Thank you all for your kind greetings!
Thank you all for your kind greetings!
Hello all! Just a quick review of how I got here. I started studying philosophy many years ago and came to Epicurus perhaps in an unusual way. I was pretty much reading everything by Leo Strauss and he mentions Epicurus (favorably?) in several of his books. I would say of all the philosophers, I've wrestled with Spinoza the most, on the questions of free will and determinism especially. What I find remarkable about Epicurus is that he came to a 'scientific' world-view and somehow rose above mythological and religious explanations of natural phenomena, as well as an epistemology and ethic that holds true thousands of years later. With all due respect to Spinoza, I can't accept, based on my own senses and experience, that all my actions are pre-determined by an infinite chain of causes. To me, Epicurus offers a reasonable and consistent view on this issue.
Sorry to ramble here somewhat, but I'm grateful for the effort that has gone into this site and the tremendous collection of resources it offers. And, I look forward to meeting like-minded friends here