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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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 in the astronomical rise of the products of these regions, and in particular the spices that Europeans used in food preservation. The
The Epicurean Viewpoint
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 viewpoint?
- I suggest we take it straight from Epicurus himself.
But there are many
…A Man’s Neighbor And His Dog
I have a story to tell you about a man’s 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
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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 can be found and downloaded at
…
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
…
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 at present, which focus on significant academic
…
This chart is a work in progress! It is currently hosted at a Google Docs page to make editing easier. Feel free to make comments and suggestions in the Forum thread associated with this article. Click on this link to go to the chart: Reference: Comparison Chart of Epicurean and Stoic Views
My title for this article may be melodramatic for effect, but it is essentially the theme of Boris Nikolsky's article "Epicurus On Pleasure" available here in our Files Section. The effect I am hoping for is only this: that all fans of Epicurus who want to understand the meaning of the term "ataraxia" read this article in full. The article is thorough and well-documented, and in turn it is based on the even more though "The Greeks on Pleasure" by Gosling & Taylor. I hope I have now
…
“It is observed too that in his treatise On the Ethical End he writes in these terms : “I know not how to conceive the good, apart from the pleasures of taste, of sex, of sound, and the pleasures of beautiful form.”
– Diogenes Laertius, Book X
There are many challenges in interpreting Epicurean philosophy relate to the proper interpretation of Epicurus’ view of pleasure as the goal of life. When Epicureans used the term “pleasure,” did they mean “pleasure” as ordinary
…
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
…
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 in the astronomical rise of the products of these regions, and in particular the spices that Europeans used in food preservation. The
The Epicurean Viewpoint
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 viewpoint?
- I suggest we take it straight from Epicurus himself.
But there are many
…A Man’s Neighbor And His Dog
I have a story to tell you about a man’s 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
…
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 can be found and downloaded at
…
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
…
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 at present, which focus on significant academic
…
This chart is a work in progress! It is currently hosted at a Google Docs page to make editing easier. Feel free to make comments and suggestions in the Forum thread associated with this article. Click on this link to go to the chart: Reference: Comparison Chart of Epicurean and Stoic Views
My title for this article may be melodramatic for effect, but it is essentially the theme of Boris Nikolsky's article "Epicurus On Pleasure" available here in our Files Section. The effect I am hoping for is only this: that all fans of Epicurus who want to understand the meaning of the term "ataraxia" read this article in full. The article is thorough and well-documented, and in turn it is based on the even more though "The Greeks on Pleasure" by Gosling & Taylor. I hope I have now
…
“It is observed too that in his treatise On the Ethical End he writes in these terms : “I know not how to conceive the good, apart from the pleasures of taste, of sex, of sound, and the pleasures of beautiful form.”
– Diogenes Laertius, Book X
There are many challenges in interpreting Epicurean philosophy relate to the proper interpretation of Epicurus’ view of pleasure as the goal of life. When Epicureans used the term “pleasure,” did they mean “pleasure” as ordinary
…