Posts by Cassius

This thread is for discussion of the FAQ "What Did Epicurus Say About Marriage?"

Also see:

See this article by Don - https://sites.google.com/view/epicurean…l-relationships

Also: https://newepicurean.com/love-marriage-…e-modern-world/

What Did Epicurus Say About Engagement With Society?

What Did Epicurus Say About "Free Will"?

Was Epicurus an "atheist?" What did Epicurus say about "gods?"

Additional discussion of this topic is in the thread below. See also the subforum devoted to this topic here: The Nature (Non-Existence) of Supernatural Gods - "Atheism" - Epicurean "Divinity"

This thread is to discuss the FAQ - "Was Epicurus a "dogmatist" or a "skeptic"?"

What Did Epicurus Say About The Relation Between "Reason" and "The Senses?"

What Did Epicurus Say About "The Guide" of Human Life?

What Did Epicurus Say About The Nature of Pleasure, and the relationship between Pleasure and "Absence of Pain"?

What Did Epicurus Say About the "Greatest Good" of Human Life?

Oh, you guys are in for a treat this Thanksgiving Day in the USA. Here is Elli with the opening of Lucretius Book 1 -

Lucretius Book I (Rolfe Humphries)

When human life, all too conspicuous,

Lay foully groveling on earth, weighed down

By grim Religion, looming from the skies,

Horribly threatening mortal men -- a man,

A Greek, first raised his mortal eyes

Bravely against this menace. No report

Of gods, no lightning-flash, no thunder-peal

Made this man cower, but drove him all the more

With passionate manliness of mind and will

To be the first to spring the tight-barred gates

Of Nature's hold asunder. So his force,

His vital force of mind, a conqueror

Beyond the flaming ramparts of the world

Explored the vast immensities of space

With wit and wisdom, and came back to us

Triumphant, bringing news of what can be

And what cannot, limits and boundaries,

The borderline, the bench mark, set forever.

Religion, so, is trampled underfoot,

And by his victory we reach the stars.

"The Epicurean Viewpoint", by George Kaplanis founding member of the Epicurean Garden in Thessaloniki

Discussion of this article can be here in this thread or in comments to the article.

This article has been posted by Elli here: "Epicurean influences on Enlightenment", by Dimitris Altas, Cardiologist, member of Epicurean Philosophy Friends of Thessaloniki. Discussion of the article can be here in this thread or in the comments underneath the article.

For our American readers and all who may celebrate it, best wishes for happiness and thanks for your participation here over the last year !

I think that (the importance of thinking about eternity) is why the letter to Pythocles includes "And most of all give yourself up to the study of the beginnings and of infinity and of the things akin to them, and also of the criteria of truth and of the feelings, and of the purpose." Kind of like with the issue of fate it may be more important to have a view on this that assists your living happily, even if wrong, than to have a view that boxes you into despair.

Over the last month I have spent a considerable amount of time refining what I think is my most best summary of the fundamentals of Epicurean philosophy. For this 20th I’d like to recap where I am on that, with this list of five major points, each one broken down into five subpoints. I hope you find this helpful:

1. There Are No Supernatural Gods
   1. Gods Are Never Observed to Create Something From Nothing Or Destroy Anything to Nothing
   2. The Universe Operates Through Natural Processes Based On Combinations Of Matter And Void
   3. The Universe As A Whole Is Eternal And Was Never Created From Nothing
   4. The Universe Is Infinite In Size And There Are No “Gods” Outside Of it
   5. True Gods Would Be Self-Sufficient And Would Not Meddle In the Affairs Of Men
2. There Is No Life After Death
   1. All Things In The Universe Which Come Together Eventually Break Apart
   2. The Soul Is Born With The Body And Cannot Survive Without It
   3. Death Is The End of All Sensation, And There Is No Consciousness Without Sensation
   4. There Is After Death No Heaven or Hell For Reward or Punishment
   5. Life Is Short And Therefore Our Time Is Too Precious To Waste
3. The Guide of Life is Pleasure
   1. Pleasure, Along With Pain, Is A Feeling, One Of The Three Standards Of Truth
   2. Pleasure and Pain Include All Types of Physical And Mental Experiences
   3. The Mental Pleasures And Pains Are Frequently More Intense Than The Physical
   4. Feelings Of Pleasure Are Desirable And Serve As The Guide of Life
   5. Pain Is To Be Avoided But Is Accepted For The Sake of Greater Pleasure Or Lesser Pain
4. The Goal of Life Is Happiness
   1. Happiness Is a Life In Which Pleasure Predominates Over Pain
   2. If We Have Happiness We Have All We Need; If We Lack Happiness We Do Everything To Gain It
   3. There Is No Absolute Virtue, Piety, Reason, Or Justice To Serve As the Goal of Life
   4. Virtue, Piety, Reason and Justice Are Valuable Only Insofar As They Bring Happiness
   5. All Actions Are To Be Judged According To Whether They Bring Happiness
5. The Standards of Truth Are the Senses, The Anticipations, and the Feelings, Assisted By Reason
   1. He Who Argues That Nothing Can Be Known Contradicts His Own Argument
   2. Reasoning Is Based On The Senses And Is Not Valid Without Them
   3. The Sensations Are Without Reason, Incapable of Memory, And Do Not Inject Error Through Opinion
   4. The Reality Of Separate Sensations Is the Guarantee of The Truth Of Our Senses
   5. Not Only Reason, But Life Itself, Fails Unless We Have the Courage To Trust The Senses

Link to this post at NewEpicurean.com

In fact Matt I would be up for a thread on "How Cats Illustrate Epicurean principles" - with photos - any time you are ready.

Thank you very much Matt! You have added a lot to our discussions already and I hope you will be with us for a long time to come!

Here is an example of a recording of a reading from Epicurus prepared by Martin. Martin prepared the core reading, and I edited it into a segment with an opening and closing tone. I plan to add this, and many others as they are prepared, to the epicureanradio . com stream, as discussed in my earlier post. Thank you Martin!