Competencies of Understanding in Epicurean Philosophy

  • What would be some competencies of understanding, which could be broken down into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels? This could also be used for Epicurus College and the "Seven Steps to Epicurus" program.


    Here are just a few ideas to get the ball rolling (lots more needs to be added still).


    Beginning competencies:

    Who was Epicurus?

    What is pleasure according to Epicurus?

    What is the guide of life?

    What are the three parts of Epicurean philosophy?

    What are the extant texts of Epicurus?


    Intermediate competencies:

    What is the talos according to Epicurus?

    How does the guide of life differ from the goal of life?

    What are the core themes covered in Epicurean ethics?

    Why has Epicurus' philosophy been considered controversial?

    How can we begin to apply Epicurean philosophy to our own lives?


    Advanced competencies:

    What are the Epicurean canonics and why are they important?

    Why do we believe there is no life after death and no afterlife?

    Why do we believe there are no supernatural God(s)?

    Why do we believe we have free will?

    What are the differences between Epicureanism and modern Stoicism?

    What are the differences between modern Western culture and the Epicurean worldview?

    How do we develop a proper understanding toward death?

    According to Epicurus, how does a wise person live?

    What is the correct way to use pleasure in our "choices and avoidances"?

    Do I consider myself an Epicurean, and why?

  • Good idea to discuss this. I scanned through our organizational aspects (forum list, table of discussions, etc) without finding an obvious place for this. To a large extent everything here is "Epicurean Education" but we probably need a forum dedicated specifically to that topic where we can pull some of the obvious resources like "reading list" etc into the same place. Anyone want to suggest a better name than "Epicurean Education"? Does it need a third word like "methods" or "paths" or "competencies"?

  • I've been editing post 1 above, so a few added points, (so re-read post 1) and if anyone has anything else to add, would enjoy any additional ideas.