Ethics

New
Ethics - General

Pleasure Is The Guide Of Life

With no supernatural gods or absolute virtue to appeal to, Nature gives us only Pleasure and Pain by which to determine what to choose and what to avoid.
Cassius
August 25, 2026 at 8:21 AM
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New
Ethics - General

Happiness Is The Goal Of Life

Happiness is the overall target across an entire life -- a life in which pleasure predominates over pain -- distinct from pleasure itself, which is the moment-to-moment guide used to reach it.
Cassius
August 25, 2026 at 8:20 AM
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New
Ethics - General

Moderation in All Things Is Not Always the Prudent Course

Epicurus advocated prudence (phronēsis) — practical wisdom in judging particular pleasures and pains — not the vague, borrowed idea of “moderation in all things.”
Kalosyni
August 24, 2026 at 8:50 PM
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New
Ethics - General

Bread and Water: Debunking the Idea of Epicurean Asceticism

A transcription of Don Boozer's presentation showing that Epicurus's 'bread and water' was the ordinary, everyday diet of ancient Greeks -- not a punitive or ascetic deprivation, but nourishing barley bread and spring water.
Don
August 24, 2026 at 5:21 PM
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New
Ethics - General

The 'Academic Questions' Behind Evaluation Of Pleasure and Happiness

“Academic Questions” sounds like exactly what a modern reader expects from ancient philosophy: a dry, technical argument about definitions, conducted by men with nothing better to do, over a question no one outside a cla
Cassius
July 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM
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Ethics - General

The Letter of Epicurus to His Mother

The Letter of Epicurus to His Mother Diogenes of Oinoanda (fr. 125–126) – Free rendering Mother, concerning everything that troubles you, I want you to form clear and confident thoughts. The images we see in dreams - esp
Elli
June 19, 2026 at 2:31 PM
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Ethics - General

Living For Pleasure Or Dying For Relief From Pain?

“For this reason we call pleasure the beginning and end of the blessed life.” — Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus Is The “Emphasis” In Epicurean Philosophy On Relief From Pain? In a separate article I have made the case that
Cassius
May 28, 2026 at 8:00 PM
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Ethics - General

How Is The Wise Epicurean Always Happy

There are as many opinions about happiness as there are people. Everyone has their own idea of what happiness is or should be. Some say that we should look to religion for happiness. Others say that there are no hard and
Cassius
April 20, 2026 at 8:00 PM
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Ethics - General

Not A Bunker But A Camp

An Epicurean response to Massimo Pigliucci’s March 3, 2026. article on Epicurus, the Stoics, and political engagement Massimo Pigliucci’s essay “The Garden Or The Forum: Epicurus, The Stoics, And The Duty To Engage” repr
Cassius
March 23, 2026 at 8:00 PM
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Finding Things At EpicureanFriends.com

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