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Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 2:54 PM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
I want to add into this thread as an aside that I have tremendous respect for the effort that Eikadistes has put into Epicurean philosophy over the years. Not only that, but he's younger than most of the rest of us here and he's having to live through… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 12:53 PM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
As some say but I am saying without any sarcasm to you, as the phrase goes, "hope is not a strategy."
I think you're absolutely right to be concerned about that. It seems to me very very likely to happen, so we have to fight against it with every tool… -
Martin
April 1, 2026 at 11:38 AM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Article - "Reality Does Not Require Being Eternally The Same".PostIt is exactly that sentence ("On one side stands a tradition stretching from Plato...") which is false because Kant rejected dogmatism and did not reject the senses. In Kant's view, we know about the world through the senses. His epistemology examines… -
Eikadistes
April 1, 2026 at 11:29 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.PostI deleted my LinkedIn account a few weeks ago.
(Quick side-note, AI killed my industry a few month ago, so I'm trying to get into technical writing).
The last activity I registered on LinkedIn was a comment thread about the ethics of using AI in… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 10:58 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
Great question. Ultimately nothing that I could not have done alone given enough time and effort. But it is an exponential force multiplier that allows things to be possible in reasonable time and effort which would not have been possible without… -
DaveT
April 1, 2026 at 10:48 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post -
Don
April 1, 2026 at 10:31 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
Your scenario is still just positing an imitation of a Beatles song, and the "musician" didn't create it. The algorithm did, admittedly using a training data set of Epicurean texts, I suppose. Is it really Epicurus' "genuine teaching" if it's an… -
Don
April 1, 2026 at 9:54 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
Okay, so with that context, what's the selling point of generative AI over just creating content the "old fashioned" way and putting it out there?
Using your articles specifically, what did the generative AI application give you that you couldn't have… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 9:49 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.PostAnother specific hypothetical:
Suppose a human in 1965 who is creative but not a musician decides that he can use AI to produce a song that is as beautiful and catchy as anything produced by the Beatles, and also specifically brings to the listeners'… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 9:37 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
Yes as I see it that is the test - the actual result. You would not want to turn loose generative AI without human supervision and without the ability for a human to override the Ai when it is wrong, as it often will be. I think that's pretty much… -
Don
April 1, 2026 at 9:09 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
And therein lies the rub. In my scenario of bots posting and responding algorithmically, there is no "actual community of living Epicureans." There may be unlimited "Epicurean" content online in this scenario, but there is no community, no real… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 8:44 AM Replied to the thread Good and Bad Desire and Doubt In Epicurean Philosophy.PostPatrikios If I read you correctly I agree with your position.
There is a lot of ambiguity in both "natural" and "necessary" and I think it is very ill advised to be overly dogmatic (in the worst sense of the word) as to what activities or what desires go… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 8:24 AM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Article - "Reality Does Not Require Being Eternally The Same".PostPlease use this thread for discussion of the merits of the article and suggestions for substantive changes. Posts originally made in this thread regarding the use of AI in the blog post are being moved to the thread below, which begins with this Admin… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 8:14 AM Posted the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.ThreadADMIN NOTE BY CASSIUS -- I don't have the ability to create my own post so as to explain this thread so I am doing so in this ADMIN edit. I am moving all discussion of issues of the use of AI in two blog posts I generated in late March 2026 (of course… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 8:11 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
I think this does a pretty good job of identifying the issues I am currently considering.
And it immediately evokes in my mind the hypothetical of the "experience machine" and the issues involved in PD10 .
The world is currently going through changes… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 7:56 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
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Don
April 1, 2026 at 7:37 AM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.PostHmmm...
I understand the context of this AI component now a little better after reading this in the other article's thread:
RE: Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy This revelation on the use of AI to compose these articles does… -
Cassius
April 1, 2026 at 4:05 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostHappy Birthday to Kappa! Learn more about Kappa and say happy birthday on Kappa's timeline: Kappa -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 9:29 PM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.PostAt the moment I don't have much more to say about the specifics of labeling, but I do want to share a recent conversation elsewhere which has greatly influenced my thinking on this subject. For those who don't follow the link here's the thumbnail:
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TauPhi
March 31, 2026 at 8:14 PM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
I still think the content of the article is very good. Nothing has changed and I have no criticism in this regard whatsoever.
I retract my praise for the article because I was misled to think you wrote it which is not entirely the case. As I said… -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 7:17 PM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.PostNote -- In order to appreciate the context of Tau Phi's post 14, this earlier post is essential context.
Tau Phi I will think you have adequately stated your position as to any AI in this thread here. If you have some substantive criticism of the article… -
TauPhi
March 31, 2026 at 6:34 PM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.PostUnfortunately, I have to retract my praise for this article as I found out it was AI assisted creation. Cassius , please add information about AI usage in your publications when AI is used. Signing such creations with your name only is misleading as… -
Patrikios
March 31, 2026 at 5:43 PM Replied to the thread Good and Bad Desire and Doubt In Epicurean Philosophy.Post[…]
Cassius
Here is likely one of the few points that we may not see the terminology and human biological processes in the same way. So, with great respect I question the blanket categorization implied by this statement.
When you use the term “sexual… -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 3:20 PM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.PostThank you Dave let me be clear as to the organization of the articles and address what some no doubt are wondering:
In these two articles I have taken my draft outline as well as prior articles I've written on these topics and input the mix to AI to help… -
DaveT
March 31, 2026 at 2:44 PM Replied to the thread Revisiting Issues of The Use of AI in Epicurean Philosophy.PostFirst off, this was such a well written piece in its structure, clarity and logic. I'm jealous of the style you have exhibited in constructing this as well as the recent review of Massimo Pigliuci's essay. This is really good writing. My only critical… -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 2:05 PM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Article - "Reality Does Not Require Being Eternally The Same".PostMartin it looks to me like I mention Kant once in the article, in a sentence that is focused on rejection of the senses:
[…]
I don't see that sentence as significantly a problem for the article's credibility. Of all the murkiness that surrounds Kant his… -
Martin
March 31, 2026 at 12:45 PM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Article - "Reality Does Not Require Being Eternally The Same".PostIt should be made clear that the article is rather against Plato's idealism. Putting Kant in the same bucket as Plato is wrong because Kant removed the ideal forms and Plato's nonsense that reality is truthfully revealed only by the logic of philosophers… -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 10:28 AM Commented on blog article Reality Does Not Require Being Always The Same.Comment (Blog Article)Discussion for this blog article will be here:
Discussion of Blog Article - "Reality Does Not Require Being Eternally The Same" -
Cassius
ThreadMarch 31, 2026 at 10:27 AM This will be the discussion thread for the blog article "Reality Does Not Require Being Eternally The Same" -
epicureanfriends.com/wcf/blog/entry/69/ -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 10:24 AM Wrote the blog article Reality Does Not Require Being Always The Same.Blog ArticleThis 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, but between two fundamentally different answers to a… -
Julia
March 31, 2026 at 8:22 AM Replied to the thread Use Of The Term "Metaphysics" In Discussing Epicurus.PostThe introduction of Warren's Cambridge Companion On Epicureanism says its chapters entitled "Epicurean atomism", "Cosmology and meteorology", "Psychology", and "Action and responsibility" are the ones which discuss "the major subject areas" of "physics… -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 7:24 AM Replied to the thread Use Of The Term "Metaphysics" In Discussing Epicurus.PostI presume that the terms physics and metaphysics were available in both Greek and Latin, and the original Epicureans and then later the Romans could have established patterns of when to use each in discussing Epicurean philosophy.
[…]
If anyone has an… -
Julia
March 31, 2026 at 4:26 AM Replied to the thread Use Of The Term "Metaphysics" In Discussing Epicurus.Post[…]
If I may?
"Nevertheless, she [Epíkouros’ school] has withdrawn the Dialectic [and] rejects it for want of qualification; for they suppose the [study of] natural [phenomena] provides [the proper] space for the voices of the facts." from Eikadistes' own… -
Joshua
March 31, 2026 at 2:22 AM Replied to the thread Use Of The Term "Metaphysics" In Discussing Epicurus.PostThe thing is, even Aristotle's Physics could be described as a text on metaphysics according to the modern meaning of that term. Both words, physics and metaphysics, had each of them one meaning in antiquity, and have both of them quite another meaning… -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 12:39 AM Replied to the thread Use Of The Term "Metaphysics" In Discussing Epicurus.PostThis search of "metaphysics" at B&N does bring up what seems to be a majority of technical philosophy books, such as by Heidegger, but also some religion, and I see one on "Tarot." Glancing over the titles reminds me that to the extent I would have been… -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 12:26 AM Replied to the thread Use Of The Term "Metaphysics" In Discussing Epicurus.Post[…]
Sounds like you have a particular reference in mind there Eikadistes? -
Cassius
March 31, 2026 at 12:25 AM Replied to the thread Use Of The Term "Metaphysics" In Discussing Epicurus.Post[…]
Thanks for that reminder. Now that you say it, I think over the years that's where I sense a strongly negative vibe from the word. It seems to be usable in philosophy in a more neutral way, but I'm concerned about how "normal people" interpret it. … -
Eikadistes
March 31, 2026 at 12:13 AM Replied to the thread Use Of The Term "Metaphysics" In Discussing Epicurus.PostIt's slippery, and I avoid using it altogether.
I've heard pretentious scientists use "metaphysics" as a slur to belittle the discipline of philosophy, and I've heard academics use "metaphysics" as a badge of honor to belittle physical science. Barnes &… -
Cassius
March 30, 2026 at 7:37 PM Posted the thread Use Of The Term "Metaphysics" In Discussing Epicurus.ThreadIn several conversations recently, including with Martin on one of our recent Zooms (if I recall correctly) and others here privately on the forum, the question has arisen as to whether it would be better to refer to Epicurus' study of nature as… -
Eikadistes
March 29, 2026 at 10:12 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Page259!.PostThanks, I've got it covered.
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TauPhi
March 29, 2026 at 8:04 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Page259!.Post[…]
Haha. It's official then. EpicureanFriends site has every resource on Epicurean philosophy in the universe. Including missing pages from books in form of its members!
Eikadistes I can see on your web site that you managed to find the missing English… -
Cassius
March 29, 2026 at 7:22 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Page259!.PostThat IS Weird! I have no idea why.... -
Eikadistes
March 29, 2026 at 6:08 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Page259!.Post... weirdly, I am missing page 259 in my copy of Obbink's translation of On Piety, which includes an English translation of column(s) 77A/77B, and after scouring the web, was lead here... -
Cassius
PostMarch 29, 2026 at 4:27 PM I'll post separately that it might seem that the title of this thread and terms like "downward causation" are technicalities irrelevant to day to day life. However I'd posit that having a conceptual model of how complex systems like human beings emerge… -
Cassius
ThreadMarch 29, 2026 at 3:22 PM In today's Zoom and also podcast this issue was discussed as a result of David Sedley's article "Epicurean Anti-Reductionism." The basic concept as I understand it it likely this:
Epicurus would have understood just as we do today that it is not intuitive… -
Cassius
PostMarch 29, 2026 at 12:19 PM Yes that video sets up the issue very well thank you! -
Kalosyni
PostMarch 29, 2026 at 10:16 AM -
Cassius
ThreadMarch 28, 2026 at 10:29 AM Welcome to Episode 327 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… -
Don
March 28, 2026 at 7:01 AM Replied to the thread New "TWENTIERS" Website.PostGot it.
For anyone curious as to what we're going on about, here's the end of the manuscript where the title is ...
ΦΙΛΟΔΗΜΟΥ
ΠΡΟCΤΟΥC
(end of papyrus torn off)
Idiomatically then, all we have extant is:
By Philodemus
Against The/Pertaining to the/According… -
Eikadistes
March 28, 2026 at 4:57 AM Replied to the thread New "TWENTIERS" Website.Post
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January 11, 2026 at 7:02 PM
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