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Fourth Sunday Zoom - open to new members.  12:30 PM EDT - December 28, 2025 - Discussion topic: Article: "Epicurus on the Politics of Fearing Death". To find out how to attend and read more on the discussion topic CLICK HERE.
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  • Joshua December 27, 2025 at 3:07 AM

    Reaction (Post)
    Yes, Epicurus talks about “Speculative Judgement,” (hē theōrētikē doxa), i.e. judgement about conceivable universal characteristics; and the truth-value of this kind of judgement is tested by attestation and contestation via indirect practical…

  • Bryan December 27, 2025 at 1:54 AM

    Reaction (Post)
    One of our recent participants asked me about this topic and it well deserves a thread. I recall in our podcast years ago that I consciously pulled back from some earlier statements that were probably too sweeping in viewing abstractions negatively. My…

  • Bryan December 27, 2025 at 1:53 AM

    Post
    Yes, Epicurus talks about “Speculative Judgement,” (hē theōrētikē doxa), i.e. judgement about conceivable universal characteristics; and the truth-value of this kind of judgement is tested by attestation and contestation via indirect practical…

  • Eikadistes December 26, 2025 at 11:27 PM

    Reacted with Love to Don’s post in the thread Merry Christmas 2025!.
    Reaction (Post)
    Merry Christmas to all!

    As Epicurus took an active role in the civic and religious festivals and rites of his day, we too can participate in our time's civic and religious festivals with a fresh Epicurean perspective.

    May Christmas/Yule/Solstice give us an…

  • EdGenX December 26, 2025 at 10:06 PM

    Post
    Unfortunately, I can not attend this Sunday's Zoom. However, I did review the calendar for 2026 and will make some adjustments so I can attend future Zoom meets.

  • Cassius December 26, 2025 at 10:04 PM

    Post
    One additional thought to add to this is that I would recommend anyone interested in this issue to check out what Norman DeWitt has to say in emphasizing Epicurus' commitment to deductive reasoning.

    While atoms are not abstractions, we don't have any…

  • Cassius December 26, 2025 at 9:58 PM

    Thread
    One of our recent participants asked me about this topic and it well deserves a thread. I recall in our podcast years ago that I consciously pulled back from some earlier statements that were probably too sweeping in viewing abstractions negatively. My…

  • Cassius December 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM

    Reacted with Like to kochiekoch’s post in the thread Merry Christmas 2025!.
    Reaction (Post)
    Io Saturnalia! A little belatedly. ^^

  • Daniel188 December 26, 2025 at 5:53 PM

    Reacted with Love to Kalosyni’s post in the thread Merry Christmas 2025!.
    Reaction (Post)


    Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas! :)

  • Bryan December 26, 2025 at 5:15 PM

    Reacted with Love to Don’s post in the thread Merry Christmas 2025!.
    Reaction (Post)
    […]

    Io Saturnalia right back atcha!

Recent Forum Threads

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      • Eikadistes
      • December 24, 2025 at 4:22 PM
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    2. My personal, cursory interpretation of Epicurus. Please feel free to correct me. 4

      • Daniel188
      • December 23, 2025 at 6:59 AM
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      • Eikadistes
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    2. Episode 313 - Cicero Helps Us Compare The Best Life According to Plato With That According To Epicurus - Not Yet Released 3

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    2. Freyr and Gullenbursti (and other pigs In Western mythology)

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      • December 20, 2025 at 11:25 AM
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    2. Happy Twentieth of December 2025! 2

      • Kalosyni
      • December 21, 2025 at 1:15 AM
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    4. Joshua

      December 21, 2025 at 1:15 AM

    2. Possible use of the Pythagorean exercise called "evening review" for Epicurean purposes. 26

      • Daniel188
      • December 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
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    2. Welcome D Campbell! 8

      • Cassius
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    2. Cicero Rejects The Swerve But In The End Sides More With Epicurus Than With The Stoics As To "Fate"

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      • December 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM
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      • Kalosyni
      • December 18, 2025 at 11:58 AM
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    2. "The Eyes Cannot Discover The Nature of Things" (Lucretius 4:379)

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      • December 18, 2025 at 10:56 AM
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    2. Defining and Summarizing Epicurean Ethics 4

      • Kalosyni
      • December 18, 2025 at 3:10 PM
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    2. The Existence Of The Swerve Does Not Mean That "Anything Is Possible"

      • Cassius
      • December 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM
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    2. The Intersection Between The Epicurean Movement And Hanukkah 1

      • Cassius
      • December 17, 2025 at 2:39 PM
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    4. Cassius

      December 17, 2025 at 2:39 PM

    2. What Is Happiness? How Does Our Conception of It Derive From Eudaemonia and Felicitas? Should Happiness Be The Goal of Life? 18

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      • December 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM
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      December 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM

    2. Good Website for Self-Help and Learning Coping Skills (dealing with depression etc.)

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Recent Articles (All Articles Sorted By Date)

The Major Doctrines Of Classical Epicurean Philosophy

This page presents a summary of Classical Epicurean Philosophy . For additional citations to Epicurean texts, click here.


Nothing From Nothing

Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing

Working solely with the science available two thousand years ago, Epicurus observed that nothing ever arises from nothing, and nothing is ever completely destroyed to nothing. From this Epicurus deduced the existence of atoms - elemental particles moving through empty space from which over time all things are made…
Cassius
May 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM

A Gate To Be Burst: "Absence of Pain"

It is interesting to think about what Lucretius had in mind in Book One of “On The Nature of Things” when he spoke about Epicurus "yearning to be the first to burst through the close-set bolts upon the gates of nature." What kind of gates was he talking about? Who bolted them? How do those gates keep us from Nature?

I can't be sure which gates Lucretius had in mind, but I can suggest one "gate" that is particularly in need of bursting, as it stands directly in the way of a better understanding…
Cassius
February 12, 2024 at 1:26 PM
1

Interview With Dr. David Glidden: "Epicurean Prolepsis"

In Episode 166 the Lucretius Today podcasters interviewed Dr. David Glidden, professor emeritus from the University of California - Riverside, about his articles "Epicurean Prolepsis" and "Epicurean Thinking.
Cassius
January 11, 2024 at 8:22 AM
0

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  1. Antiochus IV Epiphanes And Jerusalem

    • Cassius
    • December 17, 2025 at 7:30 AM
    New A collection of information about what is known of the Epicurean background of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
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  2. Bernier - Gassendi's Three Discourses on Happiness, Virtue, and Liberty

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    This book is focused on Epicurean philosophy and explaining it in context with other philosophers.
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  3. All Particles Go to Heaven: The Form and Formation of the (Epicurean) Gods

    • Eikadistes
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    Plutarch's Essays On EpicureanIsm
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It is interesting to think about what Lucretius had in mind in Book One of “On The Nature of Things” when he spoke about Epicurus "yearning to be the first to burst through the close-set bolts upon…


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February 11, 2024 at 6:20 AM
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Here is a listing of ten key steps of Epicurean reasoning. There is nothing magic about this grouping but it's an effort to combine a manageable set of key points with important citations supporting…


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November 28, 2022 at 8:10 AM
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April 20, 2021 at 10:58 AM
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November 22, 2020 at 10:52 AM
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Cassius' Blog
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…


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Cassius
September 26, 2019 at 4:06 PM
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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.”

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July 15, 2019 at 7:31 PM
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June 16, 2019 at 8:41 AM
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June 16, 2019 at 8:37 AM
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E.S. XXXVI (36) The life of Epicurus, when compared with that of other philosophers, seems almost legendary thanks to the calmness and self-sufficiency that distinguished him.

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In Mytilene, where…


Read More

Elli
December 16, 2025 at 2:56 AM
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1
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