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Recent Activities
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Eikadistes
April 9, 2026 at 8:16 PM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Kant and Modern Idealism - Introduction.PostI also don't mean to imply that any of the Greeks (besides Pýrrhōn), or Descartes, Spinoza, Berkeley or Kant were inspired by Indian philosophies; they just provide interesting parallels. Maybe some were of which I am not aware, but primarily… -
Eikadistes
April 9, 2026 at 8:09 PM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Kant and Modern Idealism - Introduction.Post[…]
Yeah, I think I got their birth year right, more-or-less. -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 7:49 PM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Kant and Modern Idealism - Introduction.PostVery useful Eikadistes! n They are arranged in chronological order? -
ReiWolfWoman
April 9, 2026 at 6:22 PM Replied to the thread Welcome ReiWolfWoman!.PostI’m still figuring out this quote function…
My undergrad course barely touched on Epicureanism and I actually learned more about it in a graduate rhetoric class where it was more respected. My undergrad professor was clearly a mix of Aristotelian and… -
ReiWolfWoman
April 9, 2026 at 6:17 PM Replied to the thread Welcome ReiWolfWoman!.Post[…]
[…] -
ReiWolfWoman
April 9, 2026 at 6:02 PM Replied to the thread Welcome ReiWolfWoman!.PostHi All,
My interest in Epicurus was prompted by his physics, really. I was impressed by the (disregard) for the gods and (belief) in multiple causes for life. It seemed quite intuitive for me. As I read on, I found his approach to life mature and… -
Cassius
PostApril 9, 2026 at 4:27 PM I don't know that we used it in this episode, but there's another phrase that we should probably be referring to more often in this discusion: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" - which has to be explained as a natural phenomena rather… -
Eikadistes
April 9, 2026 at 4:19 PM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Kant and Modern Idealism - Introduction.PostThese are by no means precise, just a general overview of some relevant comparisons:… -
Cassius
PostApril 9, 2026 at 4:18 PM At around the 20 minute mark in this episode Joshua refers to an important David Sedley observation, but we did not have the quote at hand. Here is the full section, from his "Epicurus' Refutation of Determinism," with the main part Joshua was… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 11:52 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Kant and Modern Idealism - Introduction.Post[…]
It's a constant stuggle to decide how much diving into the details is sufficient. However it seems pretty clear to me that the ultimate goal is being sure that we have a grasp of the "big picture" regardless of the twists and turns of how some of… -
Eikadistes
April 9, 2026 at 11:19 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Kant and Modern Idealism - Introduction.Post[…]
I think in a survey of the history of philosophy, Berkeley is one of the best examples of an Idealist. Whereas, for Plátōn, the world of matter that traps souls in cages in not made of mind.
[…]
To my knowledge, Kant isn't arguing for either. In fact,… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 10:20 AM Posted the thread Against "Castles In the Air".ThreadI just ran a search of this forum and after more than ten years of activity I don't see a single mention of the phrase "castles in the air." It is highly irritating to me that the first use of this very appropriate characterization of anti-Epicurean… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 9:31 AM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Kant and Modern Idealism - Introduction.PostGeorge Berkeley is relevant to this discussion, so here's a summary of the issue there:
Berkeley's Subjective Idealism ("esse est percipi")
Berkeley attacks the very foundation Epicurus stands on — the reliability of sensation as a guide to external… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 9:23 AM Posted the thread Responding to Aristotle's "Essences" Argument.ThreadWe don't crawl in a hold and die and give way to AI because AI isn't alive, doesn't care, and will never fight for what it values as a human being. But if AI can help provide weapons of immediate value faster than we could find answers ourselves, I'm… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 9:06 AM Replied to the thread Responding to the Avicenna "Proof of the Truthful" Argument For A Supernatural God.PostHere's another logical conundrum: Why don't we just all crawl in a hole and die when AI can provide excellent answers that we might never be able to construct ourselves?
In the meantime while we ponder that, here's an articulate Epicurean response to… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 8:58 AM Replied to the thread General Commentary on Logic-Based Arguments Against Epicurean Physics.PostAlso, in relation to how the atomism arguments fit in relation to the other logic-based issues:
Where the Common Thread Applies
The starting point is the same: Zeno's conclusion — that motion is impossible — is directly contradicted by sensation. We… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 8:48 AM Replied to the thread General Commentary on Logic-Based Arguments Against Epicurean Physics.PostI searched and added a series of other logic-based arguments, and this was suggested as the general common thread uniting the responses:
The Common Thread
What unites Epicurus's responses is a consistent methodological stance: formal logical arguments, no… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 8:46 AM Posted the thread Epicurus' Response to "Infinite Regress" Arguments.ThreadInfinite Regress Arguments for God as First Cause
While not exclusively Zeno-derived, various thinkers used infinite regress arguments to argue for a divine unmoved mover. Epicurus rejected the premise structure: he held that matter and motion are eternal… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 8:44 AM Posted the thread Epicurus' Response to the "Idleness" Argument.ThreadLogical Fatalism / the Idle Argument (Argos Logos)
Related to the above, the Idle Argument ran: "If it is fated that you recover from this illness, you will recover whether you call a doctor or not; if it is fated that you do not recover, you will not… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 8:43 AM Posted the thread Epicurus' Response to the "Master" Argument.ThreadThe Master Argument (Kyrieuon Logos) of Diodorus Cronus
This is perhaps the most philosophically important case. Diodorus constructed an argument that only the actual is possible — i.e., if something did not happen, it was never truly possible. This had… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 8:41 AM Posted the thread The "Liar" Paradox and Epicurus' Response.ThreadThe Liar Paradox ("This statement is false")
The Liar Paradox was a favorite of the Megarians (attributed to Eubulides). Epicurus famously dismissed it as not worth serious engagement — essentially calling it a verbal trick rather than a genuine logical… -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 8:28 AM Replied to the thread General Commentary on Logic-Based Arguments Against Epicurean Physics.Post[…]
RIght - those who are interested, please contribute; those who are not - no worries. -
Don
April 9, 2026 at 8:25 AM Replied to the thread General Commentary on Logic-Based Arguments Against Epicurean Physics.PostFair enough.
That said, I'm happy to leave the refutations to those inclined that direction. -
Cassius
April 9, 2026 at 7:35 AM Posted the thread General Commentary on Logic-Based Arguments Against Epicurean Physics.ThreadADMIN NOTE BY CASSIUS: We have set up this category for general observations on the merits and demerits of the "logic-based" arguments. All of them share fundamental erroneous presumptions about proof and evidence, and we can explore those commonalities… -
Don
April 9, 2026 at 7:25 AM Replied to the thread General Commentary on Logic-Based Arguments Against Epicurean Physics.PostADMIN NOTE BY CASSIUS: We have set up this category for general observations on the merits and demerits of the "logic-based" arguments. All of them share fundamental erroneous presumptions about proof and evidence, and we can explore those commonalities… -
Cassius
ThreadApril 9, 2026 at 7:03 AM -
wbernys
April 8, 2026 at 4:57 PM Replied to the thread Welcome ReiWolfWoman!.Post[…]
Trust me Eikadistes that may be for the better.
I had a class on Ancient Greece and we talked about the philosophies of the time briefly. The professor was rather great aside from this but man he was really bad with Epicureanism. As you can imagine… -
m.dango
April 8, 2026 at 4:53 PM Has solved the quiz Basic Epicurean Ethics.Quiz -
Eikadistes
April 8, 2026 at 4:46 PM Replied to the thread Welcome ReiWolfWoman!.Post[…]
I'm curious about others' experience with undergraduate Philosophy programs.
The program at Florida Gulf Coast University was built around Aristotle. One professor called him "the smartest person who ever lived". The senior thesis class at the college… -
wbernys
April 8, 2026 at 4:43 PM Replied to the thread Welcome ReiWolfWoman!.PostWelcome ReiWolfWoman !
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