Several conversations lately have led me to want to produce a new article on what I would contend are some of the most important take-aways from the teachings of Epicurus. These are the points with which I would start if I were talking about Epicurus today with someone new. I prepared this for distribution at Twitter and similar places, and the link best formatted sharing is at EpicurusMagazine.com.

Epicurus Answers Four of the Great Questions of Human Life

Many people know a little about…

Read More

Below is the Wikipedia introduction to Epicurus as of 02/06/20. I will highlight in red, and add a footnote to each statement which I contend is in serious need of correction or amplification.

(Quote)

[1] Calling Epicurus a "sage" adds nothing, but injects confusion, suggesting that this term denotes some status that is important the reader should know about in this context, which is not correct.

[2] Eating simple means and discussing a wide variety of philosophical subject is what they were…

Read More

[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 ourselves to be actively promoting Epicurean philosophy. I believe strongly that everyone,…

Read More

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 pain, they nonetheless encourage the pursuit of positive…

Read More

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,” but happiness grounded in the feeling of pleasure.

2. Not "absence of pain" as a…

Read More

Christos Yapijakis: "Mistakes of Cognitive Perception and Epicurean Prudence"

From Christos Yapijakis: I have translated for you and our international friends my Greek presentation slides at the 9th Panhellenic Symposium of Epicurean Philosophy. [The title is "Mistakes of Cognitive Perception and Epicurean Prudence.] This is exactly what I presented (colors, images, citations, except with Greek text). As you will see my presentations aims at a wide audience, but at the same time anonymously…

Read More

Epicurean Philosophy, Modern Science, and Life

Samos1.jpg

Source for the following article:  Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

A live conversation between Christos Yapijakis, geneticist and philosopher, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece and Stefano Cianfarani, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Italy Transcribed from the live conversation by Uri Klempner With contributions by Ze’ev Hochberg, Alan Rogol, George Werther and Jesús Argente

Originally posted 10/29/18.

…

Read More

Selection_095.jpg

A Five Star Presentation of Epicurean Philosophy

I think it's important that we begin to present Epicurean philosophy through podcasts and other audio-video means, so as a test I put together this basic Youtube presentation. I haven't edited the sound and this includes all the unprofessional "uhs" that come with someone who has no podcasting experience. Despite that, however, I think this presentation might be useful, so I am making it available here. The slide presentation…

Read More

Selection_999(359).jpgUnderstanding 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 even attempts to do so is Norman DeWitt's "Epicurus…

Read More

Selection_007.jpg

Creating "Articles" Here At EpicuranFriends.com

One of the abilities of the EpicureanFriends.com forum software is that it handles the publishing of longer "Articles" that can then be tagged and featured for various uses around the site, such as on the home page, where they will receive greater attention than standard Forum posts. This feature is intended to be reserved for articles of a longer and more enduring significance than regular forum posts, such as those featured…

Read More