Well, I am an atheist. But this whole thing called virtue, you can't possibly live up to it. So you might as well do what you want. I mean, I don't want to cause pain for other people. I can see an issue if you have some kind of sadist who doesn't care if they are hurting others, or even enjoys it. But come to think about it, I don't think that Christianity, or Secular Humanism for that matter will stop that kind of person. I don't think commandments from a supposed god or some kind of secular moral code is going to stop them.
Posts by Patrick
Listen to the latest Lucretius Today Podcast! Episode 225 is now available. Cicero Argues That A Commitment To Virtue Is A Bar to Pleasure.
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The office is going to find another psychologist for me, so if I do nothing, I will get another one. I'll be fine.
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I suffer from schizophrenia. I am not sure if I am an epicurean, but I see and hear things that are not there. My mind also constructs elaborate conspiracy theories, and I have to constantly test the things my mind is telling me, asking myself it the thing I am fearing is logical or not. Most of the time it is not. As far as hearing voices and hallucinations, I just ignore them. I was suffering from this illness in my youth, and it was untreated, which means at the time I should have been launching my career, I was researching conspiracy theories on the Internet. Consequently, my income will always be below average. My therapist just retired, and I really can't afford therapy every week, which is why I started looking into philosophy.
There are things that I enjoy. Simple pleasures. I enjoy hiking, reading, sex, eating inexpensive gourmet meals. Epicurus was against involvement in politics. I am not sure if all modern Epicureans share that opinion, but for me, since I am prone to conspiracy theories, I don't even watch the news. For a while, I was a practicing neopagan, but I don't believe in gods, so that really is not going to work out for me. I wish I had more friends, but I scared a lot of people away when I was having my psychotic episodes. When I was a neopagan, I would do these complex rituals every morning, but since I am not doing that anymore, I have time to study math and science instead. That might seem like work to some people but I actually enjoy it. An equation is like a number puzzle and I enjoy finding out the answers. I will never have that advanced degree, but at least I can help my young nephew with his math and science homework.
I am not a doctor, but I think all of this helps my brain repair itself. I do not have as many delusions or hallucinations as I did in the past. And I find that I am better able to understand the plot of books and movies better than I did when my illness was untreated. I am no longer looking for hidden messages in films, but am instead focusing on the plot. Maybe this means I miss out on some of the actual symbology that is in the films, but I just tell myself for my peace of mind, I'm not going there. I don't watch as many horror movies and books either.
I am working on getting government benefits so I don't have to work so much. I don't know what your opinion on that is, but I don't care. I am sick of working so much, and my disability could qualify me for social security benefits. I would still have to work, but not so many hours. Maybe then, I could focus more on the things I enjoy, and actually better myself.
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Hi, I will probably be more of a lurker because I am not academically inclined, nor am I a philosopher. But I was reading the DeWitt book, and I found the paragraphs where he criticized the Platonic forms to be convincing. I liked the passage where he mentioned critics of Platonism who wrote that actual horses are not real but there is the idea of "horseness" that is the real deal. I laughed out loud at that passage.