EpicureanFriends Wiki

1. Introduction

Welcome to the EpicureanFriends Wiki. We are still in the process of organizing this page, and much more is to come.

2. EpicureanFriends.com

EpicureanFriends was established in 2015 by a group of friends interested in the study of of Classical Epicurean Philosophy, freed from the intrusion of contemporary politics, Stoicism, Platonism, Humanism, and other "isms" with which many seek to combine it. Our forum, Zoom meetings, and other interactions allow us to implement Epicurus' recommendation in his letter to Menoeceus: "Meditate therefore on these things and things akin to them night and day by yourself; and with a companion like to yourself, and never shall you be disturbed waking or asleep, but you shall live like a god among men. For a man who lives among immortal blessings is not like unto a mortal being."

In order to build and maintain a constructive environment to attain this goal, over the years we have refined our organizational documents, including our Community Standards, our Not Neo-Epicurean, But Epicurean statement, and our Key Posting Policy statement, all of which you will find in this section of the wiki. A major aspect of these community rules is that we prohibit the discussion of contemporary partisan political issues in our activities. Our selected goal is to focus exclusively on the identification and understanding of Epicurean philosophical doctrine, and we exclude from EpicureanFriends activities all discussion and application of political issues, leaving such matters solely to our participants' personal discretion.

3. Classical Epicurean Philosophy

Classical Epicurean Philosophy is a worldview that rejects many commonplace assumptions of other philosophies, including the prevailing views of "pleasure," "gods," "virtue," and even "good and evil." In Epicurean terms, pleasure embraces much more than sensory stimulation, "gods" exist but are not supernatural, and it is important to act "virtuously," but "virtue" is not desirable as an end it itself, but as a means of obtaining pleasure. Likewise, "Good" and "evil" are not abstract absolutes, but are ultimately evaluations based on sensations of pleasure and pain felt by real living things. "Practical Reason" is held to be essential for living wisely, but "dialectical logic" is rejected as misleading. It is a major goal of EpicureanFriends to explore Epicurean terminology in these and other areas so we can appreciate the philosophy as the ancient Epicureans understood it. For more on terminology and similar topics, check out our FAQ page. We also particularly recommend Episode 222 of the Lucetius Today Podcast where we discuss key terminology issues surrounding "happiness" and "pleasure" and "virtue."

In order to clarify the distinctive aspects of Classical Epicurean Philosophy for both new readers and regular members alike, we place special emphasis on a number of the most central aspects of Epicurean doctrine. These points include:

1.  Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing.
2.  Nature Has No Gods Over Her.
3.  Do Not Assign To The Gods Anything That Is Inconsistent With Incorruption And Blessedness
4.  Death Is Nothing To Us.
5.  There Is No Necessity To Live Under The Control Of Necessity.
6.  He Who Says "Nothing Can Be Known" Knows Nothing.
7.  All Sensations Are "True."
8. Virtue Is Not  Absolute Or An End In Itself - All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation.
9. Pleasure is The Guide of Life.
10. By "Pleasure" We Mean All Experience That Is Not Painful
11. Life Is Desirable, But Unlimited Time Contains No Greater Pleasure Than Limited Time.

We also have a longer Foundations of Epicurean Philosophy document, based closely on the ancient texts, which contains much more detail about these and other important Epicurean teachings.

Epicurean philosophy is generally divided into Physics, Canonics, and Ethics, and we organize our forums along similar lines. The following subsections describe major topics of discussion within each forum. In many cases we have subforums devoted to specific topics in this list, but if you don't see a forum devoted directly to a topic, feel free to post new discussions under the general heading that applies.

3.1. Physics

Epicurus erected his entire philosophy upon his understanding that the universe is composed of and governed by elemental particles moving through space. Our Physics forum is the place to discuss the nature of the universe, including all things within it, includes the natural "gods" which are part of it. Some of the topics we discuss in Physics are:

1. "Atoms" (Unsplittable Particles) Moving Through Void Are The Natural Building Blocks Of The Universe
   1. The Properties Of Atoms - Shape, Size, and Weight
   2. The Motion Of Atoms
   3. The Swerve and The Rejection of Determinism
   4. Void Is The Space In Which Atoms Exist And Move
   5. The Nature And Properties Of Void
2. Bodies Are Combinations Of Atoms And Void
   1. The Nature And Properties Of Bodies
   2. The Qualities Of Bodies, Including Color
   3. "Emergence" And The "Events" Of Bodies
3. The Universe Is Eternal In Time
   1. Nothing Comes From Nothing
   2. Nothing Goes To Nothing
   3. The Formation of Worlds Within The Universe
4. The Universe Is Boundless - Infinite In Size
5. The Universe Contains Life On Other Worlds
6. The Universe Contains Nothing Supernatural
   1. There Are No Supernatural Forms Or Essences Or Other Natures
   2. There Is Nothing Above Or Outside The Universe
   3. There Are No Supernatural Gods But There Are "Natural" Gods
   4. The Human Soul Is Natural And Is Born With The Body
   5. The Human Soul Does Not Survive The Death Of The Body
   6. "Images" Are The Flow Of Particles From Bodies

3.2. Canonics

Canonics, often known as "epistemology," is the science of knowledge. What is truth? What is real? Is confidence in knowledge (or "certainty") possible? These are issues discussed in our Canonics forums, where we do not focus as much on "what" is true, but "how do we know what is true?" Some of the topics we dicuss in Canonics are:

1. Knowledge
   1. Knowledge Is Possible And It Is Error To Be A Radical Skeptic
   2. The Purpose of Obtaining Knowledge Is Happiness (A Life Of Pleasure)
2. Truth
   1. The Nature of Truth
   2. All Sensations Are True And Error Is In Opinion Rather Than The Senses
3. The Natural Faculties
   1. The Faculty Of Anticipations Or "Prolepsis"
   2. The Faculty Of The Five Senses
   3. The Faculty Of Pleasure And Pain, Which Encompasses All Feelings, Without Any Neutral State Or Third Alternative
   4. Illusions Do Not Invalidate The Senses
4. The Nature And Effect Of Images
5. Methodology
   1. The Priority Of Nature Over "Logic" And Rejection of Dialectic
   2. Practical Deductive Reasoning
   3. The Importance of Clarity
   4. "Waiting" And The Status Of Multiple Possibilities

3.3. Ethics

Ethics is the application of Physics and Canonics to determine the best way to live. These are issues discussed in our Ethics forums. Some of the issues that we discuss are:

1. Happiness And Its Relationship To Pleasure
2. Life
   1. The Desirability Of Life
   2. The Best Life
   3. How Long Should We Seek To Live
   4. Infinite Time Contains No Greater Pleasure Than A Limited Life
3. Death
   1. Death is Nothing To Us And There Is No Reward Or Punishment After Death
4. Pleasure And Pain
   1. The Nature And Meaning Of The Word "Pleasure"
   2. If We Are Aware Of Anything At All, What We Are Aware of Is Either Pleasurable Or Painful. There is No Neutral or Third State.
   3. Whatever Is Not Painful is Pleasurable
   4. The Desirability of Pleasure
   5. Why Sometimes We Choose Pain And Avoid Pleasure
   6. Pleasure Is Goal And Guide of Life
   7. The Relationship Of Mental and Bodily Feelings
   8. Pleasures Differ In Duration, Intensity, And Part of the Body Effected
   9. The Quantitative "Limit" In Total Pleasure
   10. The Term "Pleasure" Is Equivalent To "Absence of Pain"
   11. The Nature of Pain
   12. The Undesirability of Pain
   13. The Manageability of Pain
5. The Concepts Of Good And Evil
   1. All Good And Evil Consists In Sensation
   2. There Is No Good But Pleasure
   3. There is No Evil But Pain
6. Virtue
   1. The Nature of Virtue
   2. Piety - The Proper Attitude Toward The Gods
   3. Virtue Is Not The Same For All People, Times, And Places
   4. Virtue Is Instrumental To Pleasure Rather Than An End In Itself
   5. The Virtue Of Prudence
   6. The Virtue Of Friendship
   7. The Virtue Of Courage
   8. The Virtue Of Justice
   9. The Virtue Of Honesty
   10. The Virtue Of Confidence
   11. The Virtue Of Beneficence
   12. The Virtue Of Temperance
   13. The Virtue Of Considerateness
   14. The Virtue Of Hope
   15. The Virtue Of Independence And Self Sufficiency
   16. The Virtue Of Remembering And Presence of Mind
   17. The Virtue Of Proper Political And Social Relations
   18. The Virtue Of Gratitude
   19. The Virtue Of A Sound Mind
   20. The Virtue Of A Sound Body
7. Choice And Avoidance
   1. Free Will Means There Is No Necessity Or Fate Or Fortune
   2. Desire Is Not Inherently Painful Or Pleasurable
   3. Selecting Among Desires Using To The "Natural," "Necessary," And "Empty" Categories
   4. Weighing Pleasures And Pains
   5. Activity, Rest, And Procrastination
8. History of The Epicurean School

4. Forum Organization

Registered members of the Forum are invited to start in the General Discussion forum, or any of our many Special Topic forums. For a selection of our most significant discussions check our Featured Forum Threads page. If you're looking for something you don't see, use the Search function at the top of each page. You can also search by Popular Tags or review our Full List of Tags. We also have many hyperlinked Outlines that will assist in navigating through the forum structure, along with a list of Forum Short-Cuts to help you find the most popular forums. You can view the most recent posting from across the site at our Latest Posts page.

We welcome to the forum all who are sincerely interested in the study of Epicurus and who wish to collaborate with the EpicureanFriends community. After registering for an account you will be given “Introductory Member” basic level access, which allows you to post in basic forums, and, after introducing yourself and participating for a brief period, attend our First Monday Meet-and-Greet Zoom meeting. Before you register, please be sure to read our foundational documents. These include our Community Standards, our Not Neo-Epicurean, But Epicurean statement, and our Key Posting Policy statement. If you too are interested in pursuing Classical Epicurean Philosophy, your next step is to register for an account! To Create An Account Click Here.

5. Frequently Asked Questions

We have a FAQ to answer many of the questions that normally come up during study. If you have an account and find something missing, let us know and we'll add to it if your question is a common one.

6. Our Collection Of Core Epicurean Texts

We keep a curated online collection of Ancient Epicurean Texts, including Diogenes Laertus Book 10 (which contains all of Epicurus' Letters), Lucretius' De Rerum Natura, and many others.

7. The Two Books We Most Recommend

We most recommend Epicurus and His Philosophy by Norman DeWitt, and Living For Pleasure: An Epicurean Guide to Life by Emily Austin. Austin's book provides an attractive and practical introduction geared toward those who are just starting with the philosophy, and DeWitt's book provides a sweeping overview of the philosophy with many additional details.

8. The Lucretius Today Podcast

In our Lucretius Today podcast we discuss the Epicurean texts in detail each week. Starting with Episode One in 2020 we went verse by verse through Lucretius' poem, and since then we have covered many other important Epicurean texts. Episodes of special note include Lucretius Today Interviews Dr. Emily Austin, Letter to Menoeceus, The Canon, Reason, and Nature, Epicurus and His Philosophy: The New Hedonism, and especially Episode 200 (our anniversary episode discussing our past and future plans for the podcast). We have a page dedicated to a selection of Quotes used in the podcast, and the best place to familiarize yourself with the episode topics is here.

9. Our Articles Section

We curate a number of selected Articles written by participants at EpicureanFriends which discuss Epicurus from the perspective of Classical Epicurean Philosophy.

10. Our Epicurean Friends Youtube Page

We have a selection of useful videos produced over the years. Of special note are our Seven Steps With Epicurus slideshow and our Foundations of Epicurean Philosophy presentation.

11. Our Special Resources Page

Our Special Resources Page provides a variety of informative items prepared by our forum members.

12. Our Recommended Reading Page

In addition to the two books we recommend the most, referenced above, we have a full Recommended Reading List of additional books and articles.

13. Our Image Gallery

Our Images section provides a collection of images, graphics, and memes by EpicureanFriends forum members. A special selection of our Featured Images is here.

14. Personal Outlines of Epicurean Philosophy

As suggested by Epicurus to Herodotus, and as in the example Thomas Jefferson left to us in his personal writings, one of the best ways to internalize Epicurean Philosophy is to write it out in outline forum. See our resources here for sample outlines that help you navigate this site, and work with others who have posted for us their own outlines here.

15. Self Study Courses

Currently we have a Quiz Section. In the future we hope to offer you organized programs in the form of an Epicurean Week and an Epicurean Seven Week Program.

16. Zoom Meetings

Those who register an account and establish a pattern of productive participation will be invited to our First Monday Meet And Greet meeting, which we conduct on the first Monday of each month. Those who continue thereafter to participate productively will eventually be invited to become “Established Members,” and to join our Wednesday night Zoom study groups and our monthly Twentieth Meeting, and participate in sections of our discussion forum which are limited to Established Members.

17. Site Map

Our site map has a listing of all major sections of this site. If you have questions, please feel free to ask any member of our Moderator Team.