LATEST LUCRETIUS TODAY PODCAST (focusing on one of our most important topics): Episode 323 - "The Pre-Epicurean View: Three Divisions of Philosophy And Three Divisions of Goods" | Website Overview | Forum Navigation Map
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Cassius
ThreadMarch 7, 2026 at 6:44 AM Welcome to Episode 324 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… -
Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 9:16 AM Posted the thread Comparing the Proof Requirements Of James Randi To Those of Epicurus.ThreadJames Randi was a famous skeptic of paranormal claims. In posting this I don't know how close his views were to those of Epicurus, but it would probably advance our canonics discussion to discuss the similarities and differences in approach.
Some of… -
Kalosyni
PostMarch 6, 2026 at 8:59 AM […]
"Wiring messages"...
...made me think about this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Milli…ormal_Challenge -
Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 8:39 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostAlso don't forget the inherent ridiculousness of trying to reason with someone who rejects evidence-based reasoning. They are speaking nonsense and once they start down that road Lucretius says the ultimate response is not to engage with them further:
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Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 8:30 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostI modified the title of the thread just slightly to make clear that there are two kinds of evidence that must be consided in evaluating when we can be dogmatic and reach a conclusion and when we cannot.
Direct evidence is direct observation. We determine… -
Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 8:07 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostIn the podcast we will eventually address this issue of "when is it appropriate to say that we know something" by covering Philodemus' "On Signs / On Methods of Inference." We've also already covered these issues in past discussions of Lucretius Book 4… -
Cassius
March 6, 2026 at 7:56 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostI agree with Martin but would add as to this that we must be clear about what "conclusive" means:
[…]
In the law we convict people and put them to death on a regular basis by holding to be conclusive the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt." And we do… -
Kalosyni
March 6, 2026 at 7:54 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostI am curious if there is more to say about the use of indirect evidence which leads to inferred evidence - do we see this in the Letter to Herodotus or in Lucretius?
...especially dealing with the non-intervention of the gods
and also any other aspects. -
Kalosyni
March 6, 2026 at 7:51 AM Posted the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.ThreadI am copying here into the main forum, a few posts which were recently made in reaction to a past Wednesday night Zoom meeting discussion:
*****
Godfrey posted (on 03/05/26):
It occurred to me this morning in my fog of awakening that the practice of… -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:55 PM In this episode we spend most of our time describing the three divisions of philosophy and the three divisions of "good" that were the dominant ways of looking at these topics prior to Epicurus. Next week we will take this analysis much further and… -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:53 PM Episode 323 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. This week our episode is entitled: "The Pre-Epicurean View: Three Divisions of Philosophy And Three Divisions of Goods"
[media]https://www.spreaker.com/episode/70491386/media -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:47 PM Of course even more on point as to the disaster of not trusting the senses is Lucretius 4-5004-500
And if reason is unable to unravel the cause, why those things which close at hand were square, are seen round from a distance, still it is better through… -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:43 PM ** I'm thinking of this being the analogy (admittedly not right on point but good for pointing out how abandoning the study of nature / confidence in the senses will open the door for a flood of other problems:
For on whatever side you maintain that the… -
Cassius
PostMarch 5, 2026 at 4:38 PM […]
I agree and I think "horrified" is in the vicinity of the right emotion. I don't think they considered this to be a mild disagreement to politely gloss over. It goes to the heart of everything, and in analogy to the way Lucretius describes theories… -
Cassius
March 5, 2026 at 4:07 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostHappy Birthday to Zarathustra! Learn more about Zarathustra and say happy birthday on Zarathustra's timeline: Zarathustra -
Eikadistes
PostMarch 4, 2026 at 11:43 AM […]
NICE! Duolingo hasn't covered that one, yet.
You're definitely in the right place an an Epicurean enthusiast. Welcome to the forum! -
Cassius
PostMarch 4, 2026 at 9:45 AM Cornelius - I presume you are aware of this statement by Torquatus in Cicero's "On Ends" to the effect that it is disgraceful not to have learned theses things as boys (children), but just in case you are not:
[…] -
Cassius
PostMarch 4, 2026 at 9:41 AM Additional note to all:
I have moved the "Childhood Education and Parenting" subforum out of the "Ethics" section to the "Resources Activism and Engagement" section. Childhood Education and Parenting includes much more than just ethics, so it needs to be… -
Cassius
PostMarch 4, 2026 at 9:34 AM Cornelius we currently have the following sub-forum on Childhood Education. There's not much there yet, but I'd love to see more. Please consider writing about your interests in this area:
Childhood Education and Parenting -
Cassius
PostMarch 4, 2026 at 8:38 AM […]
I am particularly glad to see this and hope you will at length contribute your thoughts on childhood education on Epicurean ideas.
The only comment I would add at this point is that this should include not only ethics but also canonics and physics, as… -
Don
PostMarch 4, 2026 at 7:03 AM Before your explanation, Cornelius Peripateticus , I thought you just liked walking and hiking
From Wiktionary:
From Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περίπατος (perípatos, “strolling, covered walk, conversation while walking”),… -
Cassius
PostMarch 4, 2026 at 6:46 AM Welcome Cornelius!
Given your explanation of your user name and the questions that might be raised about the "prostitute" aspect I do think it would be best for you to shorten your user name in some way {perhaps CorneliusP but your choice...). Into the… -
Martin
PostMarch 4, 2026 at 12:53 AM Welcome Cornelius Peripateticus! -
Don
March 3, 2026 at 11:19 PM Replied to the thread 16th Panhellenic Epicurus Seminar In Athens Greece - February 14, 2026.PostJust coming back to this. GREAT JOB finding the English translation option. I'll have to check some of these out. Some of those presentation titles are interesting
... and others are "interesting" (said with a quizzical rising tone): Gilgamesh: The… -
Don
PostMarch 3, 2026 at 11:11 PM Welcome aboard! -
Cornelius Peripateticus
March 3, 2026 at 10:26 PM Has solved the quiz Basic Epicurean Ethics.Quiz -
Cornelius Peripateticus
PostMarch 3, 2026 at 9:27 PM Hello everyone, it's me, Cornelius Peripateticus. I must admit that my nickname is actually nothing more than a playful pun that isn't intended to refer to Aristotelian philosophy (although I love studying, reflecting, and discussing while walking; I… -
Cassius
PostMarch 3, 2026 at 4:03 PM Welcome Cornelius, who has sent me the following information about himself. He sounds fascinating and familiar with the forum rules, so for the time being we'll consider his name to indicate that he likes to exercise his legs, rather than as a statement… -
Cassius
ThreadMarch 3, 2026 at 3:59 PM Welcome Cornelius Peripateticus !
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… -
Kalosyni
March 1, 2026 at 4:20 PM Replied to the thread 16th Panhellenic Epicurus Seminar In Athens Greece - February 14, 2026.Post[…]
We should set one up, but I seems that it wouild be good to try a preliminary event via Zoom to build attendance. Then once there are the numbers (and show of interest) could then set up an in-person event. But that would require many people to put… -
Kalosyni
March 1, 2026 at 4:13 PM Replied to the thread 16th Panhellenic Epicurus Seminar In Athens Greece - February 14, 2026.Post[…]
Do you remember if he gave definitions of "bliss","eudaimonia", and "psychosomatic health"? -
Patrikios
March 1, 2026 at 12:31 PM Replied to the thread 16th Panhellenic Epicurus Seminar In Athens Greece - February 14, 2026.Post[…]
Cassius
This presentation by Christos Yapijakis, starts at about 1:19:20 and concludes around 1:41:40.
I liked his final statement about how we need "bliss" [eudaimonia] to achieve psychosomatic health.
[…]
I also enjoyed the introductory comments,… -
Kalosyni
March 1, 2026 at 9:52 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.Post -
Cassius
March 1, 2026 at 8:54 AM Replied to the thread 16th Panhellenic Epicurus Seminar In Athens Greece - February 14, 2026.PostI'm not sure whether this link is included in previous posts, but I see that the Athenians have a youtube page where various presentations can be accessed directly:
youtube.com/watch?v=5UoUdZnmZso&t=4224s -
Cassius
March 1, 2026 at 4:05 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostHappy Birthday to chump! Learn more about chump and say happy birthday on chump's timeline: chump -
Kalosyni
February 28, 2026 at 3:53 PM Replied to the thread Sunday March 1, 2026 - Zoom Meeting - Lucretius Book Review - Starting Book One Line 184.PostCassius From the side-by-side, third column...It looks like these perhaps could be covered as one group?
Part 8 - The proof that nothing comes from nothing is to look around and see that all things are not born of all things, but from fixed seeds.… -
Cassius
ThreadFebruary 28, 2026 at 1:08 PM We'll start this week at line 184 and continue from there1-184
Nay more, there would be no need for lapse of time for the increase of things upon the meeting of the seed, if they could grow from nothing. For little children would grow suddenly to youths,… -
Cassius
ThreadFebruary 28, 2026 at 1:02 PM Welcome to Episode 323 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
February 28, 2026 at 12:21 PM Replied to the thread "Choice" and "Avoidance".Post[…]
It is a skill set that we learn over time, and get better at through continued practice. -
DaveT
February 28, 2026 at 10:47 AM Replied to the thread "Choice" and "Avoidance".Post[…]
Yes in many ways this is true and vital for each of us. Yet, I'm thinking about how Epicurus thought we ought to navigate within our ordinary daily habits and small choices. I think they are barely noticeable to us as we go about the day.… -
Kalosyni
February 27, 2026 at 8:10 PM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".PostHere is a diagram that I just made which has the telos at the top and then "climbs down the ladder of abstraction"...and it is still a work in progress ... open to thoughts and suggestions.
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Kalosyni
February 27, 2026 at 7:28 PM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".PostHere is a better article:
[…]
The link:
https://bigthink.com/the-learning-c…of-abstraction/
And another quote:
[…]
And a third quote:
[…] -
Kalosyni
February 27, 2026 at 6:42 PM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post[…]
I presented several ideas in the first post of this thread (the first point should have been addressed in a separate thread):
Point 1) There is no mandate to spread Epicurean philosophy to the masses
Point 2) There are some who study Epicurean… -
Cassius
February 27, 2026 at 2:58 PM Replied to the thread Episode 322 - EATAQ 04 - Epicurean Moral Outrage Against Socrates.PostEpisode 322 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. This week our episode is entitled: "Epicurean Moral Outrage Against Socrates"
[media]https://www.spreaker.com/episode/70342091/media -
bradley.whitley
February 27, 2026 at 12:45 PM Replied to the thread A Special Birthday Greeting To James!.PostI have been remiss in offering gratitude for this. We have kept busy in learning hedonic calculus and balance even in the midst of a busy time of recovery from sickness and semester exams. He and I have read this post often and pondered it often. He… -
Cassius
February 27, 2026 at 9:30 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".PostI should also point out that this quotation in post 7 is a long distance from the point where this thread started out, when your advocated "Joy" as the goal ("Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal").
That's because katastematic… -
Cassius
February 27, 2026 at 9:01 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".PostThe part you have quoted there Kalosyni will be read by some people be circular or worse. It does not specifically identify what "happiness" is apart from pleasure. Further, in equating happiness to "katastematic pleasure" in that last sentence, the… -
Kalosyni
February 27, 2026 at 8:30 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".PostI've copied over from that thread (linked in the above post) on Christos' introductory book, which was shared by Christos.
The following is by Christos Yapijakis:
[…] -
Kalosyni
February 27, 2026 at 7:49 AM Replied to the thread Neither "ataraxia" nor "not ataraxia", but "Joy as the goal".Post[…]
I wanted to mention that at the last Wednesday night Zoom (for Level 03 and above members), we did have a very good discussion on pleasure/happiness/ataraxia. And in the meeting it was said that it isn't an "either/or" because both sides of this are…
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