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Recent Activities
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Adrastus
June 9, 2026 at 7:06 PM Replied to the thread Welcome AlteFrau!.Post[…]
Very very wise words that mirror my own experience of salvific effects on the psyche. Leaning into the cutting loose, which for me was in the music, dance and my family and friends was a way to escape the dour and elaborate sadness and on into… -
Adrastus
June 9, 2026 at 6:58 PM Commented on the image The beginning and the root of all good is the pleasure of the stomach..Comment (Image/Video)Absolutely Love this. -
Cassius
June 9, 2026 at 5:08 AM Posted the thread Video on Nietzsche's Criticisms of Kant.ThreadIn recent discussions I came across two videos which I found useful in analyzing Schopenhauer. The author of the second of these two videos has also produced a video on Nietzsche vs Kant. i have viewed this and also found to be useful in understanding… -
Raphael Raul
June 8, 2026 at 10:31 PM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Schopenhauer - Orientation Discussion.PostAlso, I would like to add that, as you know, Schopenhauer had a great influence on Sigmund Freud through the idea of "The Will," which, in turn, led to Freud's discovery of the unconscious forces beneath consciousness. So, in a way, Freud somewhat… -
Raphael Raul
June 8, 2026 at 10:10 PM Has received the trophy Frequent Posters.TrophyRecognition of Members Who Have Contributed More Than Thirty Posts On The Forum -
Raphael Raul
PostJune 8, 2026 at 10:08 PM The following is a reply to Eikadistes, who replies to Cassius:
Above is an illustration I painted in a "naive" style using pastel on canvas paper, depicting a quote that scholars, for the most part, agree is from Epicurus or a paraphrase. I think… -
Raphael Raul
PostJune 8, 2026 at 10:01 PM -
Cassius
June 8, 2026 at 9:45 PM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Schopenhauer - Orientation Discussion.PostThanks Raphael.
[…]
What you mentioned is featured in the videos - especially in the second one where Nietzsche identifies this as a variation of Platonic idealism or contention that there is a "true world" or "real world" beyond this one, and to that… -
Raphael Raul
June 8, 2026 at 9:21 PM Replied to the thread Epicurus vs Schopenhauer - Orientation Discussion.PostHello, Cassius, I came upon this thread you just posted. Schopenhauer is a philosopher who intrigues me with his main idea of the blind force of "The Will", a force that is outside of the phenomenal world of matter, a noumenal realm outside of our… -
Cassius
June 8, 2026 at 6:02 PM Posted the thread Epicurus vs Schopenhauer - Orientation Discussion.ThreadThe topic of Schopenhauer is of some interest in comparison with Epicurus. Clearly Schopenhauer had some things to say of which Epicurus would approve, but it is arguable that Schopenhauer said much more of which Epicurus would disapprove. Our forum is… -
Cassius
June 8, 2026 at 4:11 PM Replied to the thread Welcome AlteFrau!.PostAlteFrau I thought you might be interested in this quote which one of our participants brought to our attention just this week as to the way Epicurus himself dealt with pain:
[…] -
Kalosyni
June 8, 2026 at 2:36 PM Replied to the thread Comparing Modern Ideas vs Epicurean Ideas on Well-being and Joy.Post -
Cassius
June 8, 2026 at 1:59 PM Replied to the thread Welcome AlteFrau!.PostWelcome AlteFrau! Thank you for the information and condolences on your father.
We've had some discussions on the forum recently that nudge me in the direction of letting you know that there are far more Nietzschean outlooks here than Schopenharuen, but… -
Cassius
June 8, 2026 at 1:52 PM Replied to the thread Welcome AlteFrau!.PostAlteFrau tells us:
This is to confirm my request for a new account.
I have always been interested in religion and philo. I am irreligious, so philo has been my go-to when wondering how to find meaning. Emotionally I am Schopenhauerian, but I have also… -
Cassius
June 8, 2026 at 1:50 PM Posted the thread Welcome AlteFrau!.ThreadWelcome AlteFrau
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,… -
Kalosyni
June 8, 2026 at 1:24 PM Posted the thread Comparing Modern Ideas vs Epicurean Ideas on Well-being and Joy.ThreadThis thread can be used to discuss the similarities and differences between modern ideas of creating well-being and joy, vs. Epicurean philosophical ideas.
The following is from a search using Google:
A life of well-being and joy is built on a balance of… -
Kalosyni
June 8, 2026 at 11:30 AM Replied to the thread Using Google AI to generate translation of ancient Greek words.Post[…]
Two interesting ideas: calling what AI produces as "godlike" and "godlike simulacrum". I hadn't thought of it that way, nor do I now. I simply see it as an interesting phenomenon, some of which I occassionally find is good/pleasing to me.
Deeper… -
Cassius
June 8, 2026 at 10:06 AM Replied to the thread Using Google AI to generate translation of ancient Greek words.PostNot commenting at the moment on the AI aspect but on this specifically:
[…]
I don't see this as a productive way to state the problem. I would CERTAINLY like to be blessed and incorruptible presuming those mean having the power to pursue pleasures without… -
DaveT
June 8, 2026 at 9:15 AM Replied to the thread Using Google AI to generate translation of ancient Greek words.PostThis type of discussion is so interesting to me, but I always need to unpack the definitions of words being used. Here's what I got from Google:
AI is generally classified into three main capability levels:
Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI): AI… -
Stas
June 8, 2026 at 8:22 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostThank you -
Raphael Raul
June 7, 2026 at 9:49 PM Replied to a comment by Kalosyni on the image The beginning and the root of all good is the pleasure of the stomach..Reply (Image/Video)Yes, I will do that. Thanks for letting me know. -
TauPhi
June 7, 2026 at 8:47 PM Replied to the thread Using Google AI to generate translation of ancient Greek words.PostShortly after I joined the forum, during the first online meeting I attended, I was asked if given the opportunity, would I choose to become an Epicurean god. I said no because I wanted to retain my humanity since I was born human. I was in an… -
Pacatus
June 7, 2026 at 6:43 PM Replied to the thread Using Google AI to generate translation of ancient Greek words.Post[…]
I’ve been thinking about this (actually it’s been festering in my brain – along with Eikadistes’ plea to not use AI generated “art”). Really, it sometimes more than “raises my hackles.”
To call AI-generated “art” art is, to my mind, a lie. It’s not… -
Joshua
PostJune 7, 2026 at 9:44 AM Using this thread to keep everything together:
[…] -
Kalosyni
June 7, 2026 at 8:43 AM Commented on the image The beginning and the root of all good is the pleasure of the stomach..Comment (Image/Video)Here is the forum thread that discusses this quote:
'Their God Is The Belly" / "The Root of All Good Is The Pleasure Of The Stomach" And Similar Attributions Don is there anything new that you wrote here that could be added over in that discussion?
And… -
Kalosyni
June 7, 2026 at 8:34 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.Post -
Cassius
June 7, 2026 at 4:05 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostHappy Birthday to Stas! Learn more about Stas and say happy birthday on Stas's timeline: Stas -
Cassius
June 7, 2026 at 4:05 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostHappy Birthday to phscha! Learn more about phscha and say happy birthday on phscha's timeline: phscha -
Don
June 6, 2026 at 11:38 PM Commented on the image The beginning and the root of all good is the pleasure of the stomach..Comment (Image/Video)[ U409 ]
Athenaeus, Deipnosophists, XII p. 546F: And Epicurus says, "The principle and the root of all good is the pleasure of the stomach; even wisdom and culture must be referred to this."
(καὶ ὁ Ἐπίκουρος δέ φησιν ἀρχὴ… -
Cassius
June 6, 2026 at 6:56 PM Commented on the image The beginning and the root of all good is the pleasure of the stomach..Comment (Image/Video)I don't know that it's a direct quote from anyone but I think we've regularly stated on the forum that neither pleasure nor pain nor good nor evil have any meaning except to the living. If you don't eat and drink you won't be living for very long, and… -
Raphael Raul
June 6, 2026 at 6:13 PM Uploaded the image The beginning and the root of all good is the pleasure of the stomach..Image/Video
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Cassius
ThreadJune 6, 2026 at 3:46 PM This week we will start around line 655 of Book One and we'll address several of the competitor theories as to what things might ultimately be made of if not atoms.
https://epicurustoday.com/sbslucretius/#1-645 -
Cassius
June 6, 2026 at 3:43 PM Posted the thread Episode 337 - EATAQ17 - Not Yet Recorded.ThreadWelcome to Episode 337 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… -
Kalosyni
June 6, 2026 at 2:04 PM Posted the thread Lucretius on the emotions.ThreadFrom Lucretius, 3-228 to 2-323:
[…]
And for a comparison, this is an interesting article:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/confes…-irritable-male
[…] -
Kalosyni
June 6, 2026 at 9:35 AM Replied to the thread On the Nature of the Soul According to Epicurus.PostLucretius talks about the nature of the soul in Book III, starting at line 231:
https://handbook.epicureanfriends.com/sbslucretius/#3-231 -
Kalosyni
June 6, 2026 at 9:06 AM Posted the thread On the Nature of the Soul According to Epicurus.ThreadThis thread is to cross-reference the following blog, and provide a place for further discussion:
epicureanfriends.com/wcf/blog/entry/79/ -
Kalosyni
June 6, 2026 at 9:01 AM Wrote the blog article The Nature of the Soul According to Epicurus.Blog ArticleThe Nature of the Soul According to Epicurus
Blog article by Kalosyni (based on material created for the Epicurean Ethics study group)
1. Introduction and Overview: Ancient Greek Thought on the Soul
The concept of the soul occupied a central place in… -
Kalosyni
June 6, 2026 at 7:33 AM Replied to the thread Welcome CelestineEyes!.Postcelestineyes22 Welcome to the forum! -
Cassius
June 6, 2026 at 4:45 AM Replied to the thread Welcome CelestineEyes!.PostCelestineEyes tells us:
Hi,
I've been following Stoic philosophy for years and I was a coach with Albert Ellis 30 years ago. I've been studying epicureanism for a while and just recently got back into it. I live in Europe right now and I noticed that… -
Cassius
June 6, 2026 at 4:44 AM Posted the thread Welcome CelestineEyes!.ThreadWelcome celestineyes22
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… -
Don
June 5, 2026 at 9:13 PM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Article: "Living For Pleasure, Or Dying For Relief From Pain?".Post[…]
And also according to Diogenes Laertius' Lives:
The wise one will also pay just enough attention to their reputation as to avoid being looked down upon. (X.120, my own translation)
Hicks: He will pay just so much regard to his reputation as not to be… -
Cassius
June 5, 2026 at 3:42 PM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Article: "Living For Pleasure, Or Dying For Relief From Pain?".Post[…]
Thanks for your comments. I don't think that is a straw man argument at all. It is exactly this part of what Epicurus says - that we DO sometimes choose pain to maximize pleasure - that is in issue.
I wouldn't normally think it necessary to point… -
Todd
June 5, 2026 at 2:50 PM Replied to the thread Discussion of Blog Article: "Living For Pleasure, Or Dying For Relief From Pain?".PostSome minor feedback:
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This is a straw man argument. Such a person would certainly choose a lesser pain as a means of avoiding a greater one.
[…]
"pursued nature"
I think that should be "studied nature"
"fear...of what the neighbors will think"
While… -
Cassius
ThreadJune 5, 2026 at 1:38 PM This thread is for discussion of the blog article "Living For Pleasure, Or Dying For Relief From Pain?"
epicureanfriends.com/wcf/blog/entry/78/ -
Cassius
June 5, 2026 at 1:35 PM Wrote the blog article Living For Pleasure, Or Dying For Relief From Pain?.Blog Article[…]Is The "Emphasis" In Epicurean Philosophy On Relief From Pain?
In a separate article I have made the case that it is a major rhetorical and factual mistake to describe Epicurean philosophy as primarily about relief from pain. Jack Gedney, a writer on… -
Titus
June 5, 2026 at 12:59 PM Replied to the thread A. Le Grand's Divine Epicurus.Post[…]
At least this insight is truly Epicurean (last maxims of the Principal Doctrines ). The book shows this to us indirectly, at least hundreds of years later. -
Pacatus
June 5, 2026 at 11:54 AM Replied to the thread A. Le Grand's Divine Epicurus.Post[…]
It is fun to read the cadences and phrasing of that 17th century English, as well as the contents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English -
Cassius
June 5, 2026 at 7:36 AM Replied to the thread A. Le Grand's Divine Epicurus.PostAs a reminder of what it means to be Cartesian, which Wikipedia emphasizes LeGrande was, there's this from Wikipedia:
[…] -
Cassius
June 5, 2026 at 7:22 AM Replied to the thread A. Le Grand's Divine Epicurus.PostI agree Tau Phi.
And thank you again. This is a major contribution here. We have to take the bad along with the good and process it all. -
TauPhi
June 5, 2026 at 7:05 AM Replied to the thread A. Le Grand's Divine Epicurus.PostYour comments about the book sum it up pretty accurately, Cassius . This is not a resource that can be reliably used in a study of Epicurean philosophy by any stretch of imagination. The book is archaic not only in language but the contents as well. I…
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