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  • Matteng March 15, 2026 at 5:22 PM

    Reaction (Post)
    […]

    Well put.

    Along those lines, Epicurus himself was experiencing severe pain in his last days but could also call that time blissful (μακαρίαν "blessed" aka like a god) and could experience the pleasure of the "gladness of mind" (χαῖρον a…

  • Matteng March 15, 2026 at 5:22 PM

    Reaction (Post)
    Principal Doctrine 24 (PD 24) is one of the more convoluted doctrines with multiple phrases and conjunctions. I would like to provide some commentary and break the doctrine down into manageable words and phrases for everyone to get a more coherent…

  • Bryan March 15, 2026 at 4:27 PM

    Comment (Image/Video)
    Somewhat related is the fact that "Chorus" is used in Greek for a group in general, so we do have talk of the "The chorus/group of Epicureans (ὁ χορὸς τῶν Ἐπικουρείων)" [Dionysius of Halicarnassus (fl. 20 BCE), On the Composition of Words, 24] --…

  • Kalosyni March 15, 2026 at 2:32 PM

    Thread
    Here is a list of areas to reflect upon, for those who feel a need to increase happiness. This list can help guide your reflections, enabling you to identify specific areas that may be causing issues or need adjustment, and you can take your time with…

  • Martin March 15, 2026 at 12:37 PM

    Reacted with Like to Patrikios’s post in the thread Welcome Phscha.
    Reaction (Post)
    […]

    Wow! That seems harsh, for someone who appears to be trying to apply the 2,300 year-old philosophy to living in today’s world.

    He seems genuinely interested in an open discussion.

    […]


    It was the “Lucretius Today” podcast (emphasis on TODAY), that…

  • Patrikios March 15, 2026 at 12:23 PM

    Replied to the thread Welcome Phscha.
    Post
    […]

    Wow! That seems harsh, for someone who appears to be trying to apply the 2,300 year-old philosophy to living in today’s world.

    He seems genuinely interested in an open discussion.

    […]


    It was the “Lucretius Today” podcast (emphasis on TODAY), that…

  • Kalosyni March 15, 2026 at 10:17 AM

    Reacted with Like to ludenbergcastle’s post in the thread Welcome Ludenbergcastle.
    Reaction (Post)
    Thank you for the warm welcome.

    Given that this is one of the more active places where Epicurean philosophy is discussed, it usually pops up whenever I look up anything about Epicurus.

    The reason I signed up was that it was required in order to download…

  • Cassius March 15, 2026 at 7:41 AM

    Thread
    As in another recent post I just came across this in Nietzsche's "Twilight of the Idols.' It strikes me on first reading as very persuasively consistent with Epicurus' defense of the senses and criticism of what we might call "otherworldliness." I'm…

  • Cassius March 15, 2026 at 7:34 AM

    Thread
    I just came across this biting criticism of Socrates and his embrace of dialectice from Nietzsche's "Twilight of The Idols." I'd say a significant number of these arguments are consistent with the Epicureans' criticisms of Socrates. Posting it here for…

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    2. Self-Reflection to increase happiness and reduce pain

      • Kalosyni
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    2. Nietzsche's "Reason In Philosophy" - Consistent With Epicurus' Defense of the Senses And Criticism Of Otherworldliness?

      • Cassius
      • March 15, 2026 at 7:41 AM
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    2. Nietzsche's "The Problem Of Socrates" (Consistent With The Epicurean Criticism of Socrates?)

      • Cassius
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    2. Episode 325 - EATAQ 07 - The Alleged Duality Of Nature And Its Qualities - Not Yet Recorded 1

      • Cassius
      • March 15, 2026 at 1:42 PM
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      755
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    4. Joshua

      March 15, 2026 at 1:42 PM

    2. Sunday Zoom - March 15, 2026 - 12:30 PM ET - Topic - Lucretius Book One Starting At Line 265 - Atoms Are Invisible

      • Cassius
      • March 14, 2026 at 6:49 PM
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    2. Welcome Phscha 15

      • Cassius
      • March 15, 2026 at 12:23 PM
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    4. Patrikios

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    2. Tim O'Keefe -- Ouch! 9

      • Pacatus
      • March 12, 2026 at 1:30 PM
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    4. Pacatus

      March 12, 2026 at 1:30 PM

    2. Good article on parenting that has "choice and avoidance" tips for adults too

      • Kalosyni
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    2. Welcome Ludenbergcastle 6

      • Cassius
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    4. Martin

      March 10, 2026 at 8:44 PM

    2. Episode 324 - EATAQ 06 - Is Pleasure The Good, Or The Enemy of The Good? 2

      • Cassius
      • March 14, 2026 at 11:41 AM
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      626
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    4. Cassius

      March 14, 2026 at 11:41 AM

    2. Comparing the Proof Requirements Of James Randi To Those of Epicurus

      • Cassius
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    2. Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism 15

      • Kalosyni
      • March 13, 2026 at 11:27 AM
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    4. Cassius

      March 13, 2026 at 11:27 AM

    2. Welcome Cornelius Peripateticus! (A name we'll consider genericly rather than as being a dedicated Aristotelian!) 11

      • Cassius
      • March 4, 2026 at 11:43 AM
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    4. Eikadistes

      March 4, 2026 at 11:43 AM

    2. Sunday March 8, 2026 - Zoom Meeting - Lucretius Book Review - Starting Book One Line 215 - REMEMBER DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME CHANGE in US

      • Cassius
      • February 28, 2026 at 1:08 PM
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    2. Sunday March 1, 2026 - Zoom Meeting - Lucretius Book Review - Starting Book One Line 184 1

      • Cassius
      • February 28, 2026 at 3:53 PM
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    4. Kalosyni

      February 28, 2026 at 3:53 PM

    2. Episode 323 - EATAQ 05 - The Pre-Epicurean View: Three Divisions of Philosophy And Three Divisions of Goods 2

      • Cassius
      • March 5, 2026 at 4:55 PM
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    4. Cassius

      March 5, 2026 at 4:55 PM

    2. Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal" 11

      • Kalosyni
      • February 27, 2026 at 8:10 PM
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    4. Kalosyni

      February 27, 2026 at 8:10 PM

    2. Welcome MCTIMKAT! 3

      • Cassius
      • February 25, 2026 at 3:38 PM
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    4. Don

      February 25, 2026 at 3:38 PM

    2. Sunday February 22, 2026 - Zoom Meeting - Lucretius Book Review - Starting Book One Line 174 4

      • Cassius
      • February 22, 2026 at 1:07 PM
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    4. Joshua

      February 22, 2026 at 1:07 PM

    2. Episode 322 - EATAQ 04 - Epicurean Moral Outrage Against Socrates 3

      • Cassius
      • February 27, 2026 at 2:58 PM
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      871
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    4. Cassius

      February 27, 2026 at 2:58 PM

Recent Images From Our Gallery

  • 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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    Our Journey Through the Universe

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Recent Articles (All Articles Sorted By Date)

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. "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
    • 36 Downloads

  2. 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.
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  3. 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

  4. All Particles Go to Heaven: The Form and Formation of the (Epicurean) Gods

    • Eikadistes
    • November 20, 2025 at 12:23 PM
    "[P]rior to the widespread proliferation of supernatural soap operas, the first peoples contemplated a raw form of divinity, unsullied by mythic adulterants."
    • Thanks 2
    • 59 Downloads

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

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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
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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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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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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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"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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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…


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Cassius
February 11, 2024 at 6:20 AM
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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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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
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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
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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
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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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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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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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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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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
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“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
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You Have Been Deceived!

You have been deceived.

If you are hearing these words in the early years of the twenty-first century, then you have already wasted much of your life dealing with nonsense.

If…


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Cassius
November 23, 2017 at 4:53 PM
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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…


Read More

Elli
December 16, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Like 2
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
Like 2
0

Recent Lucretius Today Podcasts

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    2. Episode 325 - EATAQ 07 - The Alleged Duality Of Nature And Its Qualities - Not Yet Recorded 1

      • Cassius
      • March 15, 2026 at 1:42 PM
    3. Replies
      1
      Views
      755
      1

    4. Joshua

      March 15, 2026 at 1:42 PM

    2. Episode 324 - EATAQ 06 - Is Pleasure The Good, Or The Enemy of The Good? 2

      • Cassius
      • March 14, 2026 at 11:41 AM
    3. Replies
      2
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      626
      2

    4. Cassius

      March 14, 2026 at 11:41 AM

    2. Episode 323 - EATAQ 05 - The Pre-Epicurean View: Three Divisions of Philosophy And Three Divisions of Goods 2

      • Cassius
      • March 5, 2026 at 4:55 PM
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      851
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    4. Cassius

      March 5, 2026 at 4:55 PM

    2. Episode 322 - EATAQ 04 - Epicurean Moral Outrage Against Socrates 3

      • Cassius
      • February 27, 2026 at 2:58 PM
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    4. Cassius

      February 27, 2026 at 2:58 PM

    2. Episode 321 - EATAQ 03 - The Epicurean Criticism of Socrates For Denouncing Natural Science 11

      • Cassius
      • February 26, 2026 at 3:32 PM
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    4. Patrikios

      February 26, 2026 at 3:32 PM

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    2. New Graphic: Epicurus vs. Other Major Philosophies

      • Cassius
      • February 17, 2026 at 10:16 AM
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    2. New Decision Tree: Are You On Team Epicurus?

      • Cassius
      • February 16, 2026 at 7:02 PM
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Cassius' Blog Entries

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
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…


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Cassius
February 11, 2024 at 6:20 AM
Love 1
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