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  • Don

    Post
    I noted you referred to the author as "he" a couple times. At the risk of being pedantic, the author is a woman: https://portal.uniri.hr/portfelj/933

  • Cassius

    Post
    (Quote from Godfrey)

    Now I do think that is a very clear and useful statement.
    (Quote from Godfrey)

    And that's an interesting example and gives something concrete to talk about. The photograph becomes something to which we can compare future observations…

  • Godfrey

    Post
    Yes "factive" isn't very clear.

    As I understand the paper he makes a clear distinction between perceptions and beliefs. Perceptions are true and not describable by propositions, while beliefs are testable propositions and therefore not a criterion of…

  • Cassius

    Post
    Looks like a good find and important read. I had time to skim the first page or two but I was immediately struck that DeWitt's way of explaining the truth issue (honestly reported, like a witness in court who is honestly reporting but might be…

  • Godfrey

    Thread
    I found the attached paper to be quite thought provoking, particularly regarding the eidola. The paper focuses on the senses, which the author refers to as perceptions. It's a discussion on the Epicurean assertion that all sensations are true, and the…

  • Cassius

    Post
    I haven't made it to episode yet, but the framing of the post led me to search dictionary.com on "emotion." How in the world did we get to the point where "emotions" have a negative connotation, whereas the original Latin seems broad enough to…

  • JJElbert

    Replied to the thread Joshua's Poetry Megathread.
    Post
    Thank you! I am happy to have reconnected you with a memory, Elayne. I remembered Pickens County from your Dido poem.

  • Don

    Thread
    I was listening to this episode of the Hidden Brain podcast this morning:
    https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/where-gratitude-gets-you/
    I found echoes of Epicurus's mentions of gratitude throughout, but the section on the "emotions" starting around 17:41…

  • Elayne

    Replied to the thread Joshua's Poetry Megathread.
    Post
    I love it! My dad used to tell me the story of Archimedes' bathtub Eureka moment 😃. The father of my children is from Benevola in Pickens County. Lots of Latin names for small rural towns in Alabama-- Romulus, for example. And of course, we have an…

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread Joshua's Poetry Megathread.
    Post
    Wow that is great Joshua!

  • JJElbert

    Replied to the thread Joshua's Poetry Megathread.
    Post
    Note; I shared this poem with Elayne on her blog, and felt it proper to get her feedback before I posted it here. It is an elegy for her father, disguised within an ode to Archimedes.
    _________________________________________
    The Physicist


    The waters…

  • Martin

    Replied to the thread Welcome Bartleby!.
    Post
    Welcome Bartleby!

  • JJElbert

    Post
    That was incredibly moving. Very sad to hear of it.

  • JJElbert

    Post
    I've finally just finished listening to this book. Only two or three mentions of Epicurean Philosophy, which I still think is remarkable. So there's nothing good there, but on the whole I very highly recommend it. A truly fascinating story of a grand old…

  • GHB

    Has received the trophy New Users.
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    New To The Forum In The Last 30 Days

  • Bartleby

    Has received the trophy New Users.
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  • Cassius

    Thread
    The best source for the text of this work is the De Lacy translation available here. The appendix is excellent and should be read, if possible, before the work itself.

  • Don

    Replied to the thread Is Romantic Love a Vainglory.
    Post
    (Quote from Bartleby)

    http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/h…3Abook%3D10%3Achapter%3D1
    That's a link to Diogenes Laertius's Lives, Book X. The discussion of the desires is toward the end of verse 127 in the Letter to Menoikeus. That's one place Epicurus talks…

  • Cassius

    Posted the thread Welcome GHB!.
    Thread
    Hello and welcome to the forum GHB !

    This is the place for students of Epicurus to coordinate their studies and work together to promote the philosophy of Epicurus. Please remember that all posting here is subject to our Community Standards / Rules of…

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread Is Romantic Love a Vainglory.
    Post
    BW --

    Thanks for engaging on this. You're coming at the issue from the normal perspective, so I understand why you reached the conclusions about Epicurus that you did. If you have the time and inclination to get started on the DeWitt book, you will…

  • Cassius

    Thread
    I have toyed for a long while thinking about what backup communication system should be in place in the event of a malfunction or de-platforming of Epicureanfriends.com. While several methods are a good idea, one that I continue to read about as having…

  • Bartleby

    Replied to the thread Is Romantic Love a Vainglory.
    Post
    Thanks Amicus and Don.

    I can see that this quick little article will actually require quite a bit of research and thought.

    Is there anything extant where Epicurus discusses the three types pleasures? Or is that all just second hand?

    I took the…

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread Welcome Bartleby!.
    Post
    Also Bartleby, in regard to this, did you find us by Googling or some other method? It's always good to know how people find us - thanks.
    (Quote from Bartleby)

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread Welcome Bartleby!.
    Post
    Good to hear from you Bartleby. If you read through the site at all you will see that head and shoulders above all others I recommend the DeWitt book. There are many disputes as to how to interpret Epicurus, and I won't suggest to you that there is…

  • Bartleby

    Replied to the thread Welcome Bartleby!.
    Post
    Thank you Amicus,

    I found this site while trying to answer a specific question, but I have long meant to deepen my knowledge of Epicurus.
    I know little more than what was learned in a class on ancient Greek philosophy taken long ago.
    I like most all…

  • Don

    Replied to the thread Is Romantic Love a Vainglory.
    Post
    Welcome, Bartleby !
    I don't know if this will help you answer your question, but I thought I'd share this section from the website I put together on the characteristics of the Epicurean sage per Diogenes Laertius's list. This is the section…

  • Don

    Post
    (Quote from Cassius)

    Yep. Noticed that "drift" there too.

  • Cassius

    Post
    Don as for an example of the drift toward asceticism which is so widespread, check out this post: Is Romantic Love a Vainglory

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread Is Romantic Love a Vainglory.
    Post
    Bartleby I have not yet had a chance to absorb your full article, but this catches my eye:




    I would disagree that Epicurus took the position which I underlined in red. As per my earlier post, the "principle of classification being that the necessary…

  • Cassius

    Replied to the thread Is Romantic Love a Vainglory.
    Post
    Welcome Bartleby -

    1 - The reference to a "specific piece of cake" is to some commentator, correct, as there is no reference in the Epicurean texts to that effect? I suppose you are asking if there is a reference to that effect, and my response would…

Recent Articles From Our EpicureanFriends Blogs

Elayne's Articles
A New Personal Philosophy: Hedonic Pragmatics
Friends, recent discussions have prompted me to finally get around to clarifying my own take on Epicurean Philosophy, which I have named "Hedonic Pragmatics"-- a new philosophy that is still closely connected to Epicurean Philosophy. I think what I've said would be fully supported by Epicurus, but I can't prove that. The major point of difference is that I have moved prolepses out of the Canon and into a group of processing functions of the brain.

I needed to lay out the fundamentals in my…


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Elayne
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Articles Topics of General Interest
Parsing The Wikipedia Introduction To Epicurus As Of February 6, 2020
Below is the Wikipedia introduction to Epicurus as of 02/06/20. I will highlight in red, and add a footnote to each statement which I contend is in serious need of correction or amplification.

(Quote)

[1] Calling Epicurus a "sage" adds nothing, but injects confusion, suggesting that this term denotes some status that is important the reader should know about in this context, which is not correct.

[2] Eating simple means and discussing a wide variety of philosophical subject is what they were…


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Cassius
Love 2
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Featured
Articles On Canonics
"Challenging Ataraxia" - By Haris Dimitriadis
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Haris Dimitriadis is author of “The Pleasant Life – The Philosophy of Epicurus.” Born in Greece, Haris studied Mathematics at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki as well as Economics at the London School of Economics. His career spanned the business and banking industries and has settled into retirement. Through climbing the corporate ladder he found it brought little peace of mind and turned his attention to the philosophy of Epicurus. Haris can be
…


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Cassius