Not sure if this article was shared previously but, to my eye, it seems there are many overlapping Epicurean points to be made here
Here in southern California the decorations abound and it seems to be widely celebrated, so it's kind of a natural fit. Probably not so much in the Southern states....
Here in San Antonio, Texas, Dia de los Muertos is widely celebrated and does include supernatural elements at odds with core EP teachings. However some elements such as leaving offerings for the ancestors at the ofrenda, like personal items belonging to the deceased, calavera de azucar, (sugar skulls), pan de muerto, wearing and offering cempasuchitl can be appropriated into a sort of Epicurean ancestor veneration. It seems to me that it's an easy extension of the Eikas remembrance of Epicurus and Metrodorus, provided we don't expect their spirits to visit us lol.
It's really a fun time here, more focused on the joy of someones life, the memories they left and the lessons taught. Let alone the celebration of our still being alive.
(On a personal note, the prevalence of La Catrina statues everywhere is one of my favorite things about the season! (also San Antonio is home to the 2nd largest La Catrina in the world!)
Salud and welcome dlippman !
An analogy (imperfect at best) I use to describe prolepsis, which should be familiar to most these days, are the cameras on our phones. Say that your mind is like a camera constantly taking pictures of various things. Take a picture of a big tree, little tree, wide tree, narrow tree. Eventually the photo album on your phone will suggest a file simply called "trees" or "sunsets" because it has recognized (pattern recognition) the similarities between various individual pictures (sensations) and organized them into an album (prolepsis). Now an analogy which would apply to gods might be something like taking a picture of a ball, a bat, a base, manicured grass, chalk lines, and a foul pole, eventually suggesting a new file called "baseball". However abstract concepts like gods and the game of baseball would require a language to flesh out, I feel. Once again imperfect at best but maybe helpful to some.
Thank you for sharing this!
Very interesting, thanks Kalosyni !
I plan to purchase the soft cover soon!
Just finished reading the article by Jeffrey Fish and was curious if anyone had reading suggestions concerning Epicureanism and politics?
"On the flip side, you could say that modern science has resulted in germ-warfare and nuclear weapons"
Fritz Haber is an interesting personification of this. He helped develop the Haber process, which is still feeding billions (absolutely good) but also contributed the creation of zyklon b (absolutely evil)
"scientific determinism differs from the theistic determinism of Stoicism or Calvinism"
Right, it's the implications of this scientific determinism that has my attention. I expect most of us generally accept that the epicurean gods are material and do not interfere, intervene, inhibit or punish. And most will accept that modern science has continued the Epicurean mission to stamp out superstition. Now that we've done away with with the "supernatural" (a phrase I've always had issues with) we can focus on dispelling the new fears.
It's in these new found fears and anxieties. Genetic predispositions to painful or deadly diseases can make some feel trapped by some biological destiny. Psychology or neuroscience can also make some feel trapped by brain chemistry or childhood experiences (even compound the anxiety of biological destiny). Climate change can be the source of much existential dread. The interesting question is how does the Epicurean respond to these new problems?
To the point of conciseness of the categorization of desires I simply use necessary, unnecessary and vain. I feel this is a nice brief way to remember: necessary desires are Natural, unnecessary desires are natural, and vain desires are just that, empty and unattainable.
Thinking about this today and how the purpose of Epicurean physics was to help remove irrational and unnecessary fears, and how or has our modern science has contributed to this end? For some I imagine understanding germ theory, pathology, maybe some basic genetics (and other disciplines) would remove the fear of some godly whims, but for others this knowledge might create new fears of some almost deterministic fate. Curious what the forum thinks
I like the simplicity of the moon symbol, however it's similarity to the crescent and star might be confusing for some and offensive to others.
