Posts by Don

Friendship was, is, and will be one of the most important factors for one's well-being.

That's from the long-running Harvard Study of Adult Development.:

“People who are more connected to family, to friends, and to community, are happier and physically healthier than people who are less well connected.”

What the Longest Happiness Study Reveals About Finding Fulfillment

A new book summarizes the findings from a famous happiness study that began in the 1930s—and explains how you can be happier.

greatergood.berkeley.edu

While the expectations and responsibilities of friendship were different in ancient Greece (one's literal life could be at risk without friends), the benefits of friendship overall would still be similar over time. I find the wording of that quote from the Harvard study interesting: “People who are more connected to family, to friends, and to community, are happier and physically healthier than people who are less well connected.” In ancient Greece, one could be physically healthier because your friends and family literally had to take care of all your needs if you got sick or injured. Now, we have some social safety net programs and hospitals and other institutions... but MANY things still have to be relied on through the kindness of friends and family: dropping off food if sick or recovering from surgery, a kind ear or should to cry one, etc.

In some ways, the adage "the more things change, the more they stay the same" seems apropos here.

Quote from Cassius

As to "perennial philosophy" - a term new to me - Yikes!!!

It's a new term to me too, but I used to be an advocate for the "different paths up the same mountain" thing. There are obviously *experiences* that may be common by virtue of being humans and animals and part of the natural world. But the *interpretation* of those experiences - those are probably different mountains altogether.

Oh, and they are NOT supernatural experiences! They may feel that way, but they're NOT evidence of mystical, supernatural states or dimensions. Just had to add that in.

Oddly enough, it was the Dalai Lama himself that turned me to exploring Western philosophy:

Quote from Dalai Lama

I always tell my Western friends that it is best to keep your own tradition. Changing religion is not easy and sometimes causes confusion. You must value your tradition and honor your own religion.

I've seen that "your own religion" part expanded to mean Western traditions and philosophy. So, even he isn't a proponent of the perennial philosophy it seems.

Quote from Cassius

The right track to what?

Just to be clear, I'm saying the Buddhists are wrong too. They would say tamping down desires is the right track.

Quote from Cassius

peril for those who are not clear about why they might want to do so.

Agreed. Even though I may not agree with the technical translation, I still agree with the sentiment of "there's a limit to frugality..."

This one seems pretty good, too:

How to cultivate an abundance mindset - The Aesthetics of Joy by Ingrid Fetell Lee

Overcoming a scarcity mindset isn't easy, but these 6 tips can help you cultivate the an abundance mindset and see the world as generous and full of…

aestheticsofjoy.com

Especially in light of the "wealth of nature" thread we had recently:

Quote from blog

Wealth is having enough resources (money, health, connections, etc.) to live the life you want to live.

Godfrey : Changed my emoji on your article find from a "thanks" to a "heart"! I'm curious to explore that blog more.

And I agree with your "something if the air these days." I'm torn on my reaction to all of this. Rucker, positive psychology, frugal hedonists, happiness research, and on and on all seem to be... Let's call it touching different pieces of the Elephant of Epicurean Philosophy and coming away with helpful lessons but missing the bigger coherent worldview.

It seems to me that the blog's author's conclusion is Epicurean: learn to want better. The last 4 paragraphs are great! I think Buddhists would say "to want less, to control and tamp down our desires" is the right track. But I am convinced Epicurus didn't and wouldn't advocate "a state of over-consuming, goal-oriented pursuit, never able to enjoy anything." However, I think he'd agree with the author that desires are

Quote from from blog

"more nuanced. It’s not that wanting is bad, but that so many of us live our lives trying to satisfy the wants of others without really understanding what we want for ourselves. We pursue accolades to satisfy the wants of our parents, we acquire material things that to fix what marketers have told us is “wanting” in us.... Maybe we accept the gratification of a high-status job because we learned approval is more attainable than unconditional love.

The whole idea of "wanting better" seems an apt metaphor for Epicurus's prudent perspective on living for pleasure.

Okay, I cheated and was finally able to download the ebook from my library. Epicurus is not mentioned in Rucker's book, although I find his text even more Epicurean then "The Art of Frugal Hedonism." I'll give Rucker the benefit of the doubt and say he wasn't aware of the parallels.

Should we make him aware (after more of us read it... All the way through)?

I hinted at this but let's make it explicit. The Art of Frugal Hedonism specifically mentions Epicurus, but I had't reached those sections yet. Let's jump ahead, shall we...

"The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus taught that three things are essential for a happy life: friendship, freedom, and time for contemplation."

Caption to a photo: "Bar of Frugal Legends: Robinson Crusoe, Epicurus, Ernest Shackleton, and Miss Honey. Now, who's buying the first round?"

In chapter 30: People who need people are the luckiest people in the world:

"The truth about Epicurus: Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived from 341 to 270 BC. For most people, his name carries with it the stink of rich cheeses, the sloshing of wine pitchers, and a general association with luxuriant gourmandising.

"Records tell us that he was indeed parital to a spot of cheese, and was a great advocate for taking full pleasure in the sensual world, but in a manner far removed from the excessive indulgence suggested by his modern reputation. In fact, he firmly believed that simple meals provided as much joy as opulent ones, and saw extravagant desire as a surefire happiness-squisher: 'Do no spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.'

"Companionship on the other hand, he regarded as vital: 'Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.' Epicurus thought people should never eat alone, and should live close to a circle of friends who would nourish each other's minds, help each other in daily life, and support each other in times of struggle. He candidly described friendship as something which starts from a point of need, or from the hope of mutual benefit, but then grows into sheer pleasure at having the other person in one's life. He also viewed friendship without some element of mutual need as being somewhat vacuous.

"Not one for merely bandying lofty ideas around, Epicurus created The Garden, a sanctuary outside Athens where those interested in studying his philosophy (including women -- what would the neighbors say!) could live together by the Epicurean principles. Following his dreams obviously worked out well for him, as despite developing nasty kidney stones that made urination impossible in his old age, he apparently never complained about his suffering, and even wrote a letter to a friend on his last day on earth that described his mental state as 'blissful.'"

Under an image of one of the busts is the caption:

"Come on, look at those svelte cheekbones and tell us this wasn't a man who needed nothing more than some watered wine and barley cakes to have a good time."

Thoughts:

This all is no where near as stereotyped or ascetic as I've read in other places, including academic papers.

I'm not sure where they got the three things, but I don't necessarily disagree. The "freedom" is implied by his setting his Garden outside the city walls of Athens and not teaching in public. Time for contemplation is supported by the "wise one enjoys contemplation more than others" and other similar textual references including "mediate on these day and night with a friend."

I think they may misunderstand his position with the "extravagant desire as a surefire happiness-squisher." However, they did say *desires* here and not pleasures, and as Godfrey has pointed out, desires and pleasures are NOT the same thing. We also have Dr. Austin's book to thank for a much better explanation of "extravagant" pleasures.

The picture caption with the "watered wine and barley cakes" if fine by me. The Greeks *did* water their wine, and Epicurus DID eat barley cakes. He also experimented with - oh, let's just call it intermittent fasting because that's what it was... but **Experimented** not lived that ascetically all the time. I'm still trying bake edible barley cakes myself, but I don't use MY experiments as good examples of what Epicurus ate.

All in all, better than I hoped for. Not perfect by any means, but someone reading this would come away with a "better" perspective on Epicurus than most places!

Sort of gives a whole deeper context to "Pluck the day" Carpe diem.

Quote from Pacatus

PIE root *bhrug- "to enjoy,"

Always a fan of etymonline and PIE, too!

Check out..

*bhrug- | Meaning of root *bhrug- by etymonline

*BHRUG- Meaning: "to enjoy," with derivatives referring to agricultural products.It forms all or part of: brook (v.) "to… See origin and meaning of *bhrug-.

www.etymonline.com

I *think* the bh- could also have evolved into an F or V sound, which is why there's frui... etc. in that entry.

Quote from Cassius

Strictly speaking I don't have any problem with "you only live once" but I gather the connotations of recklessness are top in everyone's minds.

Prudent YOLO? Frugally YOLO?

I am really thinking I need to get my own copy of this book.

As I'm listening to the library's audiobook in my car, I keep thinking "yep, yep, that's good, oh, that's straight out of Epicurus... Good...." and so on. I can't take notes and I don't really want to go through the aggravation of doing it with the audiobook.

I'm currently 27% of the way through and really haven't heard anything off-putting or even much if anything outside what Epicurus would be writing in the 21st century. Granted, Rucker doesn't get into epistemology or physics, but the book isn't designed that way.

So, review so far continues to be

In keeping with Cassius new thread:

Epicurus taught YOLO but not the YOLO That You Are Familiar With.

Maybe instead of "frugal hedonism" it's "prudent hedonism"?

Exploring this topic a little and came across this:

Robert Louis Stevenson, An Apology for Idlers

Something else to read now! I've never heard of it before, but I'm intrigued... Especially by writing such as this:

Quote from Stevenson (emphasis added)

There is a sort of dead-alive, hackneyed{21} people about, who are scarcely conscious of living except in the exercise of some conventional occupation. Bring these fellows into the country, or set them aboard ship, and you will see how they pine for their desk or their study. They have no curiosity; they cannot give themselves over to random provocations; they do not take pleasure in the exercise of their faculties for its own sake; and unless Necessity lays about them with a stick, they will even stand still. It is no good speaking to such folk: they cannot be idle, their nature is not generous enough; and they pass those hours in a sort of coma, which are not dedicated to furious moiling in the gold-mill.

One of the meanings of απονια aponia is "idleness, non-exertion; exemption from toil (of women)"

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἀπονία

Plutarch uses it in this sense to describe Romulus and Remus:

Quote from Plutarch

They also applied themselves to generous occupations and pursuits, not esteeming sloth and idleness generous, but rather bodily exercise, hunting, running, driving off robbers, capturing thieves, and rescuing the oppressed from violence.

PS. And note this is "apology for idlers" as in the sense of defense, as in Plato's Apology and apologetics. Just wanted to say that explicitly.

Chapters 3-7 notes

Take care of the things you have. Don't automatically default to "throwaway materialism" and over consumption.

Appreciate what you have and what went into it: author's example - appreciate that plastic chair you have, have gratitude for the workers that smelted the metal in the legs, mined the ore, worked in the factory. Don't just throw it away because you're bored with it.

Be aware of where you're spending your money!

Buy quality when possible and take care of it.

Be mindful of what you're throwing out and don't be wasteful.

(*Side note: the authors may tout this whole idea of scrounging the "waste stream" a little hard for my taste. They're advocating getting everything from furniture to clothes and more from trash left on the street to secondhand stores. Using every last scrap of food including sour milk for pancakes (although that's probably not that bad of an idea). Even scooping dried pigeon droppings under bridges for "the best garden fertilizer." This is where it starts to sound like work!)

Chapter: Recalibrate you're Your Senses: I like this one. The gist is similar to "hunger is the best spice," but, again, it's paying attention to what's in front of you and appreciating it.

They talk about a consumption rhythm of lean-lavish-lean, which strikes me as similar to the intermittent fasting idea. Or the sandwich eaten at the top on the mountain tastes so good!

(*Side note: I maintain I had the best soup and homemade bread *ever* after a four hour hike to the Tea House of the Six Glaciers near Banff, BC. In retrospect, expectations for the food were low, it was a long hike, we were hungry... But lunch was amazing! Google it. Go there! Also, this whole topic reminds me of the text that talks about Epicurus, from time to time, would try to see how much food would be just enough to give him pleasure, I assume how much or how little would satisfy his hunger.)

There's also the appreciation of natural light when the electric goes out. Then an appreciation of electric when it comes back!!

"Frequently making frugal choices furnishes us with a more sensitive pleasure palate."

"Frugal hedonism furnishes us with an Elegant sufficiency of consumption."

(*Side note: Elegant. Where have I seen that before? Oh yeah: "There is an elegance in simplicity...")

"Be patient and gloat over every little increase in your capacity for pleasure."

Quote from Joshua

Yep. Notifications (not push notifications, just the red dot on the top right), unread posts (red dot top left), and heavy use of the "recent" tab. Also, the chat box that pops up from bottom right never fails to drive me to distraction. When I try to make it go away it gets bigger...when I do finally manage to close it I just go the notifications area and click on whatever chat I haven't read, and read it there. There's probably a way to disable that from my settings...

Ditto... Plus primarily use the site on my Android phone.

Only on chapter 3 listening, but lots of good stuff. I have yet to hear anything un-Epicurean from my perspective.

It's hard to take notes from the audiobook while driving so I'll try to go back and relisten at some point.

So far,

btw, I think Cassius and I have a variation on this "one size fits all" discussion at least once a year. In fact, here's one variation from 2021:

Post

RE: Welcome Philia!

Apologies to @Philia ...

At the risk of bogging down this Welcome thread (Feel free to branch this off, @Cassius ) , I think @Cassius and I have slightly different views on this topic. Not opposed, necessarily, but different emphases starting with different interpretations of PD10 .

I completely agree that Epicurus did not dictate or mandate THE Way to Live. No commandments, no mandatory sacrifices, no divinely-inspired edicts, etc.

However, on the other hand, I think that Epicurus…

Don

August 7, 2021 at 11:23 PM

It's usually in relation to PD10 or the "profligate" section of the letter to Menoikeus, but it seems to be an annual event.

In the end, we never seem to be diametrically opposed, but I think it's an important discussion to revisit time to time. I thought it might be helpful to put my current comments into that larger context.

The basic premise of Rucker's book is that focusing on happiness (as it is often discussed in relation to the popular conversation in light of positive psychology) is that it emphasizes the gap between how we feel now and how we're *supposed* to feel. Why aren't we happy? Why are they happier than me? We try to - are encouraged to - quantify our level of happiness, then *work* on being happier.

What Rucker recommends is prioritizing "fun" - I'd paraphrase him by saying "prioritize taking pleasure in your life and your experiences." Of we prioritize "fun" , happiness becomes a welcome by-product. I'd rephrase saying "if we prioritize finding the pleasure in both our everyday experience and in the extravagant pleasures we occasionally experience, well-being / eudaimonia / happiness will be a welcome by-product of living that way."

Research shows that fun, play, pleasure-filled activities have real benefits to our physical and mental well-being.

Also: Dopamine is more important to anticipation (anticipatory pleasure) than the pleasurable act itself. Dopamine is possibly evolutionarily beneficial as a motivator to action than as a reward, so to speak. (Anna Lembke talked about this in Dopamine Nation, too)

Quote from Cassius

I agree with virtually every practical consideration stated in the thread above, but I want to repeat a statement I just madein another thread:

As usual I think it's a bad idea to try to come up with a one size fits all rule. I am haven' previously made this comment in the "frugal hedonism" thread, because I see the value in explaining words. But in the end I think the best way to convey this analysis is simply to call it "Epicurean" - and gradually begin the long crawl out of the box that we are in due to the dominance (and our acceptance) of other people's paradigms.

Unfortunately we don't have the ability to claim that our definition of "frugal" or "hedonism" is the correct one. But the word that I do think we should claim, and define as clearly for everyone as we can, is "Epicurean."

I posted over "in another thread," too, but thought this needed a response here as well.

If I go down a rabbit hole, apologies aforehand, but, just wondering which "practical considerations" are you agreeing with (just to verify and for clarity)?

So, how would you define the three terms "frugal," "hedonism" and "Epicurean" in the context of this thread/discussion?

That excerpt from Diogenes Laertius quotes Diocles as saying the Epicureans lived "a very simple and frugal life" εὐτελέστατα καὶ λιτότατα διαιτώμενοι. Those two words (linked above to LSJ) convey living a life that includes things that are "easily paid for" (which I take to mean "living within one's means") and "simple, inexpensive, frugal" or, "metaphorically, of style, plain, simple, unadorned." Those words, coupled with the modern word "hedonism" (not coined to refer to philosophy until 1828), to me provide "frugal hedonism" as an apt description. Not an exhaustive one or even one without a few hiccups, but an adequate starting point to describe Epicurus's lifestyle.. in keeping with my "bread and water simply means 'take pleasure in the everyday'."

When you say things like...

Quote from Cassius

"Unfortunately we don't have the ability to claim that our definition of "frugal" or "hedonism" is the correct one,"

...I'm not even sure I understand the point you're trying to make. (Okay, I re-read that, and it *reads* harsher than I meant it... but I don't know a better way to express my confusion.) It seems to me that Epicurus encouraged people to use words in a way that was readily understandable and not to parse and nitpick. Granted, he never called himself a "hedonist." That didn't even exist as a philosophy term until the 19th century. But the "basic" definition is someone who regards pleasure as the primary motivator of human behavior. "Frugal" might be a little fuzzy in meaning but we have a grasp that it means things like living within your means, not spending extravagantly, etc. To me, "frugal hedonism" conveys what Epicurus was conveying throughout his texts. It is an antidote to the ascetic stereotype that is so prevalent in pop culture and academia. It's certainly not a perfect phrase, but it moves toward a more balanced portrayal... although let's get through more of the book and maybe I'll have a different opinion later