I finished "Living for Pleasure" and it was a joy to read! I had a hold on a library app I placed before I had learned of Epicurean philosophy, for a book titled "The Art of Frugal Hedonism", which unexpectedly has a section summarizing Epicurus. I've also purchased a copy of The Hedonicon, and today I spoke to another Epicurean at a coffee meet!
I have a lot of reading to do! 😅
Not a problem!
Phantom pain is a phenomenon where a person feels pain in a limb which has been amputated/removed. The reason it came to mind is that it is described as a sensation, and my initial thought was if it could be considered a sensation which is not true, but maybe it would not be classed as a sensation here? Maybe worth its own thread if it would make for interesting discussion.
The body transfer illusion is where the brain creates an experience of another body or limb being their own. Perhaps this potentially falls into the category of anticipation rather than sensation?
Epicurean philosophy has been an intriguing topic for me to read on so far. I have admittedly found it a little unsettling in that I've yet to come across anything in particular I strongly disagree with or find objectionable?
Men need not be concerned about "gods" - supernatural beings do not exist, and any higher beings which are "perfect" are not concerned with men. Therefore it is false to believe that gods favor and reward their friends and disfavor and punish their enemies. Therefore it is foolish to ask the gods to do things for us that we can do for ourselves.
I don't really concern myself much with religion or gods/deities. My own prior conclusion has been that that any gods, if they do exist, are benign. I cannot sense their presence, and "that which lacks sensation is nothing to us."
I don't want to delve too deeply into the physics just yet, I do agree on the point that nature has no gods over her.
The topic of epistemology fascinates me and there is a lot to take in on Epicurean Canonics! There are the three primary components of sensations, anticipations, and feelings, which form the basis of how we gain knowledge.
The input we get from our senses is what informs us of reality. While our sensations inform us, we can make erroneous judgements, but those judgements do not make the sensations false. (I may have later questions regarding phantom pain and the body transfer illusion).
Anticipation/prolepsis I think I get, but am unsure if I am phrasing correctly when I put into my own words. Its the accumulation of past experiences which shapes and refines our ability to interpret the outcome of future experiences.
There are ultimately two feelings, pleasure and pain, with pleasure including the absence of pain.
Pleasure is the guide to life, and happiness is the goal. We can choose things which are painful which will lead to greater pleasure, and we can have pleasures which outweigh unavoidable pain.
