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Cassius
January 20, 2026 at 10:57 AM Posted the thread A Special Birthday Greeting To James!.ThreadA Special Birthday Greeting To James!
Today is not only the Twentieth of January, and a time of the year close to Epicurus' birthday, but it is the birthday of a 14-year-old who I don't know personally but am told (by his father) was introduced to… -
Martin
January 20, 2026 at 9:37 AM Replied to the thread How the Epicureans might have predicted Lorentz time dilation.PostWhereas the analogy with the Lorentz transform is valid, the math and some other details might need further correction. I expect to dedicate some time slots with sufficient ability to concentrate to figure this out soon. Depending on what I come up with,… -
Kalosyni
January 20, 2026 at 9:13 AM Posted the thread Happy Twentieth of January 2026!.Thread
Happy Twentieth Everyone!
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Eikadistes
January 20, 2026 at 9:09 AM Replied to the thread “WE GOT BEEF! (A Disembowelment of the Dialectic…)”.Post[…]
I think I'd put it with "Rhetoric" because I break down some technical vocabulary that Philódēmos employs. It could be both: I portray politics as a sort of antagonist to the truth of sensation. -
Cassius
January 20, 2026 at 7:37 AM Replied to the thread “WE GOT BEEF! (A Disembowelment of the Dialectic…)”.PostOne more thought / question on this point:
If we were to add a separate subforum on "Rhetoric" at some point (and not just under Philodemus) would that be clearly more appropriate for the "Ethics" section, or is it possible that it should be considered… -
Cassius
January 20, 2026 at 7:32 AM Replied to the thread “WE GOT BEEF! (A Disembowelment of the Dialectic…)”.PostFor the time being we'll move this to "On Rhetoric" because on first read that seems to me to be the focus of much/most of it.
Thanks again Eikadistes for writing so much about this. Maybe this will help in the "jelling" of exactly what it is that… -
Cassius
January 20, 2026 at 7:25 AM Replied to the thread “WE GOT BEEF! (A Disembowelment of the Dialectic…)”.PostOh this is excellent Ekiadistes thank you!
As to these first comments let me say:
1 - It's a long article.
2 - It's a difficult subject.
3 - It examines Philodemus' "On Rhetoric" which I find very difficult to process despite it existing in fairly well… -
Cassius
PostJanuary 20, 2026 at 7:12 AM OK I read it. I won't echo "fascinating" but I'll certainly give it credit for "well-written" and "holds interest."
That said, I don't see why the whole issue isn't pretty much the same question as something like "what is the physical nature of thought or… -
Eikadistes
January 20, 2026 at 12:06 AM Posted the thread “WE GOT BEEF! (A Disembowelment of the Dialectic…)”.ThreadHappy Eikas! I hope everyone is keeping warm.
I just wanted to share a reflection I published through the Society of Friends of Epicurus that reviews the dialectic, rhetoric, oratory, and political propoganda, “…A Disembowelment of the Dialectic,… -
Don
January 19, 2026 at 7:20 PM Posted the thread The Bull of Phalerus Lives On.Thread
Had supper at a taco place with a huge complex mural. Been there before, but didn't realize the Bull of Phalerus was featured in the corner. -
Don
PostJanuary 19, 2026 at 11:40 AM Fascinating article! Thanks for posting. Still working through it. But this jumped out at me:
[…] -
Kalosyni
PostJanuary 19, 2026 at 8:51 AM -
Joshua
January 18, 2026 at 11:07 PM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostGreat to hear from you, Onenski ! -
Onenski
January 18, 2026 at 10:18 PM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostHi, everybody! Thank you so much for the birthday wishes. I'm glad I share birthday with Dave (Happy Birtday, Dave!)
I've finally turned 30, so I'm officially no longer one of the younger members of this garden.
I haven't been able to be very active or… -
kochiekoch
PostJanuary 18, 2026 at 10:13 PM I think Epicurus is saying death is the shutdown off all a person's systems. The fine soul atoms, responsible for sensations dissipate and all sensations ends. Even the sensation of consciousness. In the modern sense, the brain cells die and lose their… -
Cassius
PostJanuary 18, 2026 at 8:55 PM You're definitely right that if we presume death is the shutdown of ALL systems then that answers the question. But the statements of Epicurus do not appear to be so sweeping - they focus on the end of "sensation" as sufficient to answer the question.
I… -
kochiekoch
PostJanuary 18, 2026 at 8:05 PM I'd think from an Epicurean perspective, that consciousness and sensation are all generated from the motions of atoms, the collapse of that system at death would make for the end of consciousness. From a modern perspective, consciousness itself is a… -
Cassius
PostJanuary 18, 2026 at 3:20 PM Probably related to this as well would be to consider the relationship between "the five senses" and "the feelings" and "the anticipations." Can or do the "feelings of pain and pleasure" and "the anticipations" function without "the five senses"?
In… -
Cassius
PostJanuary 18, 2026 at 2:22 PM Joshuas list of words relevant to consciousness:
epicureanfriends.com/thread/?postID=38483#post38483 -
Cassius
ThreadJanuary 18, 2026 at 1:49 PM In our Zoom discussion of January 18 2026 we deviated from Lucretius and examined a question that Raphael raised in a video here. The title of the thread seems to be the best way to summarize the issue, but during the course of the discussion several… -
Cassius
January 17, 2026 at 1:50 PM Replied to the thread Episode 317 - TD43 - Not Yet Recorded.PostLast week's Episode was entitled "Happiness Is The Goal of Life - A Life of Happiness Is A Life of Pleasure."
As we close in on the end of Tusculan Disputations, I'd like to continue to emphasize not only that each one of these two prongs is… -
Cassius
PostJanuary 17, 2026 at 1:36 PM Episode 316 of the Lucretius Today Podcast is now available. This week our episode is entitled: "The Goal of Life Is Happiness - A Life of Happiness Is A Life Of Pleasure"
[media]https://www.spreaker.com/episode/69489098/media -
Eikadistes
January 16, 2026 at 9:19 PM Replied to the thread Thomas Nail - Returning to Lucretius.PostOverwhelmingly, I find that Lucertius' neologisms compliment the insight of Epicurus. Referring to particles as "firstlings" is a great example. I actually think that he could have even added a few others, but, in general, I think his translation is a… -
Cassius
January 16, 2026 at 2:43 PM Posted the thread Episode 317 - TD43 - Not Yet Recorded.ThreadWelcome to Episode 317 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
January 16, 2026 at 7:25 AM Replied to the thread Ancient Greek Homes.PostAnd the house was big enough for Memmius to consider tearing down and making into a villa, so there's that.
https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?do…13%3Aletter%3D1
https://www.uvm.edu/~jbailly/comme…oadfam13.1.html -
Eikadistes
January 15, 2026 at 11:05 PM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostHappy birthday(s)! -
Cassius
January 15, 2026 at 11:45 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.PostYes I see we have two valued members with the same birthday. Happy birthday to Onenski and DaveT! -
Cassius
January 15, 2026 at 9:04 AM Replied to the thread How the Epicureans might have predicted Lorentz time dilation.PostJC, FWIW, I happen to be aware that Martin is traveling this week and likely away from internet access so if he is delayed in responding that may well be a factor. -
Kalosyni
January 15, 2026 at 7:59 AM Replied to the thread Happy Birthday General Thread.Post -
jcblackmon
January 15, 2026 at 7:07 AM Replied to the thread How the Epicureans might have predicted Lorentz time dilation.PostHi Martin. Thanks for your valuable feedback. You wrote that you needed more time to finish reading the paper. I'd be very interested in your final thoughts. I'd also appreciate any advice you might have on addressing the normalization issue. It seems to…
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