Recent Updates From Across EpicureanFriends.com
Recent Activities
-
Pacatus
March 10, 2026 at 12:36 PM Replied to the thread Critique of the Control Dichotomy as a Useful Strategy.PostIt seems to me that if the dichotomy of control (as in Epictetus) refers to whatever is completely within my control versus whatever is completely out of my control – then it is an idealistic abstraction, and not useful. (And I suspect that idealism is… -
Cassius
March 10, 2026 at 12:13 PM Replied to the thread PD24 - Commentary and Translation of PD 24.Post[…]
Agreeing with your post, but I don't catch your meaning of this part.
------
My explanation for this applies to much of the reason that Dave and I appear to disagree - but I don't think we are really that far apart.
I would like to be proven wrong, but… -
Cassius
March 10, 2026 at 12:01 PM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostRight. Everyone today is marinated in the negative meaning of "dogmatism" just like they are in the narrow and negative view of "pleasure" as an ethical guide.
I'm by no means proud or happy of every aspect of the legal profession, but there are good… -
Pacatus
March 10, 2026 at 11:50 AM Commented on blog article “When Science Returns to the Hellenic Worldview: Empathy and Consciousness Redeemed”.Comment (Blog Article)A powerfully beautiful homily! Worth more than one read! Thank you!
-
Pacatus
March 10, 2026 at 11:47 AM Reacted withReaction (Blog Article)
to the blog article “When Science Returns to the Hellenic Worldview: Empathy and Consciousness Redeemed”.Friedrich Nietzsche, in his work The Antichrist, denounces Paul as the inventor of Christianity and an enemy of Rome’s grandeur. But perhaps Nietzsche himself misunderstood what Paul truly fought against. Rome may have been the aching tooth, but Greece… -
Cassius
March 10, 2026 at 11:41 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Ludenbergcastle.PostThank you for your frank and clear post. I hope you'll find the PDF helpful.
I would also suggest our reading list material, especially the two key books that we recommend (depending on one's background and level of interest) by Norman DeWitt and Emily… -
ludenbergcastle
March 10, 2026 at 10:48 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Ludenbergcastle.PostThank you for the warm welcome.
Given that this is one of the more active places where Epicurean philosophy is discussed, it usually pops up whenever I look up anything about Epicurus.
The reason I signed up was that it was required in order to download… -
DaveT
March 10, 2026 at 10:39 AM Replied to the thread PD24 - Commentary and Translation of PD 24.Post[…]
Agreeing with your post, but I don't catch your meaning of this part. -
Pacatus
March 10, 2026 at 9:39 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostAs I read through this, I had to remind myself that Cassius is using the word “dogmatic” in the sense that the Hellenistic philosophers such as Epicurus did – not the sense of “characterized by or given to the expression of opinions very strongly or… -
wbernys
March 9, 2026 at 6:05 PM Replied to the thread Welcome Ludenbergcastle.PostWelcome ludenbergcastle -
DaveT
March 9, 2026 at 4:01 PM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.Post[…]
I appreciate your observations. I do not take issue with your prior thoughts on how different people might not understand consensus. And I find the quote from PD 24 highly appropriate here. An opinion affirmed only in part will not escape error.… -
Kalosyni
ThreadMarch 9, 2026 at 11:26 AM -
Cassius
March 9, 2026 at 10:35 AM Replied to the thread PD24 - Commentary and Translation of PD 24.PostThat's right, and it's not easy but what's the alternative? You can throw up your hands and not even try to get it right. That's what is advocated by Socrates and the radical skeptics who say it's never possible to be confident of anything. And what do… -
Kalosyni
March 9, 2026 at 9:39 AM Replied to the thread PD24 - Commentary and Translation of PD 24.PostHere are my thoughts on this, by just using the wording of Bailey translation, first posting the PD, then directly following is my take.
PD.24: "If you reject any single sensation, and fail to distinguish between the conclusion of opinion, as to the… -
Eikadistes
March 9, 2026 at 8:59 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Ludenbergcastle.PostWelcome! -
Cassius
March 9, 2026 at 7:03 AM Replied to the thread Welcome Ludenbergcastle.Postludenbergcastle has established to me by email that this account is that of a real person who accepts the terms of service of the forum. Welcome. -
Cassius
March 9, 2026 at 7:02 AM Posted the thread Welcome Ludenbergcastle.ThreadWelcome ludenbergcastle !
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… -
Kalosyni
March 8, 2026 at 7:08 PM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostIt seems that PD 24 could have some relevance to the discussion here, and there are are a number of posts exploring the canon, etc, over in the thread linked below.
PD24 "If you reject any single sensation, and fail to distinguish between the conclusion… -
Cassius
March 8, 2026 at 12:25 PM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostIt's probably also a good way of looking at it to compare this to court.
If we're going to reach a conclusion about something, we have to tell the jury the standard of proof.
Telling them to just decide what's "probably" happened or happened "with a high… -
Cassius
March 8, 2026 at 12:22 PM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.Post[…]
Within philosophy, that's exactly the position Cicero and other skeptics take -- that "probability" is all anyone can ask for, and to ask for anything more than "probability" is improper.
The problem is that most reasonable people are not going to find… -
Joshua
PostMarch 8, 2026 at 11:17 AM -
DaveT
March 8, 2026 at 11:03 AM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.Post[…]
Of course, this is not what I was saying, right?
Yet, what is the problem with the phrase "a high degree of confidence"? Do you think this is radical skepticism in the sense of the Hellenistic era of Greece, or in the modern sense of the word… -
Cassius
March 7, 2026 at 5:40 PM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostDave I would say that you are discussing the topic of the "conflict" between "science" and "philosophy."
Each of us has to decide what we think for ourselves, but from a philosophic perspective philosophy does not yield to anyone or anything to dictate to… -
DaveT
March 7, 2026 at 2:46 PM Replied to the thread Circumstantial (Indirect) and Direct Evidence / Dogmatism vs Skepticism.PostSorry I missed the Wed. meeting this thread is discussing. With that in mind, knowing I may be addressing something tangential, I note several things in this thread that have made me think more deeply.
[…]
It looks to me like Godfrey was saying there… -
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:
… -
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…
Finding Things At EpicureanFriends.com
Here is a list of suggested search strategies:
- Website Overview page - clickable links arrranged by cards.
- Forum Main Page - list of forums and subforums arranged by topic. Threads are posted according to relevant topics. The "Uncategorized subforum" contains threads which do not fall into any existing topic (also contains older "unfiled" threads which will soon be moved).
- Search Tool - icon is located on the top right of every page. Note that the search box asks you what section of the forum you'd like to search. If you don't know, select "Everywhere."
- Search By Key Tags - curated to show frequently-searched topics.
- Full Tag List - an alphabetical list of all tags.