that the above two posts by Cassius are very helpful for contemplating the issue of eclecticism, and I recommend anyone who has been thinking about the issue of eclecticism to read.

I think it is important to understand and realize that there are various ways in which we all approach the study of Epicurean philosophy -- there are variations in each person's desires and reasons for studying, and variations in what each person hopes to gain from study.

And we support:

1) study of Epicurean philosophy

2) formation of an individual and personal worldview

The challenge is that this forum is a place to study "what is Epicurean philosophy" while also being a place to "develop and form one's individual and personal worldview" (and we do hope that individuals who study Epicurean philosophy also incorporate many aspects of it into their own personal worldview).

We hope to keep the study of "what is Epicurean philosophy" free from "eclectic" influences, so that we are clear about what exactly Epicurean philosophy is.

Yet, we also urge each person to develop their own personal worldview.

And now my question is that when you combine these two aspects, how to you avoid problems (I need to define what I think the problems are soon in another post).

ambition - a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work

(from Google / Oxford Languages)

Hi Everyone,

Coming up this next Monday night at 8pm ET!

Meeting open to all forum members.

Agenda:

• Welcome and greetings
• Update on forum events and discussion of popular threads
• Short presentation by Cassius on: "What place does ambition have in an Epicurean lifestyle?" to set the tone for the discussion.
• Guided questions presented by Cassius
• Closing thoughts

Just an fyi -- we have these threads, which may be of interest:

Thread

Table of Texts With Translation or Corruption Difficulties

Passage and Problem	Alternatives and Suggested Translation	Discussion Link
VS 35: Bailey translates 35 this way: "We should not spoil what we have by desiring what we do not have, but remember that what we have too was the gift of fortune."	Norman DeWitt (EAHP page __ ) "We must not spoil the enjoyment of the blessings we have by pining for those we have not but rather reflect tht these too are among the things desirable." Peter St Andre: "Don't ruin the things you have by wanting what you

…

Cassius

January 23, 2018 at 6:33 AM

Thread

Possibilties For Shorthand Rating System For Indicating Reliability Of Texts

I doubt that I will pursue this myself much further, but since I wrote this up as a comment to graphic I thought I would post it separately in case someone thought it was helpful for their own thinking. I'm not at all sure that such a thing would be practical, but thinking about the factors that would go into any such system is probably a good exercise:

I wish we had some shorthand way of indicating a reasonable level of confidence for a particular passage of text. Maybe we ought to create a…

Cassius

September 21, 2024 at 7:01 AM

Hi Everyone! Here is an update with more details on our upcoming livestream event, on January 19th at 1:00 pm ET!

We will use our YouTube channel for livestreaming (click here to check out the EpicureanFriends YouTube page) and plan to set up a chat at that location where listeners can provide live feedback.

Here is our line-up with presentation descriptions:

"Applying Epicurus Accurately - The Epicurean Paradigm Shift" - Cassius Amicus, administrator of the EpicureanFriends.com forum and a co-host of "The Lucretius Today Podcast," will introduce the topics to be presented, and start with an explanation of a number of key topics on which Epicurus is often misunderstood.

"Bread and Water: Debunking the Idea of Epicurean Asceticism" - Don Boozer, longtime EpicureanFriends contributor, will explain how it is a fallacy that Epicurus was an ascetic, and how one of the pillars of that view - that Epicurus promoted an austere diet - is incorrect.

"Epicurus on the Perils of Applying Geometry to Ethics" - Joshua Elbert, co-administrator at EpicureanFriends and co-host of "The Lucretius Today Podcast", will explain how Epicurus diagnosed and remedied the error of those who seek to apply geometric reasoning to ethical questions.

"An Elementary Fact Worth Bearing in Mind" - Bryan, longtime EpicureanFriends contributor, will examine several different translations of Diogenes Laertius' Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book 10, Section 47 (on physics) and explain the process of evaluating options when translators disagree.

"Moderation in All Things is Not Always the Prudent Course" - Kalosyni, EpicureanFriends event coordinator, will explain how Epicurus focused on "prudence" - rather than "moderation" - as a key to happy living.

Panel discussion and closing comments - After the presentations, Cassius Amicus will lead the panel in discussion of final comments on these topics, addressing comments and questions submitted by views in the livestream.

Quote from Kyle

> For god cannot be conceived apart from thought

I was confused by this phrase, but I think in context this must mean that god/a god can't be conceived of as a thoughtless being (like a p-zombie).

For me, I would take this to mean that god cannot be experienced apart from thought. ---> God exists only as a mental construct.

Hi Everyone! We are charting new territory starting in 2025!

Mark your calendar for our first livestreaming event on January 19, 2025 at 1:00pm ET!

We will have presentations by Cassius, Don, Joshua, Bryan, and Kalosyni -- Presentations will be followed by a round table discussion and live chat. Topics are:

"Applying Epicurus Accurately - The Epicurean Paradigm Shift" - Cassius will introduce the topics to be presented in the livestream and address several key topics on which Epicurus is often misunderstood.

"Bread and Water: Debunking the Idea of Epicurean Asceticism" - Don will explain how it is a fallacy that Epicurus was an ascetic, and how one of the pillars of that view - that Epicurus promoted an austere diet - is incorrect.

"Epicurus on the Perils of Applying Geometry to Ethics" - Joshua will present on how Epicurus diagnosed the error of attempting to apply geometric reasoning to ethical questions.

"An Elementary Fact Worth Bearing in Mind" - Bryan will present on translation issues using an example from the letter to Herodotus where Epicurus described an elementary fact worth remembering.

"Moderation in All Things is Not Always the Prudent Course" - Kalosyni will explain how Epicurus advised "prudence" - rather than "moderation" - as the key to happy living.

Each presentation will last approximately twenty minutes, and at the end the presenters will assemble for a panel discussion of the topics, including responses to questions or comments received from the livestream chat.

I just came across another youtube on learning Greek (since every time I see Greek letters I have to mentally fill what I see with "sdfhsjdhfhsdhg" (not good, and wanting to be able to at least pronounce words).

Also, hoping...perhaps Don after you're done with your current ongoing project, you could put together some kind of summary of all your helpful tips and links, into our wiki.

Quote from Cassius

You know when I combine in my mind the assertions that motion is an illusion, that time is an illusion, that everything our senses show us is nothing more than the illusions caused by shadows flickering on the wall of Plato's cave, it's hard to shake the feeling that this is the real heart of Epicurean philosophy.

For myself, I thinking about time as being "by convention" rather than and illusion...

Definitions (from internet):

An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people

Conventionalism is the philosophical attitude that fundamental principles of a certain kind are grounded on (explicit or implicit) agreements in society, rather than on external reality.

From post 3 quote above (and from Joshua's first link):

Quote

The idealist view is that time is a property of the human mind and therefore is an illusion. The passage of time is depends on human observers.

In last night's Zoom, I recall something from the material that said: "time is by necessity" ? ...Did I remember correctly and was it by Philodemus?

Imagine that we lived on a planet that rotated the sun, but did not itself rotate (but always stayed with the same side facing the sun) and did not have a moon. Life would evolve without circadian rhythms, and would that lead to a lack of the conception of time in evolved/sentient life forms?

Wishing everyone here Happy Holidays!

Here is a picture of my Epicurus altar that I set up this morning:

If anyone else wants to share pictures of their Epicurus bust Epicurus pictures, or Epicurus altar, feel free to post here

Happy Twentieth Everyone!

jason Welcome to the forum!

Quote from TauPhi

The act of finding them establishes interference, therefore whatever you have just found is definitely not Epicurean gods. Looking for such gods makes as much sense as trying to see an invisible elephant. If you see it, it's definitely not an invisible elephant.

There is nothing in Epicurean texts that says the gods are invisible.

Seeing "films" is not bodily contact (not interference).

Letter to Menoeceus says: "For gods there are, since the knowledge of them is by clear vision."

This is just what the texts say. I think it is up to each person to decide if they "like" (or agree with) this or not. I personally consider myself an atheist, so this idea doesn't resonate for me personally (just for the record).

PD1: "That which is blissful and immortal has no troubles itself, nor does it cause trouble for others, so that it is not affected by anger or gratitude (for all such things come about through weakness)."

---> This seems to indicate that which is not a god. And would be saying that what everyone thinks are the gods, are not gods.

This year is the 50th Aniversary of the Getty Villa. We've likely already had posts about this in other threads, but here is the news about this:

50 Years of the Getty Villa Museum

As it evolved from a private estate to a vibrant hub for antiquity, the Getty Villa Museum became a beloved Los Angeles institution

www.getty.edu

m.repetzki and `all new members, and visitors...just a heads up on some recommended reading and on what to focus on...for what is best for studying the philosophy of Epicurus:

-- we recommend DeWitt's book and Austin's book, and also studying the extant texts: Diogenes Laertius' Book 10 (especially the three letters written by Epicurus, and the Principal Doctrines. Also, the Vatican Sayings, Cicero's Toquatus section, and the Wall of Oionanda -- you can read about these here.

Welcome to the forum m.repetzki !