Posts by Martin

What is quoted in comment #3 from Lawson's "The Special and General Theory" refers only to classical mechanics. It does not throw away the void.

The theories of relativity do not throw away the void either. Epicurus made no effort to establish coordinate systems for a quantitative description of the movement of bodies. Therefore, Epicurus' philosophy is barely affected by the theories of relativity. To account for modern physics, Epicureans need to accept that the void can be filled with force fields. The sole function of the void in Epicurus' philosophy (to provide space for movement of bodies) is not affected. Epicurus' philosophy and the theories of relativity are compatible.

Welcome Kasprowy!

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The second photo in comment number 11 in the thread on my visit of the institute is the closest close-up I have. I did not take a straight-on close-up because one side of the nose is missing a piece.

My impression from the visit at the Archaeological Institute in Goettingen is that the Roman copies were usually accurate. In case of the restored statue of Epicurus from the remains of two copies, even the folds of the clothing match. There are multiple copies of the same lost originals.

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Does anybody recall where the phrase "hedonic calculus" was first used?

It seems Plato was the first to present the hedonic calculus (in "Protagoras"), apparently as a strawman to beat down hedonism:

(PDF) Pleasure in Plato's Protagoras and what Aristotle and Epicurus think about it (Hebrew) | Itai Greif - Academia.edu

Welcome John!

Welcome Frank!

Night terror fits what I experienced. At that time, I was about 31 years old and was living alone, so I might not even have remembered those cases when I woke up from a night terror itself as described by Dr. Breus.

Around that time, I had a sleep disorder which made me wake up after just a few hours of sleep, and I could fall asleep again only in the morning, such that the alarm clock or the rising external noise level in Tokyo woke me up during night terrors and made me remember them. Alternative events after the alarm were sleep paralysis and out-of-body experiences. Sleep disorder, night terrors, sleep paralysis and out-of-body experiences disappeared within a year. I guess reading a book and mental drills with a card-index instead of just waiting for the second sleep helped me to fall asleep again faster and thereby cured the sleep disorder. When I was 46 years old, I developed a similar sleep disorder again but without night terrors, sleep paralysis or out-of-body experiences. This time, reading or studying is again helpful to fall asleep again but total sleep at nighttime is down. Since retirement, I mitigate the sleep deprivation by additional sleep after breakfast or lunch as needed.

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That sounds like it may have been sleep apnea.

It was not sleep apnea because I did not have lack of oxygen. Usually, I woke up because of the alarm clock or other noise. Deep sleep occurs early in a sleep cycle, not towards the end, such that we do not become aware of how much our subconsciousness may go wild during deep sleep if sleep is not interrupted early in its cycle.

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I take it that kind of "calm" is what's being described by Martin ...

No.

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My understanding is that ataraxia has to be worked on, arises from study and reflection, ...

Agreed.

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..., but once you have rooted out those beliefs that cause anxieties, fear, dread and turbulence in the mind, they don't grow back.

This is the case while we are fully conscious with properly functioning mind. However, while we are asleep and therefore our ability to use logic is turned off, they can temporarily come back. In earlier years, I made the following observations: Sometimes while in deep sleep, I experienced extreme fear which took a minute or more to disappear when suddenly waking up from deep sleep, without that I could even tell what caused the fear because deep sleep appears to be dreamless. By contrast, when suddenly waking up from a bad dream, the fear experienced during the dream went away almost instantly.

The way Epicurus states that the wise man does not become unwise allows for a temporary lack of wisdom: "..., he who has once become wise never more assumes the opposite habit, ...".

Being wise includes logic. When awake but extremely tired, our ability to use logic is turned off. In that state, I sometimes acted unwisely by e.g. overwriting or deleting a file which I wanted to keep or save, turning off the computer the wrong way, closing a book without moving the bookmark to the new position, misplacing objects.

Ataraxia can be affected by circumstances if they are extreme . While I am on a zip-line, ataraxia as a goal is temporarily suspended to gain exceptional pleasure from the experience of nearly flying and the spectacular views. While I am on a plane in heavy turbulence, under immediate threat by a violent robber or in a combat situation, ataraxia is suspended until the danger has passed. The temporary disappearance or reduction of ataraxia under extreme circumstances is compatible with all quotes in Don's comment #6. A wise Epicurean will avoid getting into such circumstances most of the time but may not always be able to avoid them.

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Álvarez' translation neatly resolves most contradictions against the big picture of Epicurus' philosophy, which were described in:

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VS41 - Translations of VS 41

A: "We must laugh and philosophize at the same time and do our household duties and employ our other faculties, and never

cease proclaiming the sayings of the true philosophy." (as quoted here, on the Epicurean Friends page)

B: "At one and the same time we must philosophize, laugh, and manage our household and other business, while never ceasing to proclaim the words of true philosophy." (as quoted in a post in the FB EP page from June 2017)

C: "One shall laugh and at the same time philosophize,…

Martin

May 21, 2018 at 7:15 AM

Happy Birthday to Joshua and Kalosyni!