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Episode 218 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. In this episode we address: Can an Epicurean Not Distinguish Between Greater and Lesser Pleasures and Pains?
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Novem
March 19, 2024 at 1:22 AM Replied to the thread A Food Analogy That May Be Useful In Thinking About Stimulative vs Non-Stimulative Pleasures.PostI've started to reincorporate carbs back into my diet after years of trying to do super low-carb high-protein/fat diet, but I am mindful of what carbs I consume. Bringing back carbs has helped me lose weight I think because my cells have that energy they… -
Pacatus
March 18, 2024 at 5:53 PM Replied to the thread On Use Of The Term Apikoros / Apiqoros / Bikouros Against Epicureans.PostI recently came across an alternative possibility:
“Even the derivation of the term is not simple. It probably derives ultimately from the name of the Greek philosopher Epicurus, but Rabbinic literature displays no knowledge of the existence of a Greek… -
Don
March 18, 2024 at 7:34 AM Replied to the thread On Use Of The Term Apikoros / Apiqoros / Bikouros Against Epicureans.PostJust a note on 'apiqoros coming from Epicurean and not Epicurus, remember that the ancient Greek for "Epicurean" is Ἐπικούρειος (Epikoureios) so both Epicurean and Epicurus end in sigma (ς "s") in Greek. So it seems to me both are viable… -
Don
March 17, 2024 at 10:32 PM Replied to the thread On Use Of The Term Apikoros / Apiqoros / Bikouros Against Epicureans.PostJust saw this thread listed in "Research Projects" and finally downloaded "A Diachronic Study of the 3Apiqoros in Rabbinic Literature" by Jenny R. Labendz. Here are some excerpts and notes (Quotes are from Labendz paper unless otherwise noted):
"Tannaim… -
Kalosyni
March 17, 2024 at 7:30 PM Replied to the thread So You Want To Learn Ancient Greek Or Latin?.PostI moved some threads around and so further advanced language studies on ancient Greek can be found over in this thread, cross-referencing:
RE: On Nature, Book 28 -
Cassius
March 17, 2024 at 6:58 PM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.PostGood question. I will make sure that they are and link back here.
Looks like the Answer is yes.
Here is the main forum link and I will be sure both are linked within that one. I don't think we have the 1970's update to the DeLacey book however!
Philodemus… -
Pacatus
March 17, 2024 at 6:20 PM Replied to the thread Live to 120? I’d rather go for quality not quantity of life….PostMy paternal grandmother Mae, who has been a bit of a hero-character for me, especially in my older years, lived to one month shy of 99 – by living pretty much a-day-at-a-time for pleasure and personal happiness. She would grub by hand in her beloved… -
Don
March 17, 2024 at 6:08 PM Replied to the thread Live to 120? I’d rather go for quality not quantity of life….Post -
Pacatus
March 17, 2024 at 6:01 PM Replied to the thread Live to 120? I’d rather go for quality not quantity of life….PostFrom the article Don referenced: “It seems to me that the only people who really want to live forever are those who are unable to find joy in the lives they’re living now.”
Daniel Klein, in his book Travels With Epicurus, addresses these issues from a… -
Don
March 17, 2024 at 5:53 PM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.Post -
Cassius
March 17, 2024 at 5:43 PM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.Post[…]
A result much to be desired!
I think that we've made some progress in bringing out the importance of the "logical sparring" between Epicureans and the Stoics/Platonists, but there's much more to do. Philodemus' "On Signs" is an important part of what… -
Pacatus
March 17, 2024 at 5:22 PM Replied to the thread Epicurean-Compatible Quotes.PostParticularly interesting in this context is a scene from the life of King Pyrrhus. When Pyrrhus was preparing a military campaign against Italy, his collaborator and friend Cineas asked what the king would do if he should be able to conquer the Romans.… -
Joshua
PostMarch 17, 2024 at 5:11 PM Very cool! There are some good articles in that book, I'm happy to see it accessible to a wider audience! -
Don
March 17, 2024 at 4:05 PM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.Post[…]
That text has been on my list for too long. Maybe your revisitation will spur me to try digging into it. -
Don
PostMarch 17, 2024 at 2:40 PM And the CC licensing is not revocable, per the CC site.
(It's a similar license under which I released the Menoikeus commentary. Mine has: This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To… -
Don
PostMarch 17, 2024 at 2:37 PM They appear to have changed the license under which it's published:
Creative Commons:
Creative Common License - CC Creative Common License - BY Creative Common License - NC Creative Common License - ND
This content is Open Access and distributed under the… -
Cassius
PostMarch 17, 2024 at 2:31 PM Don do you know how that happens? Seems like I remember it being $50 plus very recently. Limited time perhaps? -
Don
PostMarch 17, 2024 at 2:08 PM Open access, baby!! Woohoo!
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Don
March 17, 2024 at 2:07 PM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.Post -
Cassius
PostMarch 17, 2024 at 1:55 PM It looks to me like "Epicurus in Rome" has changed status and is now available for free download directly from Cambridge.org. Can someone verify?
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/epi…125F98E25FE8624 -
Bryan
March 17, 2024 at 1:31 PM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.PostExcellent points about idiosyncratic idiots and honest martyrs!
Godfrey, absolutely! In a way this is my preparation for revisiting the rather difficult On Signs.
Don, regarding ἡ ἐπιμαρτύρησις et al., I know we have -ησις as a general… -
Don
March 17, 2024 at 1:12 PM Posted the thread Live to 120? I’d rather go for quality not quantity of life….Thread -
Don
March 17, 2024 at 12:35 PM Replied to the thread Epicurean Views On Hierarchy In Social Structures.PostI think Philonides was the court advisor I was trying to think of:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philonide…cea?wprov=sfla1 -
Cassius
March 17, 2024 at 12:21 PM Replied to the thread Pros and Cons Of Considering Epicurean Philosophy To Be A "Religion".PostThis thread was taking a strong turn into discussion of hierarchy in social structures, so that part of the discussion has been split to the link below. Let's keep the discussion of "Pro's and Con's of Considering Epicurean Philosophy as a Religion"… -
Don
March 17, 2024 at 11:11 AM Replied to the thread Epicurean Views On Hierarchy In Social Structures.PostAnd here's a paper my Dr. Fish:
https://www.academia.edu/resource/work/34426885
And yes I fully realize I'm not responding to Peter Konstans 's specific questions yet. Patience -
Don
March 17, 2024 at 10:59 AM Replied to the thread Epicurean Views On Hierarchy In Social Structures.Post -
Peter Konstans
March 17, 2024 at 9:47 AM Replied to the thread Epicurean Views On Hierarchy In Social Structures.Post[…]
According to Plutarch the Epicureans wrote on kingship (with which they had the new Macedonian monarchies in mind) to warn of the dangers of living with kings or of being a king.
How many instances we have of them advising kings? The only instance I… -
Cassius
PostMarch 17, 2024 at 9:19 AM From "Epicurus In Rome" - Part 1, Chapter 5 - Caesar the Epicurean? A Matter of Life and Death ----
Scholars have often pointed to and that concerns Caesar’s attitude to death. According to Epicurus, of course, fear of death is – together with fear of… -
Cassius
PostMarch 17, 2024 at 8:52 AM -
Cassius
PostMarch 17, 2024 at 8:46 AM In addition to the above quotes I think we can include the statements made by Julius Caesar, as a result of which he was accused of being an Epicurean, that the Cataline Conspirators should not be sentenced to death, but to prison, because death is a… -
Godfrey
March 17, 2024 at 2:14 AM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.PostIn case it's of use, these epistemological terms also feature in Philodemus' On Signs. There are hints as well in PD24 , and in the Letter to Herodotus 10.39-40. And Long and Sedley discuss them in The Hellenistic Philosophers, Volume 1, in their… -
Don
March 16, 2024 at 11:51 PM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.PostThanks, Bryan.
No great insights here from me tonight, but just linguistic trivia:
ἰδιοτήτος idiotetos > which is related to where English gets the word "idiot" meant in Ancient Greek more like - as Bryan notes from Sedley - individuality or… -
Bryan
March 16, 2024 at 11:25 PM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.Post(Epicurus - On Nature - Book 28, P.Herc. 1479 col. 1) ἰδιοτήτος τῷ σοφῷ καὶ μὴ σοφῷ διε[φώ]νεις, οὐδέμ παρε[μ-]βάλλων [τοῦ π]ερὶ τῶν οὐκ ἐπιμαρτυρήσεων κα[ὶ] ἀντιμαρτυρήσεων. ἐτίθεις δ[έ] τινα τῶν ὀνομάτων εὐθὺς διὰ… -
Don
PostMarch 16, 2024 at 7:39 PM -
Cassius
PostMarch 16, 2024 at 1:41 PM We will be continuing in this episode 219 with Cicero's criticisms of Epicurus' views of pain. This is a very challenging topic, so if anyone has any thoughts we should consider prior to the recording, please add them here.
Cicero's first criticism… -
Cassius
PostMarch 16, 2024 at 10:41 AM Your translation and commentary is very useful, and I appreciate the effort that went into it. Bouncing ideas back and forth is a both enjoyable and very profitable for our project! -
Don
March 16, 2024 at 8:04 AM Replied to the thread Epicurean Views On Hierarchy In Social Structures.Post[…]
They did have thoughts on how those who govern should act.
There's a missing book of Epicurus titled Of Kingship.
Philodemus wrote On The Good King According to Homer.
There were Epicurean advisors to kings.
It seems to me they had specific ideas on how… -
Peter Konstans
March 16, 2024 at 5:47 AM Replied to the thread Epicurean Views On Hierarchy In Social Structures.PostA healthy degree of conformism is necessary if you want to be socially successful and institutionally reproduce yourself. An ancient philosophical school was a true institution, not an ad hoc gathering of folks to talk. Because they were institutions… -
Don
PostMarch 15, 2024 at 5:03 PM LOL! I didn't realize I would be featured in this episode. Thanks for using my Menoikeus! And I like salmon, too, just for the record. -
Cassius
PostMarch 15, 2024 at 4:00 PM Yes this is a very delicate subject but it's one that over time we need to find diplomatic ways to emphasize. There are a lot of things in life that inspire fear, but the knowledge that nothing can hold us in its grip permanently unless we allow it is a… -
Bryan
PostMarch 15, 2024 at 2:54 PM Great job guys in dealing with this difficult content.
When I was a teen, living with my grandparents at that point , they were both diagnosed and died from cancer within three years. In each case, it was clear that it would have been better for both of… -
Bryan
March 15, 2024 at 10:52 AM Replied to the thread On Nature, Book 28.PostSome further notes on Book 28
Αἱ Πλάναι: “wanderings, errors”- We can use common words, but it is important to recognize that those words can contain errors.
- To avoid retaining errors in the use of common words, we must perceive each object fully and we must
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Cassius
PostMarch 15, 2024 at 8:17 AM Lucretius Today Podcast Episode 218 - Cicero's On Ends - Book Two - Part 25 - "Can The Epicurean Not Distinguish Between Greater and Lesser Pleasures and Pains?" Is Now Available -
spreaker.com/episode/59056245 -
Cassius
March 14, 2024 at 7:34 PM Replied to the thread Sports are fun but is exercise really something Epicurus would have lauded?.PostI think Peter's post is interesting and points up the need to be clear about context. If "exercise" is what we do to repair the damage from being absolutely sedentary and eating a terrible diet full of hazardous chemicals and overloaded with… -
Joshua
March 14, 2024 at 7:13 PM Replied to the thread Sports are fun but is exercise really something Epicurus would have lauded?.PostI think this is a very interesting question, and any attempt at an answer will probably be frustrated by the lack of surviving evidence. It's true that the Greeks were a very sporting people; so much so that they quite literally set their clocks by it.… -
Peter Konstans
March 14, 2024 at 1:33 PM Posted the thread Sports are fun but is exercise really something Epicurus would have lauded?.ThreadExercise is not very conductive to pleasure as it's mostly a painful activity. It also not as health-promoting as it's usually made out to be. Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman makes the case in the linked book below that humans have not evolved to… -
Kalosyni
March 14, 2024 at 12:40 PM Replied to the thread Albert Einstein, "Foreword to Lucretius".Post[…]
Oh yay! Looked it up...today is the day to celebrate math and eat pie!
[…]
Here is a website with pie recipes, just in case
https://www.southernliving.com/food/desserts/pies