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Me: Pleasure (artfully chosen) Host: So, you think the answer is 'pleasure (artfully chosen).' Interesting, and is that your final answer? [silence, silence, audience squirms because so much is at stake] Me: Yes, that's my best and final answer, at least for today.

(Quote from Cassius) I agree that for practical intents and purposes we can set the question aside. Epicurus inherited a debate and he definitely intends to situate himself within that debate using (roughly) the established terminology, but it seems to me that the most important thing to know is: 'we say pleasure is the goal.' That doesn't settle other important questions, like whether pursuing pleasure is far more about removing anxiety than walks on the beach at sunset, but it's pretty clear t…

I heard an interview with Rucker last week and bought the book, but I haven't started it yet.

(Quote from Don) One thing that I think can get lost in this discussion is that the same is true of eudaimonia to the average Ancient Greek non-philosopher, the 'man on the street.' Philosophers have never had a particularly intuitive account of happiness. I find Don's list of different ways of taking the question of 'Are you happy?' super helpful.