Ethics - How To Live As An Epicurean

Regularly Checking In On A Small Screen Device? Bookmark THIS page!

Featured Videos | Latest Lucretius Today Podcast: #286 - "Confronting Pain With Reason Rather Than With 'Virtue.'" | Member Announcements | The Epicurean Paradigm Shift (Things To Know When Reading Epicurus For The First Time)

Welcome to the EpicureanFriends Forums page. Please be sure that all posts conform to our policies for posting as linked at our Terms of Use page. Scroll down to navigate through the full forum. Or you can: Search by forum Tag -or- Search by Forum Shortcuts Page -or- check out our List of Featured Threads -or- from any sub-forum you can return to the main Forum Board List. 

List Of Frequently Used Forums
  1. General Information And Discussion - Start Here
  2. Private Section - Includes Level 03 And Above Discussions and 20th Zoom Meeting
  3. The Lucretius Today Podcast and other Projects
  4. EpicureanFriends Zoom Meetings, Outreach, and Activism
  5. Physics - The Nature of the Universe
  6. Canonics - The Tests of Truth: The Five Senses, Anticipations, and Feelings of Pleasure and Pain
  7. Ethics - How to Live As An Epicurean
  8. Epicurean Historical Figures - Biographies of Epicureans from Epicurus To The Present
  9. Ancient Epicurean Texts (300 BC to 300 AD)
  10. Epicurean Books, Articles, and Videos (1500's - Present)
  11. Comparisons With Non-Epicurean Philosophies
  12. History, Locations, and Customs Relevant to Ancient Epicureans
  13. Epicurean Symbolism in Art, Music, Literature, and Poetry

Ethics - General Discussion

In this section we discuss Epicurean Ethics and how to live as an Epicurean in a world where there are no supernatural gods and no life after death.
Threads
105
Posts
1.2k
Last Posts
Driving Away Bad Habits "Like Evil Men Who Have Long Done Us Great Harm" (Including Addictions)
Cassius April 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
"Absence Of Pain Is Pleasure" - How Would You Articulate That To Someone?
Rolf April 16, 2025 at 5:22 PM

Pleasure Is The Guide of Life

Threads
10
Posts
104
Last Posts
"Pleasure" vs "Pleasant Experiences"
Cassius February 6, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Why isn't "satisfaction" the guide of life?
Julia December 24, 2024 at 10:17 AM

By Pleasure We Mean All Experience That Is Not Painful

Threads
28
Posts
164
Last Posts
The "Lacking Nothing Of Their Natural Severity" Reference in the Letter to Idomeneus
Cassius February 9, 2025 at 8:56 PM
The Meaning of the Greek Word "Ataraxia"
Cassius December 4, 2023 at 7:52 AM

The Relationship of Pleasure To "Good" And Pain To "Evil" - All Good and Evil Consists in Sensation

Threads
46
Posts
296
Last Posts
A List of Objections To Epicurus From A Modern Christian - Hyde's "From Epicurus To Christ"
Bryan February 1, 2025 at 6:10 PM
"All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation"
Cassius September 2, 2023 at 12:29 PM

Only Two Feelings - Pleasure and Pain - The Term Pleasure Includes Tranquility, Meaningfulness, Katastematic, Kinetic, Etc.

The Term Pleasure Includes Bodily as well as Mental Pleasures Such As Tranquility, Meaningfulness, Katastematic, Kinetic, Etc. Likewise The Term Pain Includes All Bodily and Mental Pains.
Threads
34
Posts
611
Last Posts
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Kalosyni November 27, 2024 at 10:25 AM
Choice & Avoidance: towards a better translation for avoidance
Julia August 18, 2024 at 12:05 PM

Pain Is Manageable - It Is Short If Intense, Endurable If Long, And Terminable By Death

Threads
1
Posts
5
Last Posts
What is terrible is easy to endure
Kalosyni October 18, 2024 at 9:11 AM

Life Is Desirable, But Unlimited Time Contains No Greater Pleasure Than Limited Time

Threads
6
Posts
30
Last Posts
David Sedley's "Epicurean vs Cyreniac Happiness"
Cassius February 26, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Key CItations - The Limit of Quantity of Pleasure Is Reached When All Pain Is Eliminated
Cassius October 4, 2023 at 12:20 PM

Happiness and its Relationship to Pleasure

Threads
5
Posts
64
Last Posts
Is the Epicurean Always Happy?
Little Rocker June 3, 2024 at 5:27 PM
Pleasure is the Ultimate Good but a Pleasant Life is the Goal
Cassius October 10, 2023 at 11:33 AM

Virtue (A Means for Pleasure, Not an End in Itself)

Threads
16
Posts
48
Last Posts
What is Virtue and what aspects of Virtue does an Epicurean cultivate?
Kalosyni March 13, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Key Citations On Confidence
Don March 13, 2024 at 10:41 PM

Justice (Including Security And Social Structures)

Threads
30
Posts
289
Last Posts
Toward A Better Understanding of Epicurean Justice And Injustice (With Examples of "Just" and "Unjust")
Pacatus November 20, 2024 at 4:35 PM
Justice & Corruption
Pacatus November 14, 2024 at 4:23 PM

Friendship

Threads
16
Posts
129
Last Posts
Friendship discussion (moved from 20th conversation)
Pacatus April 29, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Gleaning Information About Epicurean Friendship From Cicero's "On Friendship"
Cassius February 2, 2025 at 7:21 AM

Gratitude

Threads
3
Posts
4
Last Posts
Positive psychology article of the science of gratitude
Don November 27, 2024 at 8:27 PM
Key Citations On Gratitude
Cassius October 4, 2023 at 11:41 AM

To Live Unknown or To Engage With Society

Threads
11
Posts
72
Last Posts
What "Live Unknown" means to me (Lathe Biosas)
TauPhi July 14, 2024 at 12:38 PM
Paper On Epicurean Engagement With Society - Jeffrey Fish - "Not All Politicians Are Sysiphus"
Cassius March 7, 2023 at 7:21 AM

Choice And Avoidance ("Natural And Necessary"; "Natural and Unnecessary", Etc.)

VS 63 and why we do not pursue only "necessary" desires.
Threads
7
Posts
108
Last Posts
Is there Choice without satisfaction? What's the name of the pleasure of Choice itself?
Julia March 19, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Order of Natural & Necessary Desires in Menoeceus
Pacatus December 28, 2024 at 6:11 PM

The Tetrapharmakon

Threads
5
Posts
119
Last Posts
Diving Deep Into The History of The Tetrapharmakon / Tetrapharmakos
Cassius May 14, 2025 at 1:19 PM
P.Herc. 1005 from Les Epicuriens (A First Draft Translation)
Bryan May 1, 2025 at 8:36 PM

Practical Applications and Epicurean Lifestyle

For discussion of everyday lifestyle issues from an Epicurean perspective, and living daily life according to Epicurean principles in a very un-Epicurean modern world. (*A Friendly Reminder: As per our forum rules please refrain from contemporary political issues, or similar topics that would be divisive or distracting).

Epicurean Lifestyle General Discussion

For discussion of daily life as an Epicurean which do not fit into any of the pre-set categories in Epicurean Lifestyle.
Threads
56
Posts
511
Last Posts
Adage: In A Crisis, We Don't Rise To The Occasion As Much As We Fall To Our Level of Practice
Cassius June 10, 2025 at 7:24 PM
What place does "simple" have in Epicureanism?
Patrikios January 29, 2025 at 6:41 PM

Practical Exercises In Applied Epicurean Philosophy

Threads
22
Posts
179
Last Posts
Let's explore and reclaim pleasure
Bryan January 25, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Guide to resuming / sustaining activity after being frozen / stuck
Root304 November 9, 2024 at 5:30 AM

Am I An Epicurean?

This is one of the questions we get asked most frequently. If you're curious about this, post your own thread here!
Threads
11
Posts
100
Last Posts
What Makes Someone "An Epicurean?"
Eikadistes May 19, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Question from Dusty The Donkey
Bryan May 17, 2024 at 8:57 PM

Answering the "Quest For Meaning" In Epicurean Terms

Threads
5
Posts
67
Last Posts
The "meaning crisis" trend. How do you answer it as an Epicurean philosopher?
Patrikios September 28, 2024 at 5:46 PM
Meaning and Satisfaction for Epicureans
Godfrey August 23, 2024 at 8:21 PM

Dealing With Anxiety, Depression, and Anger

Threads
21
Posts
114
Last Posts
BASIC-ph Model of Coping
Kalosyni April 23, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Dealing with Irritability (How to be Less Reactive)
Kalosyni March 13, 2025 at 2:21 PM

Dealing With Death, Dying, And Old Age

Threads
17
Posts
158
Last Posts
Did Epicurus Commit Suicide Due To His Disease? (Merger of Two Threads On When Voluntary Death Makes Sense)
Don May 2, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Should we Feel Pity for someone Dying Young? 'The Human Predicament' by David Benatar
Pacatus November 5, 2023 at 10:50 AM

Stress, Time Management, and Personal Productivity

Threads
7
Posts
23
Last Posts
Minimalism to remove stress caused by too much stuff
Joshua May 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Box Breathing and Prolepsis
kochiekoch December 2, 2024 at 9:32 AM

Romantic Love, Relationships, and Marriage

Threads
24
Posts
195
Last Posts
An Epicurean Understanding of Valentine's Day: Love, Romance, and Free-will
Kalosyni February 13, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Article "Asexuality and Epicureanism" by Max DuBoff on blog of the American Philosophical Association
Martin December 20, 2024 at 8:30 PM

Health And Diet

Threads
17
Posts
149
Last Posts
Highly Palatable Foods and Over-eating
Kalosyni April 24, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Health Benefits of Dancing
Kalosyni April 7, 2025 at 6:37 PM

Living In The Present

Threads
1
Posts
1
Last Posts
Key Citations On Living In The Present
Cassius October 4, 2023 at 12:15 PM

Remembering The Past

Threads
1
Posts
5
Last Posts
The Art of Remembering
Don March 31, 2024 at 8:57 PM

Hope For The Future

Threads
2
Posts
14
Last Posts
An Anti-Epicurean Article - "The Meaning of Life Is Not Happiness" (For Future Reference)
Pacatus November 19, 2024 at 12:17 PM
Key Citations On Hope
Cassius October 4, 2023 at 12:14 PM

Articulating an Epicurean Worldview

Threads
1
Posts
43
Last Posts
Epicurean Worldview, Personal Identity, and Creating Community
Titus January 22, 2022 at 8:11 AM

Self-Sufficiency - Including Gardening / Farming / Agriculture

Threads
3
Posts
57
Last Posts
Dealing With Electric Grid Disruption
Julia May 13, 2024 at 4:22 AM
Living off the land
A_Gardner August 14, 2023 at 3:17 PM

Parenting and Childhood Education

No! Epicurus was not uneducated: the real philistines are those who ask us to go on studying till old age the subjects that we ought to be ashamed not to have learned as children.
Threads
2
Posts
3
Last Posts
Recreate an Ancient Scroll - For kids (and crafters)
Kalosyni October 21, 2023 at 11:39 AM
Epicurean Philosophy for Parents
Cassius February 22, 2021 at 9:14 AM

Material Goods and Money Management

Threads
3
Posts
32
Last Posts
Natural Wealth and Natural Goods in Epicureanism
Don August 14, 2022 at 9:04 AM
Philodemus' "On Property Management"
Cassius July 21, 2022 at 11:56 AM

Daily Interactions With The Non-Epicurean World

Post here your everyday casual comments and frustrations on dealing with a non-Epicurean world. Here you can "blow off steam" about the craziness of religious attitudes (how "everything" is god's will," no matter how ridiculous; how people who die are happy in heaven - so why don't we all commit suicide?) or other common viewpoints (procrastination, "keeping up with the Jones's," etc) that conflict with Epicurean views. But please - remember the "Not Neo-Epicurean" rules, and don't veer off into "politics."
Threads
9
Posts
106
Last Posts
Social Media Considered Anti-Epicurean: 101 Reasons Why
Julia January 23, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Unfortunate Use of Bust of Epicurus
Cassius September 16, 2024 at 2:18 PM

Unread Threads

    1. Title
    2. Replies
    3. Last Reply

    2. Is The Relationship Between Venus and Mars (Such As Referenced By Lucretius in Book One) More Subtle Than Simply A Clash Between "Good" and "Bad"? 6

      • Cassius
      • June 23, 2025 at 8:24 AM
    3. Replies
      6
      Views
      197
      6

    4. Cassius

      June 23, 2025 at 8:24 AM

    2. The Religion of Nature - as supported by Lucretius' De Rerum Natura 4

      • Kalosyni
      • June 23, 2025 at 12:36 AM
    3. Replies
      4
      Views
      407
      4

    4. Godfrey

      June 23, 2025 at 12:36 AM

    2. New Blog Post From Elli - " Fanaticism and the Danger of Dogmatism in Political and Religious Thought: An Epicurean Reading"

      • Cassius
      • June 20, 2025 at 4:31 PM
    3. Replies
      0
      Views
      501

    2. Does The Wise Man Groan and Cry Out When On The Rack / Under Torture / In Extreme Pain? 19

      • Cassius
      • June 20, 2025 at 1:53 PM
    3. Replies
      19
      Views
      1.5k
      19

    4. Cassius

      June 20, 2025 at 1:53 PM

    2. Best Lucretius translation? 9

      • Rolf
      • June 19, 2025 at 3:01 PM
    3. Replies
      9
      Views
      320
      9

    4. Cassius

      June 19, 2025 at 3:01 PM