Recent Activities
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Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 9:16 AM Posted the thread Comparing the Proof Requirements Of James Randi To Those of Epicurus.ThreadJames Randi was a famous skeptic of paranormal claims. In posting this I don't know how close his views were to those of Epicurus, but it would probably advance our canonics discussion to discuss the similarities and differences in approach.
Some of… -
Kalosyni
PostMarch 6, 2026 at 8:59 AM […]
"Wiring messages"...
...made me think about this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Milli…ormal_Challenge -
Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 8:39 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostAlso don't forget the inherent ridiculousness of trying to reason with someone who rejects evidence-based reasoning. They are speaking nonsense and once they start down that road Lucretius says the ultimate response is not to engage with them further:
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Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 8:30 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostI modified the title of the thread just slightly to make clear that there are two kinds of evidence that must be consided in evaluating when we can be dogmatic and reach a conclusion and when we cannot.
Direct evidence is direct observation. We determine… -
Kalosyni
March 6, 2026 at 8:16 AM Reacted withReaction (Post)
to Cassius’s post in the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.In the podcast we will eventually address this issue of "when is it appropriate to say that we know something" by covering Philodemus' "On Signs / On Methods of Inference." We've also already covered these issues in past discussions of Lucretius Book 4… -
Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 8:07 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostIn the podcast we will eventually address this issue of "when is it appropriate to say that we know something" by covering Philodemus' "On Signs / On Methods of Inference." We've also already covered these issues in past discussions of Lucretius Book 4… -
Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 7:56 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostI agree with Martin but would add as to this that we must be clear about what "conclusive" means:
[…]
In the law we convict people and put them to death on a regular basis by holding to be conclusive the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt." And we do… -
Kalosyni
March 6, 2026 at 7:54 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostI am curious if there is more to say about the use of indirect evidence which leads to inferred evidence - do we see this in the Letter to Herodotus or in Lucretius?
...especially dealing with the non-intervention of the gods
and also any other aspects. -
Kalosyni
March 6, 2026 at 7:51 AM Posted the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.ThreadI am copying here into the main forum, a few posts which were recently made in reaction to a past Wednesday night Zoom meeting discussion:
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Godfrey posted (on 03/05/26):
It occurred to me this morning in my fog of awakening that the practice of… -
Kalosyni
March 5, 2026 at 8:56 PM Reacted withReaction (Post)
to Cassius’s post in the thread Episode 323 - EATAQ 05 - The Pre-Epicurean View: Three Divisions of Philosophy And Three Divisions of Goods.In this episode we spend most of our time describing the three divisions of philosophy and the three divisions of "good" that were the dominant ways of looking at these topics prior to Epicurus. Next week we will take this analysis much further and… -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:55 PM In this episode we spend most of our time describing the three divisions of philosophy and the three divisions of "good" that were the dominant ways of looking at these topics prior to Epicurus. Next week we will take this analysis much further and… -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:53 PM Episode 323 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. This week our episode is entitled: "The Pre-Epicurean View: Three Divisions of Philosophy And Three Divisions of Goods"
[media]https://www.spreaker.com/episode/70491386/media -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:47 PM Of course even more on point as to the disaster of not trusting the senses is Lucretius 4-5004-500
And if reason is unable to unravel the cause, why those things which close at hand were square, are seen round from a distance, still it is better through… -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:43 PM ** I'm thinking of this being the analogy (admittedly not right on point but good for pointing out how abandoning the study of nature / confidence in the senses will open the door for a flood of other problems:
For on whatever side you maintain that the… -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:38 PM […]
I agree and I think "horrified" is in the vicinity of the right emotion. I don't think they considered this to be a mild disagreement to politely gloss over. It goes to the heart of everything, and in analogy to the way Lucretius describes theories… -
Cassius
Reaction (Post)March 5, 2026 at 4:33 PM […]
Cassius
Here is another view of how humans have devolved in some of our senses and prolepsis abilities, due to Socrates turn away from observing nature, especially observing it deeply. Since Epicurus saw himself as a healer, the Socratic/Platonic… -
Cassius
March 5, 2026 at 4:07 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostHappy Birthday to Zarathustra! Learn more about Zarathustra and say happy birthday on Zarathustra's timeline: Zarathustra -
Don
Reaction (Post)March 4, 2026 at 5:55 PM […]
NICE! Duolingo hasn't covered that one, yet.
You're definitely in the right place an an Epicurean enthusiast. Welcome to the forum! -
EdGenX
March 4, 2026 at 4:45 PM Reacted withReaction (Post) to Cassius’s post in the thread Welcome Cornelius Peripateticus! (A name we'll consider genericly rather than as being a dedicated Aristotelian!).Welcome Cornelius, who has sent me the following information about himself. He sounds fascinating and familiar with the forum rules, so for the time being we'll consider his name to indicate that he likes to exercise his legs, rather than as a statement…
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