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Don
May 5, 2026 at 6:50 AM Replied to the thread Alex O'Connor made a video about us..Post[…]
I would agree there are better alternatives, but in some ways I like the broken one as a metaphor for Epicurus has taken a beating but he's still standing, 2,000+ years on. "Bring it on! I can take it!" -
Don
May 4, 2026 at 11:10 PM Replied to the thread Alex O'Connor made a video about us..PostI found another video where the author defends Epicurus and his philosophy against a host calling Epicurus "the worst philosopher". I haven't watched it all yet, but it seems to start strong:
youtu.be/-f9rPFNzGZw?si=QehJ3fUkiwu4xkw2 -
Cassius
May 4, 2026 at 9:51 PM Replied to the thread Alex O'Connor made a video about us..PostMy blood pressure started rising as soon as I saw that the opening graphic features the smashed-version Epicurus bust (which I detest when people use rather than the many perfectly-good alternate versions that are available). But I won't charge that to… -
wbernys
May 4, 2026 at 9:22 PM Replied to the thread Alex O'Connor made a video about us..PostHowever he is noticeably critical about how much the modern self helped overplays the whole idea of eudaimonia versus Enjoyment or pleasure tho, which is nice. -
wbernys
May 4, 2026 at 9:20 PM Replied to the thread Alex O'Connor made a video about us..Post[…]
I saw too. Nice to hear. All around a pretty good interview. Got off topic a lot though but I love how he pointed out how the Stoic worldview of virtue in of itself being good makes no sense without the logos despite modern Stoics saying otherwise.
He… -
Don
May 4, 2026 at 8:46 PM Replied to the thread Alex O'Connor made a video about us..PostI see the guest is coming out with a new book:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250454256/theartofenough/ -
Eikadistes
May 4, 2026 at 8:13 PM Uploaded the image Epicurean Earth.Image/Video
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Cassius
PostMay 4, 2026 at 7:54 PM As an experiment I decided to ask for a critique of what Joshua and I stated in Episode 332. I don't plan to do this every week but this is such a dense topic, and our need for planning is so much greater, that I thought it would be helpful for Joshua… -
Patrikios
PostMay 4, 2026 at 7:21 PM […]
So, if someone does go to the Amazon webpage for this Klavan book, it is interesting to see what else is served up.
With Klavan's book, it is suggested with purchase of Epictetus Guide to Stoic Philosophy. But the lineup of books is heartening under… -
wbernys
May 4, 2026 at 6:15 PM Posted the thread Alex O'Connor made a video about us..Thread -
Cassius
PostMay 4, 2026 at 6:12 PM Episode 332 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. This week our episode is entitled: "The Stoic Failure To Grasp That Judgment Never Happens In The Senses."
[media]https://www.spreaker.com/episode/71865145/media -
Cassius
PostMay 4, 2026 at 4:05 PM The issues we are discussing here are probably to some extent new to most of our regulars here. To asist in getting us up to speed I have asked for this summary from Claude, giving preference to the usual sources we consult from the Epicurean… -
Cassius
PostMay 4, 2026 at 3:16 PM Notes while editing this episode:
Around the 18:00 Minute mark Joshua repeats the Epicurean position that "Judgment never happens in the senses. Judgment happens in the mind."
This is a position on which I think most all of our regulars here on… -
Don
PostMay 4, 2026 at 7:01 AM This thread had flown under my radar, so I was curious to check out its Amazon page:
Best Sellers Rank- #318,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #543 in Ancient Greek & Roman Philosophy
- #805 in Political Philosophy (Books)
- #1,008 in Philosophy of Ethics &
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Cassius
May 4, 2026 at 4:05 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostHappy Birthday to ProfV! Learn more about ProfV and say happy birthday on ProfV's timeline: ProfV -
Titus
PostMay 4, 2026 at 1:02 AM […]
And Klavan also adds:
"Despite what we may profess to the contrary, most of us are moved by a powerful intuition that meaning does exist, at the level of the individual human life. The moral consequences of trying to suppress or explain away this basic… -
Don
May 3, 2026 at 3:59 PM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post[…]
Nice post. The inadequacy of translation is always going to dog us, although I usually advocate for multiple words in English to try to convey some of the nuance as opposed to using Greek untranslated.
Maybe the goal is a sweet, pleasant life after… -
Eikadistes
May 3, 2026 at 3:32 PM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post -
Don
May 3, 2026 at 2:48 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostWelcome aboard -
Martin
May 3, 2026 at 1:43 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostWelcome Stas! -
Stas
May 3, 2026 at 1:26 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostI searched for information about him. Boris Nikolsky is a professor of philology. Unfortunately, he apparently wrote nothing more about Epicurus. The main topic of his scientific works is Greek playwrights. This is a page with a list of his main… -
Cassius
May 3, 2026 at 12:20 PM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Post: The Continuing Vitality of Epicurean Physics.PostDarn I have not had time to read that article. I just glanced at it and it appears pretty substantive. Maybe needs a thread of its own? If needed I'll separate it out. -
Cassius
May 3, 2026 at 12:18 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostStasi you might want to look at our reading list in the FAQ if you have not done so already. It will be great to have you here. One of my personal favorite articles is the one by Boris Nikolsky , who is Russian, and it would be interesting to hear… -
Don
May 3, 2026 at 10:37 AM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Post: The Continuing Vitality of Epicurean Physics.PostI firmly believe that "to be conscious" means to have a mind in a body.
I believe "to be conscious" needs a connection to the world outside oneself, needs the faculty of interoception, is inextricably integrated with sensation.
Are there degrees of… -
Stas
May 3, 2026 at 10:32 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostAll the surviving primary sources have been translated into Russian. There is also a Russian translation of Lucretius' poem "On the Nature of Things" (in verse). But there are no good books about his philosophy in Russian. The ones that exist were… -
Stas
May 3, 2026 at 10:09 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostI have already read several books about Epicurus and his followers. Among them are books by Haris Dimitriadis and Hiram Crespo. I also read the primary sources: chapter 10 of the book by Diogenes Laertius and the Vatican Sayings (in Russian translation).… -
DaveT
May 3, 2026 at 9:50 AM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Post: The Continuing Vitality of Epicurean Physics.PostDon I read the take down of Dawkins that you linked above. One thing it and the other comments here made me think about was the question of the types of consciousness that exist. Can we agree that there are different types or levels? For instance,… -
Stas
May 3, 2026 at 9:48 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostHello. I'm mostly interested in epicurian ethics. I prefer practical things. -
Don
May 3, 2026 at 9:30 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post[…]
Singling out any one of the examples that Epicurus gives (ataraxia, aponia, khara, euphrosyne) as THE goal is problematic to different degrees.
Saying something like Pleasure is The Goal takes in the full spectrum of pleasure writ large. -
Kalosyni
May 3, 2026 at 9:00 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post[…]
There is lots of good discussion happening here. But I wanted to re-state what and why I titled this thread as: "Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia" but "Joy as the goal". Perhaps it would have been more clear if I had said "eudiamonia" instead of… -
Cassius
PostMay 3, 2026 at 8:42 AM In episode 332 we are going to build off of the way that we ended 331, with Joshua's indictment of radical skepticism as being a self-defeating paradox:
[…] -
Kalosyni
May 3, 2026 at 8:32 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post -
Don
May 3, 2026 at 7:35 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post -
wbernys
May 3, 2026 at 6:16 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post[…]
I don't think there really is distinction, I suspect they are just synonyms without definition. Like Joy and Delight. I suspect when Epicurus used these words they were basically stand ins for what we today call Serenity and Tranquility.
A basic… -
Matteng
May 3, 2026 at 3:30 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".PostGood points,
I think on Philodemus and Emily Austin, that it the Epicurean Sage feels pain/fear/passions for natural/necessary desires.
In the past I thought of Epicureanism more as a realistic form of Stoicism but here is a crucial difference.
It is about… -
Eikadistes
May 3, 2026 at 2:04 AM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Post: The Continuing Vitality of Epicurean Physics.Post“If these machines are not conscious, what more could it possibly take to convince you that they are?””
Committing a crime in the name of self-preservation. Full stop. -
Cassius
ThreadMay 2, 2026 at 9:14 PM This week we'll be back in the neighborhood of line 430 and we'll probably speak more about emergence as we did last week.
https://handbook.epicureanfriends.com/sbslucretius/#1-430 -
Cassius
ThreadMay 2, 2026 at 9:10 PM Welcome to Episode 332 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the… -
Don
May 2, 2026 at 7:26 PM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".PostI'm still of the opinion that ataraxia has to do specifically with rooting the fundamental causes of fear and anxiety, ie, death, divine punishment, etc. I don't see one who has ataraxia as never ever being afraid of anything, never ever being anxious… -
Matteng
May 2, 2026 at 3:57 PM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post[…]
I understand how an interpretation of absolute eudaimonia can be easily criticized by opponents of Epicureanism.
Aponia, as never having pain in life is not reachable. Maybe this is even more unrealistic as the Stoic Sage of perfect Virtue.
There is no… -
wbernys
May 2, 2026 at 3:45 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostWelcome Stas ! Good to have a non-American buddy on here. For practical living the best one I could always recommend is Emily A. Austin's "living for pleasure", you could possibly translate it using Kindle if no version in your own language is… -
Don
May 2, 2026 at 2:53 PM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Post: The Continuing Vitality of Epicurean Physics.Post -
Cassius
May 2, 2026 at 10:17 AM Replied to the thread Episode 331 - EATAQ 13 - The Self-Defeating Paradox of Radical Skepticism.PostEpisode 331 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. This week our episode is entitled: "The Self-Defeating Paradox of Radical Skepticism." (a quote from Joshua near the end)
[media]https://www.spreaker.com/episode/71829188/media -
Cassius
May 2, 2026 at 10:14 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostWelcome Stas! That explanation of your interest is very much in line with what we are here to do, so we hope to hear from you further. -
Cassius
May 2, 2026 at 10:11 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Stas!.PostStas tells us:
Hi! My name is Stanislav, and I live in Crimea, which is either in Ukraine or in Russia, depending on your political views. I am not very fluent in English, so I use online translators.
I am interested in philosophical teachings that are… -
Cassius
May 2, 2026 at 10:11 AM Posted the thread Welcome Stas!.ThreadWelcome Stas
There is one last step to complete your registration:
All new registrants must post a response to this message here in this welcome thread (we do this in order to minimize spam registrations).
You must post your response within 24 hours, or… -
Patrikios
May 2, 2026 at 10:08 AM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Post: The Continuing Vitality of Epicurean Physics.Post[…]
Cassius
You may find this article on Claude of interest.
How people ask Claude for personal guidance
[…] -
Don
May 2, 2026 at 8:01 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post -
Patrikios
May 1, 2026 at 8:49 PM Replied to the thread Causes of Happiness.PostLowri834
Here is another supportive quote from the book I am reading, Epicurus and the Pleasant Life [2nd Edition].
[…]
Living with a healthy body and a calm mind leads to our life of well-being - happiness. -
Eikadistes
May 1, 2026 at 5:39 PM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post[…]
Definitely!
In two places, the supreme pleasure of the gods is referred to as παντελῆ εὐδαιμονίαν (pantelē eúdaimonían) "complete happiness" (Laértios 10.116) and τελείαν εὐδαιμονίαν (teleían eùdaimonían) “perfect happiness” (On Piety 13), so there are…
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