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LAMAR__44 April 7, 2026 at 9:40 PM

Replied to the thread How to argue against the Kalam Cosmological Argument?.
Post

[…]

Yes, I am going to use the universe to refer to “the all that exists”.

Well I guess I’m going to introduce wordplay that people who believe the Big Bang in the beginning do, so forgive me haha.

But I guess we could say that there was never a time where…
Cassius April 7, 2026 at 9:05 PM

Replied to the thread How to argue against the Kalam Cosmological Argument?.
Post

Presuming first that we are communicating as to "universe" meaning "the all" and not just "our universe" then I'd go back to the very first part of your first post.

[…]

I doubt Epicurus would go much past that without stating that "the universe / the all"…
LAMAR__44 April 7, 2026 at 8:43 PM

Replied to the thread How to argue against the Kalam Cosmological Argument?.
Post

I feel as this situation is different to Zeno’s paradox. I believe Zeno’s paradox is actually true, in the sense that if you agree with the premise that space is infinitely divisible, then motion is impossible, however, clearly motion is possible, so…
Cassius April 7, 2026 at 5:33 PM

Replied to the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Post

Of course "arrangement of atoms" is clearly just a shorthand, and calling something "emergence" is just slapping another label on it. But I am wondering if there are others ways to describe the process that help distinguish it from "randomness"
Cassius April 7, 2026 at 5:17 PM

Replied to the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Post

I think what I am considering is whether it is the best we can do to say that -for example - memory is simply a very precise arrangement of atoms.

Again not implying that it is anything non-natural, but there are many things which clearly CAN be that. I…
Eikadistes April 7, 2026 at 5:10 PM

Replied to the thread Christos Yapijakis and The Garden Of Athens Release "Epicurean Philosophy: An Introduction from The Garden of Athens".
Post

Our friend Leonidas from the Garden of Athens has taken the time to translate the Timeline of Epicurean Philosophy hosted at Twentiers into Greek! You can find his translation ΟΙ ΕΠΙΚΟΥΡΕΙΟΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΟΤΗΤΑ ("THE EPICUREANS IN ANTIQUITY") here.

I'm…
Patrikios April 7, 2026 at 4:47 PM

Replied to the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Post

[…]

Cassius

I don’t see how ‘emergence’ plays out in recreating the same exact experience when it is a different time or place. I also don’t see it as a question of “past lives” from a previous time.

Those reunited “atoms” never caught the same…
Cassius April 7, 2026 at 4:05 PM

Replied to the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Post

Patrikios I wonder if "emergence" is not part of this answer too. I think it's reasonable to say that if we were taking an atomic reductionist point of view that the "atoms" of our current forms could in fact be reunited in exactly their same positions…
Don April 7, 2026 at 4:00 PM

Replied to the thread How to argue against the Kalam Cosmological Argument?.
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[…]

Amen.
Eikadistes April 7, 2026 at 3:58 PM

Replied to the thread New "TWENTIERS" Website.
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My eyes are melting so I added a dark mode plugin (bottom-right corner).

Dark Mode.png
Patrikios April 7, 2026 at 3:17 PM

Replied to the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Post

[…]

LAMAR__44

Interesting question of how would we know. To “know” something requires a brain with memory. Our brains contain volatile memory, with neuron cells. But when the blood flow stops, the brain’s power supply (oxygen, glucose) are cut…
Eikadistes April 7, 2026 at 11:26 AM

Replied to the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Post

Also, my bad (upon reflection) for demonstrating my point with mythic narratives.

Read the citation Cassius shared for a proper, Epicurean defense.
Eikadistes April 7, 2026 at 11:25 AM

Replied to the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Post

[…]

The future animal that looks like you will have different friends.

To be the same, you'd also need the same context, the same culture, the same language, the same fashion, the same laws, the same relationships, the same experience that guarantees an…
Cassius April 7, 2026 at 11:20 AM

Replied to the thread How to argue against the Kalam Cosmological Argument?.
Post

[…]

[…]

And I agree with Eikadistes there Lamar_44. Eikadistes is using what is apparently the current terminology. I use the terminology I grew up with - "universe means everything - the all." As I read it we end up in the same place.

[…]

This is a…
Eikadistes April 7, 2026 at 10:57 AM

Replied to the thread How to argue against the Kalam Cosmological Argument?.
Post

[…]

This point is consistent with Epicurean physics, which teaches that each kósmos is temporary.

In the Epistle to Herodótos, Epíkouros describes the creation of a kósmos: "concerning the intercepting of the amalgamations out of [the] beginning of these …
Cassius April 7, 2026 at 9:27 AM

Replied to the thread David Sedley's "Epicurean Theories of Knowledge From Hermarchus To Lucretius And Philodemus".
Post

It appears for some reason that this thread was closed in error, as I don't see another one treating the same article by Sedley. It's directly relevant to issues of knowledge and probability so I am bumping it for reference in current discussions.
Cassius April 7, 2026 at 7:49 AM

Replied to the thread How to argue against the Kalam Cosmological Argument?.
Post

Sound to me like that's a variation of the Zeno argument that you cannot move or walk across the room because there are infinite steps in between.

Someone else ( Joshua ) probably can state the response better than me, but Epicurus rejects the argument…
Cassius April 7, 2026 at 7:40 AM

Replied to the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Post

[…]

Perhaps Tau Phi's post mentions this (haven't read it yet) but your specific question is addressed by Lucretius. His answer is as you indicate, that our exact atoms could reassemble in the future, but that we would have no memory of it so it would not…
TauPhi April 7, 2026 at 6:40 AM

Replied to the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Post

I conducted similar thought experiment some time ago and tried to imagine how Epicureans in antiquity could tackle this problem. I hope you find it interesting:

Ancient Epicurean worldview (classes of compounds of atoms)
LAMAR__44 April 7, 2026 at 6:09 AM

Posted the thread How to argue against the Kalam Cosmological Argument?.
Thread

Essentially, it argues that the universe could not be eternal, since this would require an infinite past. And we can’t have an infinite past, because this would require an actual infinite set to be constructed through successive addition of finite…
LAMAR__44 April 7, 2026 at 6:01 AM

Posted the thread How do we know that we only get one life?.
Thread

Essentially, from what I know about Epicurean physics, is that time extends infinitely into the past and into the future, as well as space extending infinitely in all directions, and there is infinite matter in this universe.

Now, if the soul is just a…
Cassius April 7, 2026 at 4:05 AM

Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.
Post

Happy Birthday to Jesse! Learn more about Jesse and say happy birthday on Jesse's timeline: Jesse
Eikadistes April 6, 2026 at 12:25 PM

Replied to the thread Was Epicurus Influenced by Xenophanes?.
Post

I have yet to find Xenophanes in the extent works of Epíkouros, Metródōros, Hermarkhos, Polyainos, Polystratos, Karneiskos, Dēmētrios of Lakonia, Zēnon, Philódēmos, or either Diogénēs.

Lucretius does allude to Xenophanes (but not by name) somewhere around…
Cassius April 6, 2026 at 10:56 AM

Posted the thread Acccelerating Study of Canonics Through Philodemus' "On Methods of Inference".
Thread

Given that many of our recent discussions have focused on identifying the Epicurean position as to knowledge, and whether "probability" is the best we can do on any topic, I've produced using Claude an initial outline of the analysis of Philodemus made…
Cassius April 6, 2026 at 10:40 AM

Replied to the thread Sunday April 5, 2026 - Zoom Meeting - Lucretius Book Review - Starting Book One Line 305.
Post

Robert I have completed my first review of the full Claude summary, and it appears to me to be excellent. For ease of followup I would appreciate further comments on this topic being made over there so we can keep most of the discussion in the…
Cassius April 6, 2026 at 10:39 AM

Posted the thread Analysis of Epicurean Canonics.
Thread

I have asked ClaudaAI to take the DeLacy translation and commentary, as well as Sedley's essay On Signs, and produce a detailed outline and analysis of the work based on those two authorities. After reviewing the result it looks pretty good to me, and…
Cassius April 6, 2026 at 10:33 AM

Replied to the thread Was Epicurus Influenced by Xenophanes?.
Post

What conclusion would you reach if there were such influence?
Kalosyni April 6, 2026 at 9:30 AM

Posted the thread Was Epicurus Influenced by Xenophanes?.
Thread

We can see the Epicurean understanding of the gods in Principal Doctrine 01, the Letter to Menoeceus, and in Lucretius. And perhaps Epicurus was influenced by Xenophanes ideas (which alos came down through Plato/Aristotle, but Epicurus forms different…
Cassius April 6, 2026 at 8:38 AM

Replied to the thread Sunday April 5, 2026 - Zoom Meeting - Lucretius Book Review - Starting Book One Line 305.
Post

At this meeting Robert bravely attempted to summarize aspects of Philodemus' "On Methods of Inference / On Signs" as to where Philodemus comes down on whether positions can constitute"knowledge" or rise only to "probability."

If i recall correctly…
Cassius April 6, 2026 at 7:29 AM

Replied to the thread Is There A "Paradox of Hedonism"?.
Post

[…]

I don't think Epicurus would consider "the value of friendship above the value of pleasure"

His wider framework is clearly to divide all feelings into pleasure and pain with only pleasure desirable in and of itself. So I think that observation answers…
Cassius April 6, 2026 at 7:14 AM

Replied to the thread Is There A "Paradox of Hedonism"?.
Post

[…]

This is a subject that we have not explored deeply here at the forum, with Sedley's "Epicurean Anti-Reductionism" only recently being first discussed. References to "both levels (atomic and our world level) being real has been discussed as a result of…
Cassius April 6, 2026 at 4:05 AM

Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.
Post

Happy Birthday to Tony Fox! Learn more about Tony Fox and say happy birthday on Tony Fox's timeline: Tony Fox
LAMAR__44 April 6, 2026 at 12:22 AM

Replied to the thread Is There A "Paradox of Hedonism"?.
Post

I’ve heard of emergence before, particularly in debates about how the mind arises from the physical. When describing emergence, are you referring to weak/reductive emergence? Where we can map a phenomenon down to its constituent parts, such as a wave…
Cassius April 5, 2026 at 8:04 PM

Replied to the thread "And With These We Especially Do Battle, And Rebuke Them, As Well As Hating Them For A Disposition Which Follows Their Disordered Congenital Nature....".
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My first reaction would be 'both' - given that the context seems to be that he is considering things for which we are responsible , and everything that you're listing seems to be at least somewhat arising from our own choices.
wbernys April 5, 2026 at 6:52 PM

Replied to the thread VS23 - Epicurus Reader Version.
Post

[…]

I also heavily lean towards saying yes as well. In large part because Philodemus himself seems to list Making Friends itself as a virtue.

(… it is impossible for one to live pleasurably) without living prudently and honourably and justly,¹⁰ and also…
Don April 5, 2026 at 6:25 PM

Replied to the thread VS23 - Epicurus Reader Version.
Post

I think we're understandably butting up against a Greek vs English issue here.

Granted αρετη is translated as "excellence" in English; however, it's not an adjective like "excellent" as in "Our friendship is excellent."

αρετη can be variously translated…
Patrikios April 5, 2026 at 6:08 PM

Replied to the thread "And With These We Especially Do Battle, And Rebuke Them, As Well As Hating Them For A Disposition Which Follows Their Disordered Congenital Nature....".
Post

[…]

Cassius

So, are theses “certain acquired states” describing each individual person/animal unique makeup or personality; or does this also include consideration of a person’s attitude, emotional state, or focused intentions?
Cassius April 5, 2026 at 5:21 PM

Replied to the thread Episode 328 - EATAQ 10 - The Platonist View - No Truth Through The Senses, But Only Through Of Dialectic And Rhetoric - Not Yet Recorded.
Post

I am likely to eventually break this out into a discussion of its own, but in this episode of the podcast Joshua brings up the question of "doxa" vs "episteme." From wikipedia:

Doxa (Ancient Greek: δόξα; from verb δοκεῖν, dokein, 'to appear, to seem, to…
TauPhi April 5, 2026 at 5:14 PM

Replied to the thread VS23 - Epicurus Reader Version.
Post

I see virtue as excellence in something that is desirable. For me being virtuous means achieving excellence in something desirable. Friendship is pivotal in Epicurean philosophy so I completely agree with the statement that friendship is a virtue. Like…
Cassius April 5, 2026 at 4:42 PM

Replied to the thread VS23 - Epicurus Reader Version.
Post

So regardless of the rest of the implications, one of the basic questions is apparently: Did Epicurus number friendship as being among the virtues? (Or considered under the category name "virtue.")

I am inclined to agree with the excerpts Don posted to…
Patrikios April 5, 2026 at 1:55 PM

Replied to the thread Sunday April 5, 2026 - Zoom Meeting - Lucretius Book Review - Starting Book One Line 305.
Post

Cassius

In today's discussion as we further explored the world of the unseen, you posed the question, "Is there life after death?"

We had a great Epicurean discussion around this question.

As an aside, I mentioned a book that was published by a good…
TauPhi April 5, 2026 at 12:24 PM

Replied to the thread VS23 - Epicurus Reader Version.
Post

Thank you, Don .

I'm not a big fan of correcting manuscripts as it adds yet another danger of warping the original ideas. I think any corrections should be clearly marked and explained so the readers know what has been done and why.

That said,…
Joshua April 5, 2026 at 9:49 AM

Replied to the thread Episode 328 - EATAQ 10 - The Platonist View - No Truth Through The Senses, But Only Through Of Dialectic And Rhetoric - Not Yet Recorded.
Post

[…]
Don April 5, 2026 at 8:05 AM

Replied to the thread VS23 - Epicurus Reader Version.
Post

The word in question in the manuscript is this above.

To my eye, it is clearly αρετη with a soft breathing mark at the α and an accent over the η at the end with a punctuation mark following.

πᾶσα φιλία διʼ ἑαυτὴν ἀρετή·…
wbernys April 5, 2026 at 1:37 AM

Replied to the thread How can writing a will be justified in Epicureanism?.
Post

Wanted to share a great article other users may like by Orestis Karatzoglou, he makes a particularly strong point how will writing is so easily justified by the main principles of Epicurean Friendship and allows to feel more secure, in other words…
Cassius April 4, 2026 at 6:58 PM

Posted the thread Episode 328 - EATAQ 10 - The Platonist View - No Truth Through The Senses, But Only Through Of Dialectic And Rhetoric - Not Yet Recorded.
Thread

Welcome to Episode 328 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the…
Cassius April 4, 2026 at 4:40 PM

Replied to the thread Is There A "Paradox of Hedonism"?.
Post

It occurs to me to add here that in some of our physics discussions recently we have had reason to focus on the importance of "emergence" or "emergent qualities" to the nature of the way things are.

Probably friendship and love and the issues you are…
Joshua April 4, 2026 at 3:48 PM

Replied to the thread Episode 327 - EATAQ 09 - Intelligent Design vs Emergence.
Post

[…]

That is a good question! I will try to remember to look into this later today.
Patrikios April 4, 2026 at 3:35 PM

Replied to the thread Episode 327 - EATAQ 09 - Intelligent Design vs Emergence.
Post

Joshua ,

Thanks to you and Cassius for this excellent episode (327).

This is a very timely episode for helping people make some sense of a world in turmoil, with much re-framing of reality.

This first section appears to describe a worldview not too…
Martin April 4, 2026 at 12:17 PM

Replied to the thread Welcome Lamar!.
Post

Welcome Lamar!

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LAMAR__44 April 7, 2026 at 9:40 PM

Cassius April 7, 2026 at 9:05 PM

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