I must disagree with Philodemus here. There is a plenty of research showing the healing power of music, regardless of the absence or presence of words. Music heals because it speaks to our emotions, and this can have a positive effect on our physical body.
I'm not saying that music can replace philosophy, and if he was simply talking about the function of philosophy, as giving a deeper understanding, then I could agree.
Indeed. I do not see a difference between things that matter, things that are meaningful, and things that ultimately make me happier.
We should have someone do a TED talk on how Epicurean philosophy helps people live happier lives.
I think it is at least partly because Stoicism is riding on the coat tails on the one hand of CBT and as a way of distancing oneself from negative feelings, and on the other hand of traditional masculinity which has seen a rise in popularity in the face of an out of control social justice / political correctness movement which likes to demonize (especially white) maleness. Stoicism also has better name recognition.
I think Epicureanism suffers from a lack of name recognition, as well as a skewed understanding of what it is about. A hedonistic pursuit of the good life does not strongly invite people who are interested in philosophy. And pleasure seekers may not be all that interested in philosophy.
So I think we should try to reach out more broadly and let people, especially in non-religious communities, know what Epicurean Philosophy is about.
Thanks! I've been a member of the Epicurean Philosophy Facebook group for a while, but I feel I need to familiarize myself more in-depth with Epicurus' philosophy. So here I am.
I have a background in Christianity, initially Evangelical, and later Greek-Orthodox. As such I spent a number of years in Greece getting a degree in Theology. By the end of that tho, I had left the Church and started a personal journey, which ended in me eventually becoming an atheist upon reading Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion several years later. It did leave me with a passing knowledge of Greek and the basics of philosophy, which I hope may be useful here.
Now I am a primary school teacher by day, and an amateur musician in my free time (hence the nickname).
