Inspired by the considerations on the Epicurean friendship of Phillp Mithis in the book "The Ethical Theory of Epicurus - The pleasures of Invulnerability," I want to summarize the thought of Epicurus on friendship, trying to use his own words as much as possible, and adding mine where necessary. I am indebted to Carlo Diano because his thematic collection of Epicurus's maxims was essential. The first Epicurean festival, whose general theme was about friendship, was also very useful.

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[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,

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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

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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

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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 increase in pleasure. The extent

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This is a draft article, and end notes are not complete yet

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 true third state such as neutral, except after death. Because there is no neutral, removing all pain in life is only possible with maximal pleasure. The extent of pleasure can be maximized

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Epicurean Philosophy or Epicureanism?

In a recent conversation to the Garden of Thessaloniki, a question was raised whether the Epicureans could participate as a party to the political scene of the Country. The friend George Kaplanis replied that this could not be done, because Epicurean philosophy is not an ideology, and as a philosophy is or should be in the background of politics, in the same way that philosophy, although not a science, is in the background of all sciences.

If philosophy

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"The Canon of Epicurus In Everyday Life"

The purpose of this proposition is a brief introduction to the Canon of Epicurus that will help us to use it in our everyday life. There are, of course, studies on logical issues, which are very advanced and are based on studies of brain function, mathematical formulas etc. These are extremely important issues, but we, who do not study Logic in universities, should have help in our everyday life on this field.

When we were at school, we used to call

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“Online Communication With Cassius”

For the 6^th Panhellenic Symposium of Epicurean Philosophy that was held by the Epicurean Gardens of Athens and Thessaloniki, February 2018

1.     (OPENING - TWO MINUTES VIDEO WITH FAVORITE MELODIES)

I wonder how one starts up an online communication and how he can introduce himself...

You Tarzan, me Jane ! Primitive stuff…

You an American, me an Hellene ! Nationalities, countries, races, origins, roots ... tangle!

You Cassius, me Elli. OK, some nicknames

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PREFACE 1.

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 expense of the others.

We have extreme

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Positive Mental Health And Well-Being - Epicurus's Use Of The Greek Word "EUDAEMONIA"

Hi to all the epicurean friends ,

To a Greek website called as "psychology now. gr" I found an interesting article that I translated into english.

Since 2012 Nordic countries have been ranked steadily as the happiest countries in the world, and there are not just a few times when other countries are often look to them for guidance when it comes to nurturing the well-being of their people. But are the

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WE AND THE STOICS TODAY, or “To Those from the Stoa”

by Dimitris Liarmakopoulos, member of the Epicurean Garden in Thessaloniki

27.11.2015

A proposition about Stoicism on an Epicurean website causes at least reasonable questions. At a minimum, when an informal agreement in the Garden is in place, and silently applied to the eight years of its progress, we should not make propositions about the rival philosophical schools, but only sporadic references to the need of epicureans’ better

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Genetics and Bioethics - A Philosophical Approach - By Christois Yapijakis

Christos Yapijakis recently presented a seminar on Genetics and Bioethics about 10 days ago at the University of Cyprus postgraduate program in Biological Sciences. The context of the presentation was the news of the recent gene-edited babies born due to a Chinese scientist.

Please click here for a PDF of the full presentation

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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

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Epicurean Philosophy, Modern Science, and Life

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

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Epicurean Influences On The Enlightenment

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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The Epicurean Viewpoint

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

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A Neighbor And His Dog

I have a story to tell you about a neighbor and his dog, but first I would like to share with you some thoughts on Epicurean Doctrine 40: “As many as possess the power to procure complete security from their neighbors, these also live most pleasantly with one another, since they have the most certain pledge of guarantee, and after they have enjoyed the fullest intimacy, they do not lament the previous departure of a dead friend, as though he were to be

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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 itself

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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 even attempts to do so is Norman DeWitt's "Epicurus and His

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