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Cassius
August 5, 2026 at 3:16 PM Replied to the thread Episode 344 - EATAQ26 - What Is Our Mind's Role In Determining Truth?.PostThis is from the wikipedia page:Epistemology
Main article: Epistemology
According to the Stoics, knowledge can be attained through the application of reason to the impressions (phantasiai) received by the mind through the senses. The mind can judge… -
Patrikios
August 5, 2026 at 2:51 PM Replied to the thread Episode 344 - EATAQ26 - What Is Our Mind's Role In Determining Truth?.Post -
DaveT
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 2:07 PM […]
Yes, thanks for catching that. I edited the statement to say what I meant to read: I am in no way even inferrring. -
Cassius
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 11:18 AM […]
On this point, I don't think there's a general Epicurean rule that says. "First, deal with pain." Certainly not "First, deal with all pain." Now there clearly is a hierarchy for teaching about the nature of the universe (no supernatural gods; true… -
Cassius
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 11:06 AM […]
Dave I am the world's worst at dropping "nots." Was this suppose to be "I am not even inferring"..... Or Iam i just misreading that sentence? -
DaveT
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 11:05 AM […]
As I feel the same way about your part of this discussion
[…]
I can't agree with this "If--then" proposition. Pleasure and pain can exist in the same space, if you meant to say simultaneously. Is that even arguable?
And so say any particular pleasure can… -
Cassius
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 11:03 AM NOTE: I spent a long time composing this so it does not reflect any posts by Dave or others made after #45. I'll come back to those.
Thank you Patrikios - that's what I get for writing at 2:00 AM.
Here's what i typed:
[…]
And here's the untangled version:
… -
DaveT
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 10:42 AM […]
Respectfully, I don't see that as a problem. I see it as a feature that anyone, from the wise man, to the common man can grasp within each of their ability. We are after all trying to being this philosophy to the common man as you had essentially… -
DaveT
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 10:39 AM […]
No, I don't think that is the issue which you then off your support for. The hedonic calculus does not spell out what each individual can (must?) do to achieve the ultimate good. I think PD 09 addresses this, no? -
DaveT
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 10:36 AM […]
Here, it is good to see we agree. Again, and as always he trusts us to use the hedonic calculus, but as to the beginning of our journey, deal with the pain, and you are already a good solid step in a happy life. -
DaveT
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 10:23 AM […]
Your quote of Cicero, I think does not address my thesis. I am not questioning the academic analysis of pleasure is the chief good. Epicurus said it, and I hoped it was clear I'm not focusing on it. -
DaveT
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 10:19 AM […]
Yes and no. You understand the part about eliminating pain. Except once you experience pleasure , you are mistaken in the second part of your restatement. I am in no way even inferring obliquely that whatever you find available after the pain is gone.… -
Patrikios
PostAugust 5, 2026 at 9:09 AM -
Cassius
August 4, 2026 at 9:40 PM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.Post -
Cassius
PostAugust 4, 2026 at 9:03 PM […]
Dave, the further I read into Arenson's book the more i would encourage the part I underlined. I'm not disagreeing with what you are saying about your more practical approach - I am saying that i don't think you are going far enough.
Arenson is… -
Cassius
August 4, 2026 at 5:40 PM Replied to the thread Preparing A Public Domain Audio And Text Version Lucretius In Modern American English.PostI have returned to this project now that the audiobook generation technology continues to advance, and below is a link to my latest version of Lucretius. This is largely the Bailey version but with various edits to shorten sentences so as to prevent the… -
Cassius
PostAugust 4, 2026 at 2:33 PM Let me expand and double down on this:
[…]
So yes as far as I can tell Epicurus never says that all pleasures are equally desirable, any more than he says that all pains are equally undesirable. It would be ludicrious to take those positions, but the … -
Cassius
PostAugust 4, 2026 at 1:45 PM Dave, I appreciate your engaging on this; it was your posts yesterday that led to a discussion last night at our "meet and greet" and kept me awake last night thinking about it all.
[…]
While this does some work toward clarification I don't think it goes… -
Cassius
PostAugust 4, 2026 at 1:14 PM […]
Sort of similar to pleasures in that respect. There's always a context that is going to have great influence on when and how you address relieving a pan, just like how you address pursuing a pleasure..
To me that's another reason why "Maximize Net… -
DaveT
PostAugust 4, 2026 at 12:26 PM […]
Are you responding to my original post at #33? I can agree with your comment here without hesitation. Do you see how it fits with my application of PD 3? The automatic process of pleasure upon removing pain (completely or partially) remains true and… -
DaveT
PostAugust 4, 2026 at 12:14 PM […]
Man, I love your processes, but please give me time to plumb your prior comments before supporting your position with more material. I can't keep up and feel like you are giving me too many things to think about before I can finish my conversation. me… -
DaveT
PostAugust 4, 2026 at 12:06 PM […]
No, what I mean is that once you eliminate pain(s) you have pleasure automatically and immediately. You don't need to do anything to turn to pleasure. Now, take that short explanation and see how I don't care about any discussion of kinetic and… -
Pacatus
PostAugust 4, 2026 at 10:44 AM Some pains may be readily removable, some may not. Sometimes the distress caused by pain (or by focussing on the pain) can be relieved (or at least attenuated) by engaging in pleasurable activity (e.g. Epicurus on his deathbed). -
Cassius
PostAugust 4, 2026 at 2:19 AM When I hear people say they think the texts support identifying the goal with absence of pain, and therefore Epicurus is teaching them to target reducing pain above all, and that whatever pleasures happen to be laying aroundcan be used to achieve the… -
Cassius
PostAugust 3, 2026 at 11:35 PM Dave's post has me focused on trying to identify what I see to be two different camps with two different sets of foundational premises:
Camp one maintains that goal is a feeling that is specifically identifiable with "absence of pain." They believe that… -
Cassius
PostAugust 3, 2026 at 9:28 PM You are raising some excellent points -- these are the issues that need discussing.
First, as to singular or plural in PD03 , it looks to me like the translators are all over the board on which is corrrect. Given their disagreement it would be good to… -
Titus
PostAugust 3, 2026 at 5:34 PM Looking from the end rather than from the start, I have been thinking since a long time that Epicurean philosophy works as a good compass to navigate all the problems people are facing, especially nowadays, regarding starting a family and managing… -
Kalosyni
August 3, 2026 at 1:50 PM Replied to the thread Desires necessary for Happiness..Post[…]
Must add: Good friends are also conducive toward "good spirits", and this would be a common sense way of understanding the desires that lead to happiness. It is from pleasure we begin, and to pleasure which we arrive. -
Kalosyni
August 3, 2026 at 1:23 PM Replied to the thread "Meet-and-Greet" Zoom- August 3rd, 8pm ET & August 9th, 12:30pm ET, 2026.PostThanks kochiekoch , you're added to the link conversation, see you tonight! -
kochiekoch
August 3, 2026 at 12:31 PM Replied to the thread "Meet-and-Greet" Zoom- August 3rd, 8pm ET & August 9th, 12:30pm ET, 2026.PostPut me down for tonight, August 3. -
wbernys
August 2, 2026 at 8:25 PM Posted the thread Desires necessary for Happiness..ThreadIn the Letter to Menoceus, Epicurus says "of the necessary desires some are necessary if we are to be happy, some if the body is to be rid of uneasiness, some if we are even to live. (Hicks). Ironically, despite Happiness being the first one listed, most… -
Cassius
PostAugust 2, 2026 at 5:56 PM THe only record of Hiernymous of Rhodes is what Cicero says about him as explained in our earlier thread (note from 2019) with the citations. Hieronymus of Rhodes embraced "absence of pain" but not pleasure, as Cicero explains.
They support the point… -
DaveT
PostAugust 2, 2026 at 4:42 PM […]
Sorry, I'm not following the statements in each paragraph. Am I missing the trees for the forest? Do you have citations of the Hieronymus of Rhodes reference? Are you disputing his wording or the concept, which I don't think you are disputing the… -
Kalosyni
August 2, 2026 at 2:33 PM Replied to the thread "Meet-and-Greet" Zoom- August 3rd, 8pm ET & August 9th, 12:30pm ET, 2026.PostI've sent out the Zoom link by private conversation for the Monday Aug. 3rd, 8pm ET Zoom, so look for that in your "conversations" section of the forum. Any others wishing to join, go ahead and RSVP by posting here in this thread (or messaging Cassius),… -
Patrikios
PostAugust 2, 2026 at 12:20 PM […]
As long as the "fundamentalist Epicurean" platform still includes "how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today", then it serves Epicurus' goal to heal the mind. -
Cassius
August 2, 2026 at 9:32 AM Replied to the thread Episode 345 - EATAQ27 - Not Yet Recorded.Post -
Cassius
August 2, 2026 at 8:07 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus And Homer's Odyssey.PostInteresting to see a Chinese take on Nolan's version of the Odysee, including how Nolan states that modern filmmakers need to apologize for greatness, and his statements about gods at the end:
youtube.com/watch?v=wa4I8Ch2TRo -
Kalosyni
August 1, 2026 at 6:42 PM Replied to the thread "Meet-and-Greet" Zoom- August 3rd, 8pm ET & August 9th, 12:30pm ET, 2026.PostThank you Aristos ...we'll be sending out the link the day before the meeting. -
Aristos
August 1, 2026 at 3:43 PM Replied to the thread "Meet-and-Greet" Zoom- August 3rd, 8pm ET & August 9th, 12:30pm ET, 2026.PostSunday (9th) works for me, see you then 🤝 -
Cassius
August 1, 2026 at 3:40 PM Posted the thread Episode 345 - EATAQ27 - Not Yet Recorded.ThreadWelcome to Episode 345 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
August 1, 2026 at 3:16 PM Replied to the thread Opening Discussion of Kelly Arenson's "Health And Hedonism In Plato And Epicurus".PostI am posting this link to a new "blog" post I have just completed because it deals directly with the issues raised by Arenson in her book.
epicureanfriends.com/wcf/blog/entry/86/ -
Cassius
August 1, 2026 at 3:15 PM Wrote the blog article The 'Academic Questions' Behind Evaluation Of Pleasure And Happiness.Blog Article"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 classics department has any reason to… -
Patrikios
August 1, 2026 at 8:40 AM Posted the thread Happiness Happens Month.ThreadAug. 1, 2026 is the beginning of National Happiness Happens month.
[…] -
Cassius
August 1, 2026 at 4:49 AM Replied to the thread Opening Discussion of Kelly Arenson's "Health And Hedonism In Plato And Epicurus".Post[…]
They are the guide to the best life, because pleasure is the word we choose to use to describe all that is intrinsically desirable.
Yes this is a word game, and if you want to argue that the goal should be set as "virtue" or "being like god" you can… -
Matteng
August 1, 2026 at 1:24 AM Replied to the thread Opening Discussion of Kelly Arenson's "Health And Hedonism In Plato And Epicurus".Post[…]
Good point.
Pleasure/Pain guide to what ? -
Cassius
July 31, 2026 at 6:17 PM Replied to the thread Opening Discussion of Kelly Arenson's "Health And Hedonism In Plato And Epicurus".PostI have another analogy that I think applies.
Today a friend sent me the linked video because he was so impressed how it went through the Bible and asked a series of questions that calls the Bible into question. 109 Questions For God
I think the video is… -
Godfrey
July 31, 2026 at 5:59 PM Replied to the thread Opening Discussion of Kelly Arenson's "Health And Hedonism In Plato And Epicurus".Post
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