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
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“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
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With the assistance of input from the Facebook group, I have been working on a list of basic “attitude” or “life premise” divergences that separate Epicurean v Stoic views.
I have made liberal use of “scare quotes” to reference controversies, and I refer my stoic friends to the chart at the end of the post for references. With that caveat, here is the list
…You have been deceived.
If you are hearing these words in the early years of the twenty-first century, then you have already wasted much of your life dealing with nonsense.
If you are surrounded by people who are called “religious,” then you have wasted your time dealing with people who claim that a god created the universe; that a god determined the course of your life before you were born; that a god will tell you what to do while you are alive, and that a god will punish or reward you
…I just received this link and have not had a chance to read it but the topic seems fascinating ("The Epicurean Critique of Mathematics") and it comes to us through our friends in Greece. Please read and comment when you can either here or at the Facebook group! http://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol7/iss2/9/
Update: There's a lot of good information in this article that will be helpful for anyone who wants to read up on the subject. However after finishing it I am sorry to conclude
By Cassius Amicuson July 6, 2017
July 6, 2017 - I hope to come back to this review and add more detail, but I have now finished reading the book and I don't want to let more time go past without adding my commentary. There are very few books available which convey an accurate and positive summary of Epicurean philosophy and its
…"When the Gospel of Minimalism Collides With Daily Life" New York Times: ".... But those who have tried the minimalist way have found that it’s not always as satisfying as design websites and tiny-house blogs insist. For some people, purging did not bring Shangri-La. Like most things, living minimally is more complicated than it may seem. In fact, some people found that their compact homes and minimalist manifestoes came with different challenges, and that the trade-offs were not always
…"On Epicurean Extremes" Epicurean Philosophy is a subtle one. Its meant to be a guide to life, and since human existence is a really complex issue, the philosophy has to be as well. There are very few black-and-white issues in the system. It's not even a question of grays. Epicurean Philosophy is a rainbow. On the surface, things seem rather easy. Pleasure, good; Pain, bad. But... and there is always a but... but almost immediately, questions arise. What kinds of pleasures are good. Whose
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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.
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 to the few people among us that distort Epicurean views. Feel free to
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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.
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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
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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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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
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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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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 articles.
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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