Episode Sixty of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. In this episode, we discuss dreams and the mind's use of images. There is some challenging material in this episode, especially as it relates to Epicurus' view of the use of images and how…

We just finished recording this one and I will try to get it posted as soon as possible. When you hear the episode, you'll see that one of our topics is to what extent this section describes a theory that may go so far as to be Epicurus' entire…

Even if so, thanks for posting that. There's a lot to be learned from observing people who accept certain parts of Epicurus while rejecting other important parts. Seems to me that you can definitely see patterns in people picking and choosing only…

Thanks for the detailed post Titus. Here are my thoughts:

(Quote from Titus)


I very much agree with that. It seems to me that most of the people whose interpretations I find reason to criticize focus almost exclusively on one aspect (most frequently,…

That seems to sum it up pretty well. I guess he's just a historical curiosity from an Epicurean perspective.

I would like to add my personal view, which I see somehow between the two oppositions. I suggest a very important cause of the dispute is a different way of access to Epicurean philosophy.

The very common approach of reading the letter to Menoeceus is…

Thank you Godfrey I had never heard of any of that. Two parts I note in the article of special interest to me are:




This is a point made in AA Long's "Chance and Natural Law in Determinism" and I have always thought it to be hugely important to keep…

Has anyone here heard of the philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce? The attached article showed up in my inbox and explores how Peirce studied Epicurus and used the idea of the swerve in some of his thinking. It would seem that his acceptance of Epicurus'…

Welcome to Episode Sixty of Lucretius Today.

I am your host Cassius, and together with my panelists from the EpicureanFriends.com forum, we'll walk you through the six books of Lucretius' poem, and discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you…

Episode Fifty-Nine of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. In today's podcast we will discuss the mind's direct receipt of images. There is some challenging material here on imagination and memory and whether / how the mind stores images, so be…

It seems to me two things are getting conflated here. Let me sort them out, for myself if not for anyone else.
What is good or bad for me personally is determined by whether the action or thought elicits pleasure or pain for me, either in the short or…

At this moment on first scanning of this material I can't tell whether Aurelian's personal view is of the "ascetic" version of Epicurus, which I think most of us here will agree is incorrect history, but I can definitely tell that his level of research…

This comes from Facebook - I hope we can encourage him to post here as well:


I am very pleased to announce the publication of my book: Epicurus in the Underworld. Heresy, atheism and hedonism in the Middle Ages, published by Fayard, Paris (in French).…

This is a rather nerdy but informative discussion of the state of the "fediverse" applications that I was reading last night: https://linuxreviews.org/Fediverse

I gather that the technology is pretty much in place to set up independent services, even…

[ADMIN NOTE: The first several posts here were copied from a thread about Buddhism, but they focus on the issue of death and they belong here too, as they are a good way to start the discussion of dealing with death of loved ones.]


Let me state…

(Quote from Cassius)

I actually haven't heard of these apps, so I will have to look into them. I am always on the lookout for such methods of communication and social media options, and would be more than willing to explore them.

I've been following the…

Well we definitely want to get this wording as accurate as possible to avoid having to backtrack immediately in an explanation.

However, at the same time, I doubt that the subtle difference between feelings or sensation or a similar word is the most…

(Quote from Cassius)

I appreciate that. I'm giving it all she's got, Captain

The word in question is ἀναίσθητος anaisthētos. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/h…rior=a)naisqhte/w#lexicon
Look like any English word? It's the basis of "anaesthesia" when we…

A_Gardner do you also use Mastodon or Pleroma or any "fediverse" app? Along the lines of the original post I would like to establish beachheads in the "open source" world to be sure we are as insulated as possible from censorship. Any thoughts on any…

Absolutely I would be happy for you to do so!

(Quote from Cassius)

That's definitely a start! Thank you, and I'll be following shortly. I can also retweet your content and hopefully do a little promotion that way if you're alright with that.

Also, would you be opposed if I shared some of the…

A_Gardner I have a twitter account under the name NewEpicurean, but all that ever gets posted there is a mirror of what is posted at NewEpcurean.com, which for the last year has meant nothing but the weekly dates to the Lucretius podcast.

…

Yes Don and while I have the highest respect and gratitude for your translations, when the "classical experts" seem to agree that some kind of "feeling" or "sensation" is the better translation, we'll need to take a position on whether THEY are the ones…

How would you know what was good or bad without the feeling, though? With just sensation and no feeling of pain or pleasure? That doesn't make any sense.

Good morning all!

I'm running a Twitter account focusing on philosophy, self-improvement, and spirituality and I'm wanting to follow others with such interests.

In looking for ideas to share and discuss (as much as a tweet allows) I've come across a…

Here's the Greek:
Ὁ θάνατος οὐδὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς· τὸ γὰρ διαλυθὲν ἀναισθητεῖ· τὸ δ’ ἀναισθητοῦν οὐδὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς.
Ὁ θάνατος οὐδὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς· literally "Death is nothing for us."
διαλυθὲν - passive aorist of διαλυω 2. to dissolve into its elements, to break up
…

Wow the time does fly! Thank you for all your contributions Don - seems like you and several others all got active at nearly the same time, and the last year or so has been one of our most productive periods. If you could just find a way to replicate…

That is a very good point Elayne and something that needs to be considered, especially when writing an explanation of the point. In stating the four in most succinct form, however, I think it is important to stay a closely as possible to the wording of…

Well, considering we are not equating sensation with feelings, wouldn't it be more accurate to say all good and evil consist of individual feelings? Vs the senses, which are not the value-assigning functions? With "individual" as a reminder that nothing…

I see it was a year ago today that I joined the forum. So, 799 posts later, it appears time certainly flies! On this day, I want to express my gratitude for @Cassius's efforts in maintaining this platform, and to all my Epicurean Friends for pleasurable…

"For our nature [wants what] is better for our soul. Moreover, the soul is manifestly more [powerful] than the body; for it [has] control of the extreme and supremacy over the other [feelings], as indeed we revealed it [above.] [So if], through paying…

FourStatements2black.pngThe purpose of this thread will be to accumulate text citations in support of four key assertions of Epicurean philosophy. This first post will contain a table of the assertions with passages from the texts supporting each…

To avoid sidetracking this thread, I am going to start a new thread to document text citations that support each of these four assertions:

1 - No supernatural gods
2 - No life after death
3 - Pleasure as the goal or beginning and end of blessed life
4.…

I don't want to get this thread off the track of its focus on expansion of Epicurean activity on other internet platforms. However I want to insert this pointer to another thread that will discuss something I think is important to any such effort,…

Three years after starting this thread my current thought is that a critical component of any local group or online initiative is going to be keeping the focus on just a couple of core unifying ideas and working hard to keep political division and…

(Quote from Cassius)

No, we do not use it.

Although it occurs to me now that I haven't even taken Lucretius into account. 🤔

Since we're on the subject, I did recently have a conversation with a young man from Texas who tells me that cow udders are a delicacy in those parts. With a decent bottle of red, one, though of modest means, might nevertheless dine like an aristocrat.
…

Thank you Michele - is this kind of thing still regularly used in Italy?

Here your garum:
https://www.amazon.it/Sicilia-…rum&qid=1614202830&sr=8-2
But garum was roman not greek

I have not heard of any efforts except Elayne since that date. She had several meetings. I eventually dropped my account for lack of response, but in hindsight I should have set up something even though only a few people replied. I kept waiting for…

I was just considering starting an Epicurean meetup group since I don't use Facebook or any other platform for meeting likeminded folks. I notice the last post here is from 2018, and wondering if anybody had better results since then. I've had mixed…

We have a list of Epicurean websites elsewhere, but we don't have a list of Epicurean "discussion forums." I've made this list but I bet there are others. Anyone aware of other "discussion-oriented" sites that have a subforum devoted to Epicurus? …

Tasting History had a great episode on garum of you haven't seen it:
youtu.be/5S7Bb0Qg-oE
That's also some other great Greek and Roman food covered in his channel.
I think any Southeast Asian fish sauce would be a possible alternative. I don't think…

I was going to ask this of michelepinto privately but it might be of wider interest:

I keep reading that a big part of the ancient diet was garum - some kind of "fish sauce.". For example: https://www.asor.org/anetoday/…FC3IeqnQu60e9aeY6tZDZAci8

…

Matthaios I am back and have time to add this: If you or anyone else have specific suggestions for sub-groups on other platforms, I hope you (and everyone) will let us know here so that any who are interested and able can help out. That's pretty…

I think we're now talking about something very similar to what Jordan C raised in regard to ataraxia, and it is a continuing question when you aren't really clear on the nature of the goal and the nature of pleasure:

(Quote)


(Quote)

(Quote)


Note: I am…

Great points, Cassius !
I think it's also significant that Epicurus uses παρακαλώ "I call, summon, send for, invite" and not "promise" or something similar.

In my view this is another of those positions that has both "logical" and "observational" sides.

It is observationally true that as long as you are alive and conscious you can summon up at least pleasant memories of the past.

But I also think this is…

(Quote from Cassius)

Good point, Cassius
The word Epicurus uses is συνεχείς
https://logeion.uchicago.edu/%…D%CE%B5%CF%87%CE%AE%CF%82

There's some ambiguity to that since I see both continuous and continually in the definition. Food for thought.