We've had numerous request about what self-study materials are available here, and in this thread i will pull together what is available now in other threads, plus maintain this first post in this thread as a marker of several key points.
First, we've had numerous past questions about reading lists, and we've had several organized "book study" Zoom meeting series, such as we did on "A Few Days In Athens" and Emily Austin's "Living For Pleasure" and DeWitt's "Epicurus and His Philosophy." The threads discussing those are scattered across the forums, and while they contain some interesting material they aren't organized in a fashion I would recommend someone go to for the best way to organize their study.
Of the material we have on the forum, the best organized relates to the list of major Doctrines of Epicurus that we feature on the front page. For each of those, we have a specific Lucretius Today podcast episode devoted to the topic, as well as some written outline materials. As a result that forms the best basis from which we could begin to pull together a more organized presentation.
Those materials are summarized on the page below. Under each section is a link both to the Podcast devoted to that topic and a Discussion Guide of materials to review on each topic. If we were going to announce an "Epicurean Introductory Course" next month - and maybe we should - if would be very logical to simply devote one session to each of these topics, suggest that the podcast be reviewed beforehand, and then use the Discussion Guides to organize a Zoom discussion of each one.
- EpicureanFriends Introductory Course Outline
- Session One - Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing
- Session Two - The Universe Is Infinite In Size and Eternal In Time And Has No Gods Over It
- Session Three - The Nature of Gods Contains Nothing That Is Inconsistent With Incorruption And Blessedness.
- Session Four - Death Is Nothing To Us.
- Session Five - There Is No Necessity To Live Under the Control Of Necessity
- Session Six - He Who Says "Nothing Can Be Known" Knows Nothing
- Session Seven - All Sensations Are True
- Session Eight - Virtue Is Not Absolute Or An End In Itself. All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation.
- Session Nine - Pleasure Is The Guide Of Life
- Session Ten - By Pleasure We Mean All Experience That Is Not Painful (The Absence of Pain)
- Session Eleven - Life Is Desirable, But Unlimited Time Contains No Greater Pleasure Than Limited Time
- Session Twelve - In Summary: The Epicurean View Of The Best Life
- The best life results when we hold firmly and consistently to the major doctrines of Epicurus, and when we reject all that is inconsistent with them. This requires study and effort, and in a world full of anti-Epicurean opinions, it is not for the faint-hearted. But for those who are persuaded by Epicurus' teachings the path is clear.
- As the Torquatus summarized for us: "The truth that pleasure is the supreme good can be most easily apprehended from the following consideration. Let us imagine an individual in the enjoyment of pleasures great, numerous and constant, both mental and bodily, with no pain to thwart or threaten them; I ask what circumstances can we describe as more excellent than these or more desirable? A man whose circumstances are such must needs possess, as well as other things, a robust mind subject to no fear of death or pain, because death is apart from sensation, and pain when lasting is usually slight, when oppressive is of short duration, so that its temporariness reconciles us to its intensity, and its slightness to its continuance. When in addition we suppose that such a man is in no awe of the influence of the gods, and does not allow his past pleasures to slip away, but takes delight in constantly recalling them, what circumstance is it possible to add to these, to make his condition better?"
- For ease of reference, here is a summary list of the above doctrines:
- Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing.
- The Universe Is Infinite And Eternal And Has No Gods Over It
- Gods Have No Attributes Inconsistent With Blessedness And Incorruptibility
- Death Is Nothing To Us.
- There Is No Necessity To Live Under The Control Of Necessity.
- He Who Says That Nothing Can Be Known Knows Nothing
- All Sensations Are True
- Virtue Is Not Absolute Or An End In Itself - All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation.
- Pleasure is The Guide of Life.
- By Pleasure We Absence Of Pain (All Experience That Is Not Painful)
- Life Is Desirable, But Unlimited Time Contains No Greater Pleasure Than Limited Time.
- The best life results when we hold firmly and consistently to the major doctrines of Epicurus, and when we reject all that is inconsistent with them. This requires study and effort, and in a world full of anti-Epicurean opinions, it is not for the faint-hearted. But for those who are persuaded by Epicurus' teachings the path is clear.