Posts by Pompadour

Quote from Cassius

The word "useful" or "utility" is always so ambiguous. Useful FOR WHAT?

For living a more pleasant life, of course

Quote from Cassius

Here's an observation about a problem I see recurring over and over

If I may, I'm not sure the "cookbook" can answer the question "why do I eat?" In other words, philosophy can help people find meaning and I'm not sure its a problem if they stop eating when they're full, to continue the analogy.

From my own perspective, I want to explore Epicurus until I understand the tools well enough to know whether and how they will be useful to me.

Godfrey (by the way, that is what I named my dog, gone now for about 3 years) from a practical perspective do you find it useful to track your experiences of pleasure in a log or diary for reflection later? Does that aid in thinking about different intensity of pleasure or analyzing your criteria?

Cassius: Your distinction between faculty and result is just what I needed, and really helped me understand what may be meant by intuition. I presume if Epicurus was writing today, he would be talking about the brain and its cognitive processes. Also, from the perspective of any individual, don't the results of that faculty become the basis for each person's truth?

I will read the Tsouna article. As for DeWitt, I read what is available free online via Google books, but it doesn't include chapter 8. I may buy the Google books version, although its not the most reader-friendly.

Thank you for understanding my wish for practical vs. academic. Its not that I don't want to read the articles, but its helpful to have some guidance to know what I'm looking for. I'll probably be back for more clarification after I read Tsouna and chapter 8 of DeWitt.

First, let me acknowledge that I'm a novice and won't even call myself an Epicurean as I don't have the foundation to do so. Nonetheless, as a long-standing atheist, I have been attracted to Epicurean philosophy and would like to understand more. I'm very much looking for practical vs. academic understanding.

I'll admit that, of all the concepts in Epicurean philosophy, anticipations is the one I'm struggling with the most. In the absence consensus on the meaning, I can see this becoming a source of misunderstanding. Clearly, Epicurus placed importance on this as a source of truth.

Based on what I've read, the only understanding of anticipations that resonates with me is internalized rules about the way the world works. (This is me paraphrasing what I've read, not an explanation I found in the literature.) For example, if I observe a phenomenon and whenever the conditions are repeated the same thing happens, I can intuit cause and effect while not necessarily knowing what the actual mechanics at work are. And as children develop, and even as adults, I think this process is precognitive and unconscious. These can be rules about the physical world (e.g. I can crawl over a clear sheet of glass and won't fall through because it is solid) or about human nature (e.g. I'm more likely to have my argument accepted if I acknowledge the truth in the counter-argument).

So please help me learn by telling my why I'm right or wrong, and what I'm missing in my interpretation of anticipations. Thanks!