Recent Activities
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Kalosyni
July 26, 2024 at 3:39 PM Has solved the quiz Basic Epicurean Ethics.Quiz -
Godfrey
July 26, 2024 at 2:23 PM Posted the thread Practical Exercises: the smartwatch.ThreadWhat is a good Epicurean exercise that you can do using a smartwatch? Simple!
Stop wearing your smartwatch for 1 week. Notice and respond to your sensations and feelings. And your preconceptions.
Enjoy! -
Cassius
July 25, 2024 at 6:39 PM Replied to the thread Methods Or Considerations In Thinking.PostI think this is well worth exploring because it's probably the front line of the way the Epicureans would have distinguished their approach to the search for truth as opposed to the use of "formal logic" by the other philosophers. Looking for and setting… -
Joshua
July 25, 2024 at 6:16 PM Replied to the thread Methods Or Considerations In Thinking.PostAnalogy compares things which are alike in relationship, cause, operation, throughput, etc. Similarity compares things which are alike in nature, shape, size, origin, and so on.
The way in which ocean liners transport people is similar to the way in which… -
Cassius
July 25, 2024 at 5:38 PM Replied to the thread Methods Or Considerations In Thinking.PostAnyone have thoughts on how "analogy" differs from "similarity"? -
Bryan
July 25, 2024 at 5:10 PM Replied to the thread Methods Or Considerations In Thinking.PostYes, On Methods of Inference is very difficult and On Nature book 28 is too. I was a bit wary to even bring up this list, because I am not ready to go back into either one just yet!
On a related note, I cannot look at my work for very long without seeing… -
Cassius
July 25, 2024 at 2:50 PM Replied to the thread Methods Or Considerations In Thinking.Post[…]
It sure is, and especially since it seems to pick up in the middle, and it's sometimes hard to tell which arguments he is agreeing with, and which he is stating accurately but which are Stoic arguments that he ultimately disagrees with.
There's a lot… -
Twentier
July 25, 2024 at 2:21 PM Replied to the thread Methods Or Considerations In Thinking.PostPhilodemos provides a number of examples of deductive reasoning in On Methods of Inference [https://twentiers.com/on-signs/] and seems to negate inductive reasoning:
He suggests that the following deduction is valid:
‘Since the men in our experience, in… -
Cassius
July 25, 2024 at 1:23 PM Replied to the thread Methods Or Considerations In Thinking.PostI also want to be sure we emphasize what Bryan has produced on page 130 of the current version of his Epicurea, from Diogenes Laertius 10:32. It strikes me that the specific mention of these considerations lends them special importance in any proper… -
Cassius
ThreadJuly 25, 2024 at 1:11 PM Welcome to Episode 239 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… -
Bryan
July 25, 2024 at 12:40 PM Replied to the thread Methods Or Considerations In Thinking.PostThis is a very rough list I made at the beginning of the year (based mostly on Sedley's work on Book 28). This list is not very well done, is not complete, and perhaps should not even be in this form. We can be sure Epicurus was aware of such… -
Cassius
July 25, 2024 at 12:13 PM Posted the thread Methods Or Considerations In Thinking.ThreadThis is a thread-starter for use in discussing "methods" or "considerations" in thinking, as referenced in the Epicurean texts. -
Kalosyni
July 25, 2024 at 9:23 AM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.PostHere are some definitions from Wikipedia:
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Don
July 25, 2024 at 8:29 AM Replied to the thread Proposed Menoikeus Week-long (7 Session) Study Guide Outline.Post[…]
Agreed! And added. Thanks! -
Kalosyni
July 25, 2024 at 8:21 AM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.PostI think this is a much needed discussion, because those who consider themselves materialists, and study Epicurus, will likely have questions as to science, scientism, vs Epicurean physics.
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Here is an excerpt from Letter to Herodotus, which gives us an… -
Cassius
July 25, 2024 at 8:18 AM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.PostThanks to a tip I see that there is an article by Professor Clerk Shaw available for public download at the link below which addresses some of these issues (the Epicurean concern for truth, and the importance of physics to the study of ethics) in a way I… -
Kalosyni
July 25, 2024 at 7:59 AM Replied to the thread Proposed Menoikeus Week-long (7 Session) Study Guide Outline.PostDon your outline looks great! Looking forward to taking in the full experience of your amazing project. -
Martin
July 25, 2024 at 7:35 AM Replied to the thread Proposed Menoikeus Week-long (7 Session) Study Guide Outline.Post[…]
It seems, "Stoics" or "Stoicism" should be included in this item from Session 4, e.g.
"10. Epicurus includes something that looks a lot like the “Dichotomy of Control” of the Stoics clearly showing they didn’t come up with it but gave it a catchy… -
Little Rocker
July 24, 2024 at 1:33 PM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.PostI suppose I'm playing Devil's Advocate here, but I admit that I struggle to understand the point of introducing some of the explanations except to have multiple ones--that eclipses are caused by bad air, that the moon comes into and out of existence… -
Cassius
July 24, 2024 at 12:49 PM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.PostFor some reason I missed seeing that quote the first time through:
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Yes that's the direction I can see some people wanting to go, and as a defender of Epicurus I'd want to strike back at that as firmly as possible.
But that's definitely a part of the… -
Cassius
July 24, 2024 at 12:22 PM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.PostIt seems to me that it would be tempting for opponents of Epicurus to say: "He never seems to be weighing evidence and discussing probabilities at all. He is always going straight from 0% certainty to 100% certainty, with nothing but "maybes" in between.… -
Martin
July 24, 2024 at 12:15 PM Replied to the thread Welcome TGonzalez!.PostWelcome Timothy! -
Little Rocker
July 24, 2024 at 11:54 AM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.Post[…]
Yeah, I'm not really opposed to that caveat, and I don't like it when people claim that the only reason Epicurus cares about science is whenever it helps us get rid of fear of the gods and death. But I also think he seems pretty clear about what he… -
Cassius
July 24, 2024 at 10:36 AM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.Post[…]
Would you not add the important caveat that he would recommend not getting invested in finding "the" actual explanation when you know in advance that that isn't going to be possible due to the lack of evidence?
It seems to me that this from the letter… -
Little Rocker
July 24, 2024 at 9:48 AM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.Post[…]
This seems right to me. Martin mentioned Rosenberg (and I might add Paul and Patricia Churchland), and one of their key theses is 'eliminativism' about mental states. I have heard Rosenberg say we should dispense with 'feeling' language altogether.
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Cassius
July 24, 2024 at 8:21 AM Replied to the thread Welcome TGonzalez!.PostWelcome Timothy - We look forward to hearing more from you. -
Tgonzalez3790
July 24, 2024 at 6:37 AM Replied to the thread Welcome TGonzalez!.PostHello, my name is Timothy Gonzalez, and I am from the United States. I have a resolute passion for Philosophy and have read two Epicurean works: The Letter to Herodotus and A Very Short Introduction to Epicureanism. I greatly respect the idea that a… -
Cassius
July 24, 2024 at 4:52 AM Posted the thread Welcome TGonzalez!.ThreadWelcome Tgonzalez3790 !
Please check out our Getting Started page, but in the meantime 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… -
Martin
July 24, 2024 at 1:29 AM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.Post[…]
There are quite a few people who habe been labelled advocates of Scientism by others or themselves, e.g.:
Auguste Comte (positivist philosopher, apparently without using the term "Scientism")
Peter Atkins (reported to have asserted the “universal… -
Joshua
PostJuly 24, 2024 at 12:28 AM Yeah, Cicero makes that case in book one of On Ends when he says that Epicurus would have known that atoms had to be divisible if only he had 'learned geometry from Polyaenus, instead of making him unlearn everything he knew'.
A comparison can be made… -
Bryan
PostJuly 23, 2024 at 10:29 PM I fully agree with your point, Joshua, about pi. However, I am also thinking that the idea that pi goes on indefinitely seems to come close to infinite divisibility. It seems, from a physicalist perspective, pi does not show anything infinite, but could… -
Bryan
July 23, 2024 at 10:04 PM Replied to the thread Reference Material For The Wednesday Night Epicurea Zooms.PostHello Cassius, this update covers some interesting things for the next few weeks. Page 132 should be the starting page for us on Wednesday. -
Cassius
PostJuly 23, 2024 at 9:36 PM -
kochiekoch
July 23, 2024 at 5:59 PM Replied to the thread The Normal Curve of Pleasure.Post[…]
Yeah, it looks like I'm not the only person that thought of using a normal curve to describe pleasure. Normal curves can be used to describe all sorts of things. And are!
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Wow!That worksheet is really numerically specific! I wonder how you get…
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Kalosyni
July 23, 2024 at 5:06 PM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.PostThere is Epicurus and his canonics...and wondering if there is a name or label for the part which says to be sure you are bringing up multiple hypothoses and do not settle too quickly onto one explanation for causes of phenomenon? ( Cassius ?)
Seems… -
Cassius
July 23, 2024 at 1:27 PM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.PostYes, it would be easier if there were actually a philosopher or scientist who said "I am am advocate of "Scientism" and this is what it means.
As it is (or at least as i understand it) nobody actually advocates such a position. But the phenomena of how to… -
Titus
July 23, 2024 at 1:16 PM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.Post[…]
This is a key point I think, of what I would call "Scientism of the streets" and this is also what comes in my mind when talking about "Scientism". But I think there is discrepancy in the original Scientism too, but because you can argue with one… -
Cassius
PostJuly 23, 2024 at 11:57 AM Here is at least one parallel passage, Lucretius Book 5, around 55:
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Cassius
PostJuly 23, 2024 at 11:53 AM This episode (which should be released later today or tomorrow, contains a very memorable passage which is worth noting as being among the most powerful as any of the existing Epicurean texts. In the episode, I noted that it has a parallel in Lucretius,… -
Cassius
July 23, 2024 at 11:15 AM Replied to the thread The Normal Curve of Pleasure.PostAnybody coming across this thread and getting motivated to plot some bell curves might want to also consult the earlier thread in which a "spreadsheet" was discussed:
A Draft Epicurean Pleasure Maximization Worksheet Even though pictoral and mathematical… -
Don
July 23, 2024 at 10:44 AM Replied to the thread Emily Austin conversation rebroadcast on Next Big Idea!.PostIt does have a new intro. I thought it was a good opportunity for anyone who missed the first time around (like new forum members). -
Cassius
July 23, 2024 at 10:18 AM Replied to the thread Emily Austin conversation rebroadcast on Next Big Idea!.PostI started it, and it's a replay of one we probably posted earlier, right? But it does have a new intro....
"Next Big Idea" Podcast Interviews Emily Austin -
Don
July 23, 2024 at 9:33 AM Posted the thread Emily Austin conversation rebroadcast on Next Big Idea!.Thread -
Cassius
July 22, 2024 at 9:48 PM Replied to the thread The Normal Curve of Pleasure.PostI remember that we discussed trying to plot things out in the past, and see this is mentioned in this thread / post from 2019,
In that discussion we were talking plotting out duration of life in relation to pleasure predominating over pain, if I recall… -
kochiekoch
July 22, 2024 at 8:47 PM Replied to the thread The Normal Curve of Pleasure.Post>>Can you do an actual diagram Steve ?<<
Nope, I'm not so techie.
Best I could come up with is the link to the diagram on the Wikipedia page:
(Give that a minute to load).
Standard deviation diagram - Normal distribution - Wikipedia
Imagine a common "Bell… -
Joshua
PostJuly 22, 2024 at 8:43 PM Funnily enough, the very first thing Lucretius says to his readers is "empty your ears!"
quod superest, vacuas auris; "As for the rest (of you), ears empty"... -
Kalosyni
July 22, 2024 at 7:40 PM Replied to the thread Epicureanism and Scientism: What are the main differences?.Post -
Cassius
July 22, 2024 at 4:24 PM Replied to the thread Seneca - General Background.PostThis "On The Happy Life" is one of the first and major sources used to turn Epicurus into a devout ascetic:
Yet Seneca's defenders find a way to defend his hypocrisy.
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