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  • Hiram

    Replied to the thread On "Sober reasoning".
    Post
    I don’t know how well he knows the physics but he’s a librarian and very well read.

    When I think of theory of contemplation I am thinking mainly of this quote by Sam Harris:

    https://samharris.org/killing-the-buddha/


    A Contemplative Science
    What the…

  • Hiram

    Post
    (Quote from Cassius)

    I think I remember this from when I was writing the commentaries on Philodemus works, it may have been either one of those books I worked from or Diogenes Laertius. Because that was the main source for this:

    …

  • Martin

    Post
    Let me take some time (quite some time actually) to dig up something. From about 1985 to about 2016, I have mostly ignored popularized physics because I found it too diluted and misleading in my study. Meanwhile, I have read a few popular physics books…

  • Cassius

    Thread
    Proxima-b, only 4.24 light years away, receives 250 times more X-ray radiation than Earth and could experience deadly levels of ultraviolet radiation on its surface. How could life survive such a bombardment? Cornell astronomers say that life already…

  • Godfrey

    Replied to the thread On "Sober reasoning".
    Post
    Cassius Lucretius seems extremely relevant!

    JJElbert I wasn't trying to imply that you were slacking, more just thinking it through for myself. :thumbsup: You make a good point about separating the interpretation from the sensation. Having done that, we…

  • JJElbert

    Replied to the thread On "Sober reasoning".
    Post
    Cassius Here's that¹

    Godfrey I have taken the easy way out, haven't I.

    The place to begin here is in separating the content of the claim from the sensation of the claimant. I am far from denying the mystical experience as a sensation. If you…

  • Cassius

    Posted the thread Vesuvius Memorial Day.
    Thread
    Today is the day believed to mark the explosion of Mount Vesuvius. Many Epicureans in addition to the library of Julius Caesar's father in law were buried, but because of this disaster we know much more about Epicurus and his philosophy than we would…

  • Cassius

    Uploaded the image Vesuvius.
    Image/Video
    Vesuvius

  • Cassius

    Commented on the event Herculaneum Day.
    Comment (Event)
    Today is the day we mark as the day that Vesuvius exploded!

  • Cassius

    Post
    Martin this reminds me that we need to find some good videos on the physics issues. I know that Alex is very impressed with Victor Stenger and to the extent I have read into him that seems promising. 1. Do you know of videos we should add? 2. Do you…

  • Cassius

    Posted the thread Search Engine Optimization.
    Thread
    Today I changed the title of the home page from the "Here our highest good is pleasure..." to a generic "The Epicurus and Epicurean Philosophy Discussion Forum" in hopes that this will help make discovery of the forum easier on search engines.

    I also…

  • Cassius

    Post
    Good points, Martin, so I changed my "is" to "might be" in that last sentence.

    Yes I am not competent to comment on the medicine, other than to state that in my own case, low-carb dieting has been the best method for me to control weight and blood…

  • Martin

    Post
    If our equivalent to the work of Otto Warburg is the work of Norman Dewitt, I very much hope that we are not the equivalent of Thomas Seyfried.
    I see no reason to doubt the validity of the lab work done by him and his team and those whose work he…

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread On "Sober reasoning".
    Post
    JJElbert Do you have a good link for that Jefferson quote?

    Godfrey That reminds me that Lucretius' extensive discussion of images and dreams might be relevant to him.

  • Godfrey

    Replied to the thread On "Sober reasoning".
    Post
    My embryonic take on this is that there are bizarre and "mystical" experiences that people may have which can be explained using Epicurean physics in a similar fashion to the way Epicurus explained thunder and lightning and the like.

    We have made…

  • JJElbert

    Post
    Excellent point regarding the transition to Latin, Hiram. DeWitt cites the example of Lucretius who identifies pleasure as the summum bonum or "highest good". He points out that this is a very poor translation of τέλος ("goal" or "end"), and that the…

  • JJElbert

    Replied to the thread On "Sober reasoning".
    Post
    I'm not quite sure how to proceed here. The trouble with any 'theory of mysticism' is that mysticism seems to take over at precisely the moment where language falls apart.

    I left the threshold of Buddhism because Buddhists can't bring themselves to…

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread On "Sober reasoning".
    Post
    Hiam it sounds to me like he never took an interest in Epicurean physics(?) Once someone understands the "Nothing comes from nothing" argument I do not see how they can backside into considering the idea of anything supernatural.

    And I would not…

  • Cassius

    Post
    "it is said that he rejected the tradition of memorizing the teachings verbatim in favor of innovation and discussion with his contemporaries of other philosophies."

    Do you recall your cite for that Hiram?

  • Hiram

    Posted the thread On "Sober reasoning".
    Thread
    So my neighbor Fran, who has for years considered himself an Epicurean after reading my book, now says he considers himself "agnostic"--that he is OK with "not knowing" (presumably, about God).

    He has said this to me after having experienced with…

  • Hiram

    Post
    I have a feeling this is what happened when Zeno of Sidon taught (among his students was Philodemus) as a Scholarch, and it is said that he rejected the tradition of memorizing the teachings verbatim in favor of innovation and discussion with his…

  • Cassius

    Thread
    As long ago as 2012 I have been interested in the work of science writer Gary Taubes, especially in his efforts to investigate issue of low-carb diets and their effect on heart disease, diabetes, and the like. I read his "Good Calories / Bad Calories"…

  • Cassius

    Post
    This is pretty much exactly the concern I have about the "tetrapharmakon":

    pasted-from-clipboard.png

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread Farewell.
    Post
    Yes I echo Joshua! Thank you for your posts Oscar and take care. Hope to see you back at some point in the future!

  • JJElbert

    Replied to the thread Farewell.
    Post
    "Our least deed, like the young of the land crab, wends its way to the sea of cause and effect as soon as born, and makes a drop there to eternity."

    "We might try our lives by a thousand simple tests; as, for instance, that the same sun which ripens my…

  • Oscar

    Posted the thread Farewell.
    Thread
    "Our least deed, like the young of the land crab, wends its way to the sea of cause and effect as soon as born, and makes a drop there to eternity."

    "We might try our lives by a thousand simple tests; as, for instance, that the same sun which ripens my…

  • Hiram

    Post
    Over the last weekend, with the help of my neighbor and friend, I painted my apartment. It was a tiresome process. We worked for more than 13 hours on Sunday. In order to make the labor more pleasant, we played 80s songs. When the process was nearly…

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread Vegetarianism.
    Post
    And I am sure you will attack the Festival with everything you have got, and not moderately! ;-)

  • michelepinto

    Replied to the thread Vegetarianism.
    Post
    (Quote from Cassius)

    Thank you!

    About Moderation we will talk soon, after the festival.

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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.


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  • Featured On Pain, Pleasure, and Happiness Second Draft

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

    On Pain, Pleasure, and Happiness

    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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