Please take a look at this list of Recommended Reading, and add your comments on possible additions or changes. We'll then come up with a proposed spreadsheet and suggest that each member add this to their profile to indicate their reading background: Profile of Past Reading
We will return to Skype on November 3 for a "Part 2" of Chapter 14 - "The New Virtues" - Link for the Discussion Plan: Discussion Plan For Chapter 14 "The New Virtues" (Norman DeWitt's "Epicurus And His Philosophy")
Link for this morning's Skype Discussion of Chapter 14: https://join.skype.com/NSVK30V2BKhb
Please plan to join us for Chapter 14 of the DeWitt book - Sunday morning at 11:00 AM Eastern. Outline is here: Discussion Plan For Chapter 14 "The New Virtues" (Norman DeWitt's "Epicurus And His Philosophy")
Prliminary Info About Upcoming Online Discussion Series On Lucretius: Lucretius EpicureanFriends PDF Reference Edition
Check out very interesting new post by Garden Dweller: Continuous Life Improvement
Important post worthy of discussion: Elayne's An Error-FIlled Video from the Neo-Epicureans: Office Space
Reminder: Skype call Sunday re Chapter 12 of EAHP - Join us if you can!
New Posting Rule: 5) Do not create posts composed of nothing other than links. See explanation here: Our Posting PolicIes At EpicureanFriends.com: No Partisan Politics; No Supernatural Religion; Follow The Community Standards
We had another great Skype call on 9/8. Our next will be 9/22 and we will finish Chapter 12 starting with "Pleasure Can Be Continuous"
A thread for the discussion of chapter 12 with a copy of the outline is here: Discussion Plan For Chapter 12 "The New Hedonism" (Norman DeWitt's "Epicurus And His Philosophy")
We had an excellent Skype call with six people this past Sunday, and we're doing it again this Sunday at 11 AM Eastern USA time - join us if you can!
For our new users, don't forget that we're available to help you with your own outline of Epicurean Philosophy: Don't Fall Short - Draft Your Own Personal Outline of Epicurean Philosophy - Instructions
Please remember Michelle Pinto's Epicurean Festival in Italy this weekend! Epicurean Festival - Italy - Michele Pinto, Coordinator (Fri, Aug 30th 2019, 8:00 am - 8:00 pm)
Lengthy and Important Post by Elayne: Friendship as Supported by the Canon, Physics, and Ethics
Welcome to our Online Community of Epicureans, where we study Epicurus, apply Epicurean philosophy to our own lives, and"strike a blow for Epicurus, that great man whose holiness and divinity of nature were not shams, who alone had and imparted true insight into the good, and who brought deliverance to all that consorted with him." All are welcome to read and ask questions, but only firm friends of Epicurean Philosophy are granted full posting privileges, so here you will find a truly supportive community of Epicurean Friends.
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New Users: Please scroll to the bottom of the page for introductory material.
Our Posting Policy At EpicureanFriends.com - No Partisan Politics And No Supernatural Religion
Not Neo-Epicurean, But Epicurean
Autun mosaic from The House of the Greek Authors, Musée Rolin
On Living Unknown While Locating Your School In A High Traffic Area
Epicurus Greece Stamp 2019
The Dark Ages Are Coming
Death Is Nothing To Us
Plato's Metaphysical Contradiction
Epicurus Skipping Mysticism
Plato's Distracted Boyfriend
Concepts As Black As Hell
PD9 - Just As All Colors Are Colorful
[Cassius: I write the following article clearly stating that it is my own personal opinion, without representation that it is or should be "the Epicurean position." I do not believe that I or anyone else has the ability to say what political positions every person applying Epicurean principles will take, and indeed that is the point of this article. I am writing this mainly to those of us who consider
JC:
Hi Cassius. I'm sorry to badger you about this again, but I'm still trying to get my head around the pleasure principle. From my reading, all scholars agree that Epicurus divides pleasure into kinetic and katastematic. Am I right in thinking mainline scholars think Epicurus prized the latter over the former, and that DeWitt didn't? I ask because although mainline scholars I've read equate pleasure with tranquility / absence of
Principles: Not Neo-Epicurean, But Epicurean
The following is a short summary of principles which are important for understanding Epicurus and participating in discussion at the Epicurean Philosophy Facebook Group. It is not intended to address all aspects of Epicurean philosophy. As time allows we will supplement the citations below with more citations and explanatory articles.
1. Not “flourishing,” “human potential,” “self-actualization,” or “meaningfulness,”
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Not "absence of pain" as a full statement of the goal of life, but “the Feelings are two, pleasure and pain” and “Pleasure is the beginning and the end of a happy life.”
Brief: The feelings are only two, pleasure and pain—there is no third state such as neutral, and there are no “fancy pleasures” which are different from regular pleasures. Because there is no neutral, reducing pain in life is only possible if there is a corresponding
…We often confuse the issue of the possibility of free will exercising with the issue of its existence. When we are unable to exercise it we say with sloppiness that it does not exist. This "I want but I can’t or I don’t want but I am forced" puts into testing our individual self-esteem. But any coercion and enforcement exists precisely because there is free will and some of the people have the power to exercise it, usually at the
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by Dimitris Altas, Cardiologist, member of Epicurean Philosophy Friends of Thessaloniki.
In 1453 the Ottomans conquered Constantinople by abolishing the Eastern Roman Empire, a fact which had a significant impact on the rest of Christian Europe. One of the most important impacts was that the Ottomans became masters of Silk Road, the land route that united Medieval Europe with East Asia, and especially with India and China. This resulted
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by George Kaplanis founding member of the Epicurean Garden in Thessaloniki
Now I ask you: what is the “Epicurean Viewpoint”?
- It is the view that we gain from looking through the Canon of Epicurus.
- If our viewpoint was gained through the Platonic Dialectic, it would have been a Platonic view.
- And if our viewpoint came through the use of Dialectical Materialism, it would be a Marxist view.
And now, where will we look to gain this Epicurean
…Understanding Epicurus takes considerable effort, but not because the doctrines are difficult - they're not! The problem is that Epicurean philosophy has been heavily criticized for more than two thousand years, and most of the articles and commentary that have been produced over that time are by people who are critical of it and have no desire to present the philosophy clearly and fully. The only book-length work that
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This is the place to study and discuss Epicurus with people who - can you believe it? - aren't just Stoics in disguise, but who actually support and promote Epicurean philosophy. On your first visit, check out this full home page and look around the Forums arranged by Topic. A good place to sample the latest conversations is by clicking Latest Threads, or simply start with our General Forum. After that, bookmark the Dashboard, so that when you come back you'll see all the latest postings and announcements. Other key links are the FAQ where we have answers to often-asked questions, and our Wiki, which features one of the best collections of Lucretius and other Epicurean texts that you'll find anywhere. Don't miss the forum devoted to reviews of modern books, articles, and video-multimedia devoted to Epicurus. Do you prefer a page theme that is lighter, darker, or a different color? Go to the bottom right and click "Change Style!" Thanks for dropping by and enjoy your stay - here our highest goal is Pleasure!
Also, we are continuing our on-line group discussions of Norman DeWitt's Epicurus and His Philosophy. Please check this scheduling thread for confirmation of the time and date of the next session. The link to the online chat forum is here. Discussion outlines are posted here.
Please note our other ongoing projects: For our latest translations and research into the Doctrines, Sayings, and Letters of Epicurus, check our wiki.
There is also a great need for an authoritative online free edition of Lucretius' On The Nature of Things. At our Wiki page, we have two public domain versions (Munro and Bailey) and we are currently working on adding the 1743 Daniel Browne edition, which has the Latin text on the facing page of the original. In order to allow the reader to crosscheck the English translation, we are cross-referencing each translation the equivalent passage in the Latin text. If you have time to help in either of these projects, please let us know by posting in the appropriate forum thread. Our latest project is www.EpicureanRadio.com, a streaming service that we hope to expand into a full "Epicurean Radio Station." Check it out in the new subforum devoted to it!
If you have come across Epicurean philosophy in the past but been confused by commentators who assert - incorrectly - that Epicurus advocated an ascetic or passive lifestyle, you'll want to check out our table of Major Issues In Understanding Epicurean Philosophy. We're glad to help with your study of Epicurus - just ask in the forums! In the meantime, here is the advice of Thomas Jefferson on living an active Epicurean life:
"I take the liberty of observing that you are not a true disciple of our master Epicurus in indulging the indolence to which you say you are yielding. One of his canons, you know, was that “that indulgence which prevents a greater pleasure, or produces a greater pain, is to be avoided.” Your love of repose will lead, in its progress, to a suspension of healthy exercise, a relaxation of mind, an indifference to everything around you, and finally to a debility of body, and hebetude of mind, the farthest of all things from the happiness which the well-regulated indulgences of Epicurus ensure; fortitude, you know is one of his four cardinal virtues. That teaches us to meet and surmount difficulties; not to fly from them, like cowards; and to fly, too, in vain, for they will meet and arrest us at every turn of our road. Weigh this matter well; brace yourself up." - Thomas Jefferson to William Short, October 31, 1819.
A Feature of Our Forum - Follow The Advice Of Epicurus: Outline Your Understanding Of Philosophy
Epicurus' Letter to Herodotus: "Those who have made some advance in the survey of the entire system ought to fix in their minds under the principal headings an elementary outline of the whole treatment of the subject. For a comprehensive view is often required, the details but seldom. ... For it is impossible to gather up the results of continuous diligent study of the entirety of things unless we can embrace in short formulas and hold in mind all that might have been accurately expressed even to the minutest detail."
We hope you will consider signing up for an account so you can participate fully here at the forum. For a brief introduction to the orientation of this website, please review our Community Standards / Terms of Use , and check out our brief video Major Characteristics of Epicurean Philosophy.
A Note On Why This Website Is Not "Stoic In Disguise" -
Many people who come here have been influenced by the alleged importance of a distinction between "kinetic" and "katastematic" pleasure. This argument is unsound, probably not of Epicurean origin at all, and can be very damaging to a proper understanding of Epicurus. To research this issue, start with Boris Nikolsky's "Epicurus on Pleasure," which argues that the katastematic issue was not introduced by Epicurus and reflects a later Stoic-influenced viewpoint. Next, read the chapters on Epicurus in Gosling and Taylor's "The Greeks on Pleasure," from which Nikolsky got the inspiration for his article. The whole section on Epicurus is good, but be sure to read their Chapter 19 "Katastematic and Kinetic Pleasure." Add to that the Wentham article "Cicero's Interpretation of Katastematic Pleasure," which highlights how emphasis on katastematic pleasure contradicts other core aspects of Epicurean philosophy.
Those shorter articles should then take you back to the best general book on Epicurus, Norman DeWitt's "Epicurus and His Philosophy." DeWitt provides a sweeping overview of Epicurus which hardly mentions the katastematic - kinetic distinction except to point out how - even if one considers the categories relevant - Epicurean philosophy embraces both types. If you don't read anything else at this website, check out the articles listed above, and you'll see how important this issue is to a proper understanding of Epicurean philosophy. And if you are brand new to the study of Epicurus, be sure to start your study with DeWitt's "Epicurus and His Philsosophy."
