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Godfrey
Replied to the thread Rings Featuring Epicurus or Epicureans.PostIt's notable that all of the Epicurus images are in ellipses, not circles. Apparently Joshua isn't the first to face the problem of putting a long, bearded head into a circle. -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Wax Ring Carving—Second Attempt.PostAlso, I am sure you have already seen the "Lucretius" ring but I wonder if some kind of lettering in the otherwise blank areas would help make clear the identity. This is the drawing that Munro used, which is apparently a version made from the… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Rings Featuring Epicurus or Epicureans.Post -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Rings Featuring Epicurus or Epicureans.PostHere is the best photo I have of the probable Lucretius Ring (probably the one described by Munro):
lucrcoin(enlared).jpg -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Rings Featuring Epicurus or Epicureans.PostI thought we had some photos in this thread. Here are some of Epicurus (stamp is for comparison)
18952631_1767097563307883_740890015530557319_n.jpg
18893278_1767193546631618_2011662720370575473_n.jpgAN1613316846_l.jpgEpicurusemblem.jpg… -
Godfrey
Replied to the thread Wax Ring Carving—Second Attempt.PostOne thing you might try is to do your drawing at a larger, more comfortable scale. Then if you scan it, you can scale it down to actual size digitally using Photoshop, Illustrator, gimp, Autodesk Sketchbook or probably even Paint... any software that… -
JJElbert
Replied to the thread Wax Ring Carving—Second Attempt.PostBusy weekend, but back at it again this afternoon. There's still quite a lot of wax to be removed, but I decided that I'd like to have a clearer idea of the central figure before I went too much further. So I spent most of the evening sketching out… -
Don
Replied to the thread "Uninspiring Responses of the Day" Thread.PostUnfortunately, it's no real surprise that someone would have this perspective on philosophy or "the Ancients." In our contemporary culture, Philosophy (capital P) is primarily thought of as a dry academic subject with nothing to offer everyday life.… -
Cassius
Posted the thread "Uninspiring Responses of the Day" Thread.ThreadI still post on other forums as a means of identifying new people who might be interested in the more rigorous approach to Epicurus that ought to be a goal of us here. The results are not always what I like, but can be amusing, and maybe point to areas… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostHere is an example of the conflict, in a place I saw this morning where i will need to genericize the message so as to maintain confidentiality.
The context is that one of us (not me) pointed out to a new contact (not someone who posts here as far as I… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostOf course I wake up this morning thinking about this thread and have another comment: I am very much in the camp that is sort of captured by "you only live once" - but that doesn't really capture the issue. Given our Epicurean understanding that life… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.Post(Quote from Don)
Definitely!
(Quote from Don)
Ok here is my interpretation, I think "slavery" as you mentioned is probably the ultimate emotional test, but these are good too.
I think where Epicurus was going is to recognize BOTH that:
(1) Our feeling… -
JJElbert
Has solved the quiz Lucretius Book One, Part One (Episode Two).Quiz -
Don
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostCassius wrote:
(Quote)
I'll admit I have hesitation when it comes to not having an absolute standard of justice. I consider something like equality for all genders and races to be universal. Can I justify this on Epicurean grounds? Maybe. Epicurus… -
Godfrey
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostSpeaking "doctrinally," it's pretty explicit. In addition to the doctrines cited above, there is
(Quote)
A Google search of natural justice comes up with something along the lines of procedural fairness in the execution of the law. (Cassius this is your… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostOk this moves us as expected into the area of interpreting "natural justice."
Do we all here agree that there is no absolute standard of natural justice? And that the "harmed or be harmed" reference is simply something similar to a statement of… -
Godfrey
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.Post(Quote)
I agree but would take this a step further and say "I feel this pleasure is more pleasing to me than that pleasure at this moment." This of course takes into account my goals and my favorite pleasures, and evaluates both the current pleasure and… -
Don
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.Post(Quote from Cassius)
This is good.Thanks for summarizing! Here are my thoughts.
1) I don't think we can "rank" or "divide" individual pleasures. What we can classify (for lack of a better word) are the *consequences* of pleasures. Do someone's present… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostIn the spirit of keeping it coming, I think:
(1) the view that it is important to "pursue" pleasure is pretty clear, we all agree on it, and stating it is not particularly controversial, at least in our circles.
(2) What is HUGELY controversial, has… -
Don
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostIt seems to me we're all on the right track moving in the same direction, maybe just in different lanes.
I agree with Cassius that there is no objective standard to judge one pleasure more pleasurable than another. Pleasure by its very nature is… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Episode Twenty-One [Pre-Production Phase].PostHere is a link to the "geocentric model" (which Epicurus rejected) that we discuss during this episode:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocentric_model
In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostThis is one of the few texts I can think of that refers to a superlative experience of pleasure ("jubilation unsurpassed"):
Plutarch, That Epicurus actually makes a pleasant life impossible, 7, p. 1091A: Not only is the basis that they assume for the… -
Godfrey
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostI'd refer that fragment to PD3:
(Quote)
The key, I think, is the second sentence. We pursue pleasure, and do it wisely. That's something that we can control. Despite our best efforts we can't assure our good health: Epicurus was an example of that, but… -
Don
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostI think you may be on to something here, Godfrey . If I hear you right, the pursuit of pleasure (Jefferson's pursuit of happiness) is the important part. As long as we are making choices that point us in the direction of our (subjective) pleasure,… -
Godfrey
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostI'm wondering whether we need to. If the Epicurean life is guided by the pursuit of pleasure, there is no hierarchy of pleasure, and the limit of pleasure is the removal of all pain and fear, then intensity and duration of pleasure are meaningless,… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.Post(Quote from Godfrey)
A large part of the question seems to be "How do we measure, or define, 'most pleasantest'?" -
Godfrey
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostExcellent visual aids Don!
For a different perspective, hopefully not too different, there is the idea of the best life being the pleasantest life. Opposed to that is the idea of the best life as a life of continual recurrence of unsatisfied desire,… -
Martin
Replied to the thread Characteristics of the Wise Man, 1-9 Rough Draft of Outline.PostThanks Don for the link to the singular "they". I was not aware of this usage but will try to get accustomed to use it. When I wrote my comment, I hesitated for some seconds to ponder whether there might be a correct gender neutral pronoun in English and… -
Cassius
Replied to the thread Episode Twenty - The Universe Is Infinite In Size.Post
Recent Articles From Our EpicureanFriends Blogs
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As much as Epicurus advised against devoting life to politics, it appears that the politicians cannot return the favor and leave Epicurus alone. On both left and right, partisans of every cause except that of Epicurus himself feel compelled to enlist Epicurus as a saint or a demon, for or against their own preferred political position. The result can leave us feeling like Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade, facing volleys not of cannons but of false accusations against Epicurus
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From Diogenes Laertius, Book 10 (The Biography of Epicurus), we read something that may lead us again to revisit the matter of the apparent chronic ill health of Epicurus, and how the great philosopher confronted and dealt with serious bodily health issues.
Here is the excerpt by Diogenes Laertius: “Timocrates, the brother of Metrodorus, in his treatise entitled the Merry Guests, and this Timocrates had been a disciple in his school, though he afterwards abandoned it; and he says that he
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