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New Graphics: Are You On Team Epicurus? | Comparison Chart: Epicurus vs. Other Philosophies | Chart Of Key Epicurean Quotations | Accelerating Study Of Canonics Through Philodemus' "On Methods Of Inference" | Note to all users: If you have a problem posting in any forum, please message Cassius  

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    2. Recent Discovery of Empedocles Material

      • Cassius
      • April 19, 2026 at 4:17 PM
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    2. "Self-Evident" Truth

      • Cassius
      • April 19, 2026 at 6:57 AM
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    2. Innovations/Updates in Epicurus Philosophy 6

      • Matteng
      • April 19, 2026 at 7:15 AM
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    4. Cassius

      April 19, 2026 at 7:15 AM

    2. Have PD35 and Vatican Saying 7 been straw-manned? 4

      • wbernys
      • April 18, 2026 at 12:13 PM
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    4. wbernys

      April 18, 2026 at 12:13 PM

    2. Sunday April 19, 2026 - Zoom Meeting - Lucretius Book Review - Starting Book One Line 346 - More On Void

      • Cassius
      • April 18, 2026 at 12:14 AM
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    2. Episode 330 - EATAQ 12 - The Stoics Opt For Virtue At All Cost And Knowledge As Bodily Grasping

      • Cassius
      • April 17, 2026 at 11:44 PM
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    2. Commentary On The Principal Doctrines And Vatican Sayings

      • Cassius
      • April 17, 2026 at 11:10 AM
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    2. Welcome Morgan! 6

      • Cassius
      • April 19, 2026 at 12:04 AM
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    4. wbernys

      April 19, 2026 at 12:04 AM

    2. Epicurean Prolepsis / Canonics vs Stoic Katalepsis

      • Cassius
      • April 16, 2026 at 11:52 AM
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    2. Discussion of Blog Article - "In Troubled Times, Young People Should Turn To Epicurus Rather than The Pope" 6

      • Cassius
      • April 16, 2026 at 10:14 AM
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    4. Eikadistes

      April 16, 2026 at 10:14 AM

    2. Why Emily Austin's "Living For Pleasure" Book Title Is Particularly Apt 5

      • Cassius
      • April 16, 2026 at 4:20 PM
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    4. kochiekoch

      April 16, 2026 at 4:20 PM

    2. Klavan's "Gateway To Epicureanism" (Note: The Title Is Part Of A "Gateway" Series - The Author Himself Is Strongly Anti-Epicurean) 16

      • Brandenoz
      • April 18, 2026 at 11:38 AM
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    4. Cassius

      April 18, 2026 at 11:38 AM

    2. Welcome BrandenOz! 3

      • Cassius
      • April 14, 2026 at 4:51 PM
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    4. Cassius

      April 14, 2026 at 4:51 PM

    2. Welcome Aeneadum! 7

      • Cassius
      • April 15, 2026 at 10:54 AM
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    4. Cassius

      April 15, 2026 at 10:54 AM

    2. General Analysis of Risk Aversion

      • Cassius
      • April 12, 2026 at 2:26 PM
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    2. Sunday April 12, 2026 - Zoom Meeting - Lucretius Book Review - Starting Book One Line 329 - The Void

      • Cassius
      • April 11, 2026 at 6:46 PM
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    2. Episode 329 - EATAQ 11 - Cracks In The Academy On Ideal Forms And Virtue Lead To The Emergence of Aristotle, The Stoics, And Epicurus 3

      • Cassius
      • April 17, 2026 at 4:01 PM
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      690
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    4. Cassius

      April 17, 2026 at 4:01 PM

    2. What would Epicurus have thought of going to the moon? 11

      • ReiWolfWoman
      • April 19, 2026 at 3:15 PM
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    4. Cassius

      April 19, 2026 at 3:15 PM

    2. M. Dango's personal outline 4

      • m.dango
      • April 11, 2026 at 1:10 PM
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    4. Patrikios

      April 11, 2026 at 1:10 PM

    2. Discussion of Article - 25 Mind Viruses Cured By Epicurean Philosophy 2

      • Cassius
      • April 10, 2026 at 4:04 PM
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    4. Cassius

      April 10, 2026 at 4:04 PM

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  • Postcard of Epigram 27

    Postcard of Epigram 27

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  • Keeping it Fun - Epicurus vs His Philosophical Opponents

    Keeping it Fun - Epicurus vs His Philosophical Opponents

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  • The Teachings of the Wise

    The Teachings of the Wise

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  • Many more pleasures than pains

    Many more pleasures than pains

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  • Epicurus Is My Co-Pilot

    Epicurus Is My Co-Pilot

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  • Our Journey Through the Universe

    Our Journey Through the Universe

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Recent Articles (All Articles Sorted By Date)

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Questions? Ask The Epicureans

We recognize that not everyone who visits our page is ready, willing, or able to register a full account at EpicureanFriends.

For those who would prefer to submit questions to us by email, we've set up a "Question Line" at Questions@epicureanfriends.com .

Send us an email with your question, and if we find it to be of general interest we'll set up a thread and our participants here can discuss what they think might be the best answers to your topic.

We can't promise to respond to each one, but if…
Cassius
April 16, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Like 1
New

25 Mind Viruses Cured By Epicurean Philosophy

View on substack here.

Throughout history, philosophers, priests, and political authorities have promoted ideas about life, reality, and human nature that sound profound but are in fact deeply mistaken — and whose effect, whether intended or not, is to make ordinary people feel guilty, fearful, and dependent on outside authorities for guidance. These ideas spread from generation to generation the way a virus spreads through a population: not because they are true, but because they are…
Cassius
April 10, 2026 at 11:39 AM
Thanks 1

The Major Doctrines Of Classical Epicurean Philosophy

This page presents a summary of Classical Epicurean Philosophy . For additional citations to Epicurean texts, click here.


Nothing From Nothing

Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing

Working solely with the science available two thousand years ago, Epicurus observed that nothing ever arises from nothing, and nothing is ever completely destroyed to nothing. From this Epicurus deduced the existence of atoms - elemental particles moving through empty space from which over time all things are made…
Cassius
May 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM

A Gate To Be Burst: "Absence of Pain"

It is interesting to think about what Lucretius had in mind in Book One of “On The Nature of Things” when he spoke about Epicurus "yearning to be the first to burst through the close-set bolts upon the gates of nature." What kind of gates was he talking about? Who bolted them? How do those gates keep us from Nature?

I can't be sure which gates Lucretius had in mind, but I can suggest one "gate" that is particularly in need of bursting, as it stands directly in the way of a better understanding…
Cassius
February 12, 2024 at 1:26 PM
1

Interview With Dr. David Glidden: "Epicurean Prolepsis"

In Episode 166 the Lucretius Today podcasters interviewed Dr. David Glidden, professor emeritus from the University of California - Riverside, about his articles "Epicurean Prolepsis" and "Epicurean Thinking.
Cassius
January 11, 2024 at 8:22 AM
0

Recent Files From the EpicureanFriends.com Filebase

  1. David Sedley - "Epicurean Anti-Reductionism" - 1988

    • Cassius
    • March 30, 2026 at 2:44 PM
    New Epicurean philosophy, although grounded in atomism, cannot be understood as a purely reductionist system.
    • Like 2
    • 40 Downloads

  2. "The Inferential Foundations of Epicurean Ethics" - Article By David Sedley

    • Cassius
    • January 23, 2026 at 11:29 AM
    David Sedley compares Epicurus' arguments in favor of atomism in physics with his arguments in favor of pleasure as the focus of ethics.
    • Like 1
    • 45 Downloads

  3. Antiochus IV Epiphanes And Jerusalem

    • Cassius
    • December 17, 2025 at 7:30 AM
    A collection of information about what is known of the Epicurean background of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
    • Love 1
    • 99 Downloads

  4. Bernier - Gassendi's Three Discourses on Happiness, Virtue, and Liberty

    • Cassius
    • November 22, 2025 at 5:37 PM
    This book is focused on Epicurean philosophy and explaining it in context with other philosophers.
    • Like 1
    • 10 Downloads

Recent Level 3 User Timeline Entries (Click Here To View All Or Post)

All Blog Entries

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Cassius' Blog
This post is also available on Substack.

One of the deepest and most consequential divisions in the history of philosophy runs not between optimism and pessimism, or between free will and determinism,…


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Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 10:24 AM
1
Cassius' Blog

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

…


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Cassius
December 23, 2025 at 3:49 PM
0
Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece
E.S. XXXVI (36) The life of Epicurus, when compared with that of other philosophers, seems almost legendary thanks to the calmness and self-sufficiency that distinguished him.

-----

In Mytilene, where…


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Elli
December 16, 2025 at 2:56 AM
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1
Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece
An Analysis of a Father’s Death Sentence Against His Own Son - Torquatus and the Roman Recasting of Epicurean Philosophy.

Titus Manlius Torquatus, as portrayed in Cicero’s De Finibus, appears as a…


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Elli
November 18, 2025 at 2:34 PM
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Featured
Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece
The Uncertainty of Science and the Certainty of Faith

By Dimitris Altas, cardiologist and member of the Analysis and Experiential Application Team of Epicurean Philosophy Today [(…


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Elli
May 24, 2025 at 3:47 AM
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3
Featured
Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece
"Epicurean Philosophy and the Deception of Modern Globalist Ideologues", by Elli Pensa



When you write a book and reference Epicurean philosophy as if it were nothing more than…“stones, bricks,…


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Elli
May 4, 2025 at 9:56 AM
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0
Cassius' Blog
It is interesting to think about what Lucretius had in mind in Book One of “On The Nature of Things” when he spoke about Epicurus "yearning to be the first to burst through the close-set bolts upon…


Read More

Cassius
February 11, 2024 at 6:20 AM
Love 1
1
Featured
Cassius' Blog
Here is a listing of ten key steps of Epicurean reasoning. There is nothing magic about this grouping but it's an effort to combine a manageable set of key points with important citations supporting…


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Cassius
November 28, 2022 at 8:10 AM
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Cassius' Blog
Several conversations lately have led me to want to produce a new article on what I would contend are some of the most important take-aways from the teachings of Epicurus. These are the points with…


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Cassius
April 20, 2021 at 10:58 AM
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Cassius' Blog
Friends, recent discussions have prompted me to finally get around to clarifying my own take on Epicurean Philosophy, which I have named "Hedonic Pragmatics"-- a new philosophy that is still closely…


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Elayne
November 22, 2020 at 10:52 AM
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0
Cassius' Blog
JC:


Hi Cassius. I'm sorry to badger you about this again, but I'm still trying to get my head around the pleasure principle. From my reading, all scholars agree that Epicurus divides pleasure into…


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Cassius
September 26, 2019 at 4:06 PM
Love 2
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Featured
Cassius' Blog
Not "absence of pain" as a full statement of the goal of life, but “the Feelings are two, pleasure and pain” and “Pleasure is the beginning and the end of a happy life.”

Brief: The feelings are only…


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Elayne
July 15, 2019 at 7:31 PM
Love 3
Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece

Epicurean Philosophy or Epicureanism?

In a recent conversation to the Garden of Thessaloniki, a question was raised whether the Epicureans could participate as a party to the political scene of the…


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Elli
June 16, 2019 at 8:41 AM
Love 2
1
Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece

"The Canon of Epicurus In Everyday Life"

The purpose of this proposition is a brief introduction to the Canon of Epicurus that will help us to use it in our everyday life. There are, of course,…


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Elli
June 16, 2019 at 8:37 AM
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1
Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece

“Online Communication With Cassius”

For the 6th Panhellenic Symposium of Epicurean Philosophy that was held by the Epicurean Gardens of Athens and Thessaloniki, February 2018



1.     (OPENING - TWO…


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Elli
May 31, 2019 at 3:34 PM
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Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece

PREFACE 1.

We often confuse the issue of the possibility of free will exercising with the issue of its existence. When we are unable to exercise it we say with sloppiness that it does not exist.…


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Elli
May 17, 2019 at 4:31 PM
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Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece

WE AND THE STOICS TODAY, or “To Those from the Stoa”

by Dimitris Liarmakopoulos, member of the Epicurean Garden in Thessaloniki

27.11.2015


A proposition about Stoicism on an Epicurean website causes…


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Elli
April 2, 2019 at 5:54 PM
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3
Cassius' Blog

ElliDog2.jpg

A Neighbor And His Dog

I have a story to tell you about a neighbor and his dog, but first I would like to share with you some thoughts on Epicurean Doctrine 40: “As many as possess…


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Cassius
November 5, 2018 at 10:45 AM
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Cassius' Blog

This chart comparing the major features of Stoicism vs Epicurean philosophy is a continuing work in progress! It is currently hosted at a Google Docs page to make editing easier. Feel free to make…


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Cassius
January 20, 2018 at 10:04 AM
Featured
Cassius' Blog

“It is observed too that in his treatise On the Ethical End he writes in these terms : “I know not how to conceive the good, apart from the pleasures of taste, of sex, of sound, and the…


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Cassius
January 20, 2018 at 9:56 AM
Love 2

Recent Blog Entries

New
Cassius' Blog
This post is also available on Substack.

One of the deepest and most consequential divisions in the history of philosophy runs not between optimism and pessimism, or between free will and determinism,…


Read More

Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 10:24 AM
1
Cassius' Blog

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

…


Read More

Cassius
December 23, 2025 at 3:49 PM
0
Elli's Blog - Articles By Elli Pensa And Other Friends of Epicurus in Greece
E.S. XXXVI (36) The life of Epicurus, when compared with that of other philosophers, seems almost legendary thanks to the calmness and self-sufficiency that distinguished him.

-----

In Mytilene, where…


Read More

Elli
December 16, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Like 2
1

Recent Lucretius Today Podcasts

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    2. Episode 330 - EATAQ 12 - The Stoics Opt For Virtue At All Cost And Knowledge As Bodily Grasping

      • Cassius
      • April 17, 2026 at 11:44 PM
    3. Replies
      0
      Views
      166

    2. Episode 329 - EATAQ 11 - Cracks In The Academy On Ideal Forms And Virtue Lead To The Emergence of Aristotle, The Stoics, And Epicurus 3

      • Cassius
      • April 17, 2026 at 4:01 PM
    3. Replies
      3
      Views
      690
      3

    4. Cassius

      April 17, 2026 at 4:01 PM

    2. Episode 328 - EATAQ 10 - Sensation - While Neither Right or Wrong - As The Touchstone Of Reality 5

      • Cassius
      • April 10, 2026 at 5:57 PM
    3. Replies
      5
      Views
      988
      5

    4. Cassius

      April 10, 2026 at 5:57 PM

    2. Episode 327 - EATAQ 09 - Intelligent Design vs Emergence 5

      • Cassius
      • April 4, 2026 at 3:48 PM
    3. Replies
      5
      Views
      1.1k
      5

    4. Joshua

      April 4, 2026 at 3:48 PM

    2. Episode 326 - EATAQ 08 - Who Cares About Infinite Divisibility? And Why? 2

      • Cassius
      • March 27, 2026 at 4:35 PM
    3. Replies
      2
      Views
      719
      2

    4. Cassius

      March 27, 2026 at 4:35 PM

News And Announcements

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    2. Acccelerating Study of Canonics Through Philodemus' "On Methods of Inference"

      • Cassius
      • April 6, 2026 at 10:56 AM
    3. Replies
      0
      Views
      308

    2. Updated FAQ Entry: Why Should I Care About Epicurean Physics When So Much Science Has Changed In The Last 2000 Years?

      • Cassius
      • March 26, 2026 at 1:57 PM
    3. Replies
      0
      Views
      459

    2. New Graphic: Epicurus vs. Other Major Philosophies

      • Cassius
      • February 17, 2026 at 10:16 AM
    3. Replies
      0
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      408

    2. New Decision Tree: Are You On Team Epicurus?

      • Cassius
      • February 16, 2026 at 7:02 PM
    3. Replies
      0
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      352

    2. New Audio Version of Lucian's Hermotiimus

      • Cassius
      • February 2, 2026 at 9:15 PM
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      430

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Cassius' Blog Entries

New
Cassius' Blog
This post is also available on Substack.

One of the deepest and most consequential divisions in the history of philosophy runs not between optimism and pessimism, or between free will and determinism,…


Read More

Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 10:24 AM
1
Cassius' Blog

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

…


Read More

Cassius
December 23, 2025 at 3:49 PM
0