Posts by Hiram

A system of points: List them, and add (from 10 to 1, or from 5 to 1) according to order of priority, then add them. This is just to provide guidance and to systematize, to provide a graphic representation of what really matters.

Michel Onfray frequently speaks of the mathematics of hedonic calculus. While reading a book recently on business planning, I found they recommend a spreadsheet with pros and cons of various business models, where a person may consider time involvement for each project and potential profitability.

… it WOULD be interesting if Epicureans today developed a model / excel sheet that can be used for hedonic calculus. Even a simple pros / cons sheet, like the ones used by accountants where the red / left side represents debit and the green / right side represents credit, to have a visual representation of what one is calculating and to measure and compare what one values most.

These PD's and the middle portion of LMenoeceus:

Quote

26. All desires that do not lead to pain when they remain unsatisfied are unnecessary, but the desire is easily got rid of, when the thing desired is difficult to obtain or the desires seem likely to produce harm.

29. Of our desires some are natural and necessary, others are natural but not necessary; and others are neither natural nor necessary, but are due to groundless opinion.

30. Those natural desires which entail no pain when unsatisfied, though pursued with an intense effort, are also due to groundless opinion; and it is not because of their own nature they are not got rid of but because of man's groundless opinions.

https://theautarkist.wordpress.com/2018/05/20/hap…ics-the-ethics/

I loved the movie. It was very sensual, and a celebration of warm Mediterranean imagery, food, and environment.

The young actor is currently filming the DUNE sequel which comes out next year, and I'm REALLY looking forward to.

I don’t know Greek or have access to the original but that is the literal translation from the French. I wonder if a preceding portion was needed for clarity.

BUT It makes perfect sense if he is talking about ***bad*** habits, which become strong when we neglect our character.

The more you benefit your friend, the more you serve your own self-interest. In fact, the kindness provoked by these benefits will come back to us.

Habit is born of small things, but gains vigor through neglect.

Polyaenus of Lampsacus

P 205 of Les Epicuriens

1. Not "the greatest good for the greatest number," but the greatest pleasure for me and my friends and close ones

2. Not "humanism" but ____________ —- I personally don’t mind humanism as long as it is understood to be very generic and not very concise. It in itself stands as better than supernaturalism and dehumanization. But if humanism was to be replaced with a more concise doctrine, it would be Epicureanism

3. Not "hard determinism" but compatibilism? Or whatever ism says some things happen by chance, others by necessity and others by our action

4. Not "hedonism" but Pleasure ethics

5. Not "absence of pain" as a full statement of the goal of life, but constant pleasures

6. Not "living unknown" as best way to organize one's life, but living surrounded by great friends

7. Not "creation" but evolution by natural selection

8. Not "faith" but empirical knowledge

9. Not "individualism" or "collectivism" but natural community

10. Not "egoism"/objectivism or "altruism" but mutual advantage

11. Not "idealism" but naturalism / study of nature

12. Not monotheism but "atheism" or humanism (it is we who should live like gods)

Not logic, but empirical reasoning

Not consumerism but moderation

Not flattery but frankness

Polystratus would have added:

Not moral relativity but moral realism

Metrodorus would have added:

Not vulnerability but self sufficiency

P 189 of Les Epicuriens

Back then you were not a sage but now you are making efforts to become one. Replay in your spirit the life you led previously and the one you live presently, and ask yourself if back then you bore being sick like you do now, and if you mastered wealth like you master it now. - Epicurus, in an Epistle to Idomeneus

P 180 of Les Epicuriens

Source: Commentaire sur le Timée de Platon II, 66 d-e by Proclus

Quote (found in Les Epicuriens):

This is why Timeus affirms that, whenever they begin any enterprise, sages always in some way invoke divinity. But the Epicurean Hermarchus says: “How do we avoid regressing to infinity in all enterprise if, even for a minor matter, we have need to turn to prayer. Because for one prayer we will need yet another prayer, and we will never stop praying at any point. ”

https://www.academia.edu/39768428/Epicu…oKKKeHgL9tteRWw

http://societyofepicurus.com/ubuntu-african…n-philanthropy/

I had already written a commentary of a commentary on this book (from an English source), but I have re-read the book in French from Les Epicuriens, with new insights. Here is the initial essay I wrote years ago:

http://societyofepicurus.com/synopsis-of-ep…al-development/

My notes:

The work has many long sentences, and is hard to follow sometimes because of that.

DEVELOPED PRODUCT

We see in philosophy and anthropology a tension between nature and culture, and this is reflected in this book, where Epicurus compares "the original constitution" of an individual versus the "product in the process of development" (his character), and finally the "developed product"--a fully mature character of someone who understands his "causal responsibility".

GERMS / SEEDS

Epicurus talks about the "germs" or "seeds" (spermata) that we carry from birth of both wisdom and virtue, as well as ignorance and vices. In p. 103, E says "at first people act out their "seeds", but later, a time comes where the developed product ... depends absolutely on us and on our own opinions, which we ourselves have formed". Our opinions or beliefs are linked to our moral development in this manner

p. 106 E says again "I don't stop rambling on this point", referring to how the "permanent attribute" of our character is the same as a sort of seed or germ, and he says that many things we do by contribution of our nature, many we do without its contribution, many where we discipline our nature, and many where we use our nature as guide that "leads us out of our inertia"

***

ANTICIPATION OF CAUSAL RESPONSIBILITY

p 104 says we have an "anticipation of our causal responsibility" (moral faculty in the canon), and this has repercussions on praise and blame

****

DOCTRINAL DETERMINISM

E says that if all our views are born of necessity, then no one can change the opponent's mind.

This reminded me of a study that shows that political ideology may be pre-determined or is genetic; I wonder what others make of this

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archi…liberal/280677/

***

CALLING OUT THE OPPONENTS' EXCHANGE OF NAMES

This is distinct from the problem of "empty words" that E addresses elsewhere.

In p 104, E says that determinists are "merely changing names" when they make moral claims or assign blame / praise, or classify people for their right / wrong thinking.

In p 105, Epicurus says he does not stop re-hashing and restating that what determinists are arguing is nothing more than a mere exchange of words.

Love it! Would love to help brainstorm content. I spent many hours commenting (and translating) Philodemus' scrolls for societyofepicurus.com and would love them to be discussed by others.

Books 3-9 of On Nature are missing entirely. Les Epicuriens says that:

Books 3-4 corresponds to paragraphs 49-53 L Herodotus

(furthermore, Book 4 included E's theory of memory (where we would get a closer look into the Lucretian "neural pathways" passage and on neuroplasticity)

Books 5-9 corresponds to paragraphs 54-73 L Herodotus

So although we don't have these books, we can discuss the contents that were summarized in LHerodotus, and try to imagine what these books On Nature said, or their relevance to us today.

Quote from JJElbert

Absolutely! I find Hermarchus a fascinating character, and I wish we knew more about him. Wrote this one last night and didn't think much of it, but when I read it this morning I made a few line changes and decided I liked it after all.

He was the first convert to Epicureanism in Mytilene, and was there to wrap Epicurus' body in a blanket upon his death. Not much is known about him, but I did write an essay on the ethics of vegetarianism based on him.

ttp://http://societyofepicurus.com/hermarchus-on-…ent-of-animals/

Love it!

Can I post this on the SoFE page?

I am currently re-reading Les Epicuriens on the train on my way to/from work, and in the process of trying to imagine or re-construct what these lectures or discussions consisted of as far as possible, so that we can create modern dialogues around these issues to replace the literature that is missing.

Book 10

Discusses a bit about the nature of Time, how to measure it (mentions days and nights), the use of conventional language for it and the fact that time is real.

Book 11

Discusses objects that float in the air, says "certain people conceive Earth circled by walls … and suppose that Earth is in the center of everything".

Discusses where the sun rises and sets and distance; various models to interpret this. The commentators categorize this book as a polemic against the ancient astronomers who were using certain tools or machines (alluded to in this book) to evaluate the movements of celestial objects, and against Eudoxus' geocentric model. I looked this up and found this about Eudoxus of Cnidus:

http://cmb.physics.wisc.edu/pub/tutorial/briefhist.html

Quote

An astronomer named Eudoxus created the first model of a geocentric universe around 380 B.C. Eudoxus designed his model of the universe as a series of cosmic spheres containing the stars, the sun, and the moon all built around the Earth at its center. Unfortunately, as the Greeks continued to explore the motion of the sun, the moon, and the other planets, it became increasingly apparent that their geocentric models could not accurately nor easily predict the motion of the other planets.

The next section of the 11th book is on what sustains Earth from below and seeks to explain its stability. Epicurus argued that densities below and above provide counter-balance to each other, to maintain the "appropriate analogical model" for the immobility of Earth. He said that the Earth was "equidistant to all the sides", and so it didn't fall in any direction because it had similar pressure from all sides.

Now, since Epicurus believed the universe was infinite, we know that he would have rejected the Earth-centered model because an infinite model of cosmos would not have a center and all things would be relative to each other, there would be multiple centers. He is, in essence, explaining what an orbit is--an organized dance that acquires a certain balance of pushing and pulling and falling--without really having the word "orbit" for it.

Here, from his use of "appropriate analogical model" which he presumably was trying to create, it is clear that he is using the Epicurean method of looking at things that can be observed and reasoning by analogy. This means that he appealed to how we can see that things of similar weight balance each other's forces, and he's applying that logic to the orbit of the Earth.

Book 12

Eclipses.

I've noticed that E is addressing in each of these books phenomena that caused superstitious fear and panic in the ancients, or mythical explanations. Obviously, the orbit of the sun was a huge mystery and inspired the entire mythos of the Egyptian god Ra, while the phases of the moon inspired the Osiris mythical cycle. These were the common explanations in antiquity.

I also surmise that some ancients, particularly those who rejected the myths and observed nature, would have observed that eclipses and phases of the moon apparently showed the shadow of the Earth against the moon, and would have reasoned that the Earth was round from the observation of its shadow against the moon. This is not mentioned in this book, but it would have been consistent with the Epicurean method to conclude the Earth was round.

According to Philodemus, in book 12 (not extant portion) Epicurus said that humans had the idea of "certain imperishable natures" and this book appears to address theology also.

Book 13

Philodemus says that here, E addressed the "rapports of affinity, and also of hostility, that gods have with certain persons".

So this seems to continue the conversations about gods in the previous book.

If we wish to assert legitimacy and stick to tradition, we should use kath-hegemones and use leaders, guides, which seems to be the best translation. However, in marketing or promoting the role, it can be explained as "an Epicurean life coach", "Epicurean mentor", or we may appeal to other trendy terms while sticking to the traditional role that existed in EP.

The founders of EP were adamant that people stick to the original, intended, unmediated meaning of words, and they would not have chosen terms arbitrarily. They would have chosen their terms purposefully and self-consciously.

As re: kath-hegemone, Hegemony is clear enough in English, it means leadership. The head of the School was known as the Hegemon (=the Scholarch, the "Epicurean Pope" so to speak).

Quote

hegemony

leadership or predominant influence exercised by one nation over others, as in a confederation.

leadership; predominance.

According to Dictionary.com, when you look the prefix "cath" (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cath-) it redirects you to "cata" and says that it's cath when the next word is a vowel.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cata-

Quote

a prefix meaning “down,” “against,” “back,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (cataclysm; catalog; catalepsy); on this model, used in the formation of other compound words (catagenesis; cataphyll).

Also, when we lookup words that use this prefix, we find catalog (which is a "backup reckoning or register" or "backup-knowledge" cata-logos), and interestingly the word catagenesis is offered as an example of "cata" which translates as the "retrogressive evolution of a species" (rather than progressive, which is anagenesis).

Cataphyl (another example of the suffix cited) means "a simplified leaf form".

So kath-hegemone is a backup-leader, and seems to imply a leader who connects people to the past and/or to the basics, to the archetypal models and origins.

This reminds me of the use of the word kath-hegemones by ancient Epicureans, which DeWitt translates as leaders or guides. I like the term guide rather than any of the terms used today (priest, minister, rabbi, even chaplain); its more personal and friendly, less bureaucratic.

And “familiar guide” is the term also used by Wright in A Few Days in Athens in her “pedantry of Aristotle” paragraph.