one of the two best starting points for someone who wants to get an overview of the entire philosophy,
I recommend reading the Letter to Menoeceus and the Principal Doctrines as a starting point.
DeWitt is an "intermediate-advanced" level, and is good for the "non-academic philosophy student" (i.e. those who enjoy studying all aspects philosophy as a hobby).
Hi Everyone, Coming up next Monday on June 3rd is our next "First Monday Epicurean Philosophy Hour" - Via Zoom, 8pm ET.
Agenda:
This month's topic: Basis and methods for making choices and avoidances -- What is our starting point? What is our goal? What if anything might interfere with the process? What might help us make the best choices and avoidances?
Open to all forum members! And we especially invite those who are new on the forum. This is a great way to meet, converse, and engage with others who are studying the philosophy of Epicurus.
We'll be using the same link as last month.
If you have not yet attended a Zoom, please let us know here if you are interested (or send a private message to Cassius or myself). We will send the link by private message the day before the meeting.
Looking forward to seeing you there! 
The song: "We Are the Champions"? (but depends on the situation).
Week 2 - The Nature of Things and How We Can Have Knowledge of Them
The posts in this thread are work-in-progress for the self-paced course: "Introduction to the Philosophy of Epicurus."
Epicurean physics and canonics are at the foundation of Epicurean philosophy, and the source of this concepts are found within Lucretius' De Rerum Natura, and Epicurus' Letter to Herodotus & Letter to Pythocles.
Below you will find useful links for self-paced study.
-- Section 2.1 - Physics --
1. Article by Cassius Amicus - "Epicurean Physics"
2. Lucretius Today Podcast - Episode 259 - "Nothing Comes From Nothing"
3. Forum discussion - Physics - The Nature of the Universe
and Atoms and Void - Properties, Qualities, And Emergence
-- Section 2.2 - Canonics --
1. Article by Cassius Amicus - "Canonics – How Can I Be Confident In What I Think I Know To Be True?"
2. Lucretius Today Podcast -
3. Forum discussion - Canonics - The Tests of Truth: The Five Senses, Anticipations, and Feelings of Pleasure and Pain
-- Section 2.3 - Text Reading for Week 2 --
************
Additional links and material will be added soon
Week 1 - Epicurus, the Garden, and the Extant Texts
This week's focus will be on the historical context of Epicurus and the Garden, as well as an introduction to the extant texts.
This post will contain the continued development of a self-paced 7-week course - "Introduction to the Philosophy of Epicurus". To read the course overview and syllabus click here.
Here you will find links to posts, threads, and other materials on the EpicureanFriends forum which will guide you through self-pace study.
We welcome any specific questions regarding each week's specific topics, whether or not they have been covered in any other existing threads - just go ahead and please post. Thanks!
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Week 1: Epicurus, the Garden, and the Extant Texts
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-- Section 1.1 - Epicurus and the Garden --
1. A Short Biography of Epicurus by Diogenes Laertius
2. What Did Epicurus Look Like? - Busts and Depictions of Epicurus
3. Where was the school of Epicurus located? Article excerpts:
While we will probably never know the exact location of Epicurus’s Garden in ancient Athens, we can take a number of educated guesses. We have two primary sources from which to make these guesses: ancient texts that hint at the location of the Garden and modern archaeological excavations. This paper will present the evidence for several possible - and even probable - locations for the properties where Epicurus lived and taught and where his school existed for several centuries after his death.
One of the primary goals of this exercise is to dispel the myth that Epicurus and his students fled society and founded their communities far from city centers, isolated from society. As will be demonstrated, Epicurus’s Garden was not inaccessible to passers-by or curious visitors.
Seneca himself states that the motto displayed at the entrance to the original Garden invited
people to enter:
"Hospes hic bene manebis, hic summum bonum voluptas est."
O Guest, here you will do well to tarry; here our highest good is pleasure. (Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium, Letter XXI)
Situating the Garden along one of the busiest and
most important thoroughfares in Athens will hopefully dispel rumors of the Epicureans being hidden away like hermits. The Garden was easily accessible, making it easily visited for a lecture by Epicurus by those in all ranks of Athenian society.
...Epicurus’s Garden was described as being along the road that led from the Dipylon Gate in the city walls of Athens directly to the open-air gymnasium known as the Academy where a certain philosopher by the name of Plato established his school. It’s no more than a pleasant stroll from the Gate to the Academy, and the Garden would have been a welcoming stop along the way. Most scholars do not claim that Plato placed his school in some remote location, and the Garden was even closer to the city than the Academy. The Garden
was only a short walk from the city, and Epicurus also encouraged his students to take part in the festivals held regularly in Athenian life.
You will find the full article here: "Where Was the Garden of Epicurus? The Evidence from the Ancient Sources and Archaeology" (article by forum member Don).
4. Listen to Lucretius Today podcast presentations containing in-depth historical background on Epicurus - Episode 149 --- Episode 150 --- Episode 151 - based on material from Norman DeWitt's book "Epicurus and His Philosophy."
5. Epicurean Philosophers Timeline Listing by forum member Eikadistes.
-- Section 1.2 - An Overview of Epicurean Texts --
We believe that the best way to arrive at a correct understanding of Epicurean philosophy is for each person to study the core texts for themselves, rather than relying on short summaries (or potentially incorrect opinions often found elsewhere on the internet). When taking into account the full body of extant texts we can correctly see the system of thought and worldview that Epicurus created.
1. Familiarize yourself with: the list of core texts.
2. Recommended reading for this week: The Letter to Menoeceus.
-- Section 1.3 - A General Overview of the Philosophy of Epicurus --
1. Forum members reply to: How would you explain to someone new "What is Epicurean Philosophy is All About?"
2. Outlines: Epicurean Philosophy expandable outline (and navigation)
Lucretius talks about lightening in section 6.3.
I found this interesting explanation of our modern understanding of lightening and included in the the following is also unusual upper atmosphere phenomenon seen by aircraft pilots:
Something that was said recently in a Zoom meeting has me thinking again about "risk-taking", as well as this post here in another thread.
There are activities that come with greater risks, for example riding a motorcycle - here are some statistics:
"The chances of a fatality in a motorcycle accident are approximately 30 times higher than in a car. Motorcycle accidents have a staggering 80% injury or death rate, while car accidents remain around 20%."
"According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 236 motorcycle crashes result in injuries every day in the United States. In general, the odds of getting into a motorcycle accident are 1 in 100."
Pondering the Hedonic Calculus or prioritizing "smart choices" would lead one to choose less risky activities. As far as preventing an early death, it is really all about using common sense. And if you completely understand that you only have one life to live, then you will be already be increasing the number of prudent pleasures that you are enjoying, so that you will not need to take up any new risky physical activities, because your life will be full of good stuff and fun stuff.
We certainly shouldn't take risks that are likely going to be a failure
If the failure is losing a lot of money, then that wouldn't be a good idea.
But this does have me wondering...if the failure is in the mental realm of the mind, such that it doesn't affect the body, but only the mind could be affected by the thought "I tried but I failed" then seems like the risk of failure shouldn't be feared, and because you know that you can then just move on to something else.
Let's say it was entering a relationship well I am guessing we have all known the absolute joy of intimacy, sex but the heart break of the breakup is very painful.
Here is something very good for dealing with fear of heartbreak:
This is a fun read:
I suppose what puzzles me about the idea that we should aim to be like the gods is that it might seem perfectly sufficient to aim to be like the *sage.* If, for example, the sage expresses gratitude, but the gods do not (KD 1), then shouldn't I want to be like the sage because I am human?
Two possibilities:
-- The writings explaining this have been lost.
-- Epicurus may have allowed multiple ways to "consider the gods" as long as you foremost believed that they do not intervene or interact with humans.
At least that's the way I would interpret the "Captain Kirk perspective" on Epicurean philosophy - do everything possible to achieve more pleasure than pain, and push the envelope as far as you can on what is possible, because you're not going to get a second chance.
This may be slightly off-topic... but the problem with "Captain Kirk" is that he is a fictional character, and the on-going story gives him a kind of "immortality" - if he dies then the story ends - so he can't die for the sake of entertainment. In real life, the people who take on certain actions with great risks do end up dying due to events taking a bad turn. Also, I see him as a being like a "modern stoic".
Just yesterday I was reading over the Ethics section of the Wall of Diogenes of Oinoanda, at this website:
It is so fascinating how the maxiums of Epicurus are there, and it must have been magnificient in its original form. The phrasing is slightly different on some so it helps with a fuller cognition.
Very interesting to see Martin Ferguson Smith and the wall in this video released in 2015 (same video was recently posted in other thread by TauPhi):
Perhaps the gods could be this kind of "preconception". This occurred to me as I was looking at an old book cover.
Face pareidolia - spotting faces in objects that have none. Pareidolia is a mistake of the mind, part of a human tendency to perceive patterns in random circumstances.
Some simplified ideas:
1. All cultures have had conceptions of gods that they worshipped.
2. The gods have no influence on our lives.
3. Since the conception of gods is everywhere (especially so in Epicurus' time), we should take it upon ourselves to think about them as living blessed lives as a result of their perfectly virtuous and incorruptible nature.
Cassius That statement by Atticus according to Cicero could indicate a later development. We know that in Epicurus' will in Diogenes Laertius Book X, that Epicurus asked that Metrodorus and Epicurus' brothers be commemorated, not just himself (...or this could be part of a rhetorical ploy by Cicero).
We have a good thread already started for discussion on organizing communities:
When this conversation bubbles up, I have to ask: What reconstruction or recreation are you envisioning or anticipating?
I think that there are as many dreams of a modern "Kepos" as there are individuals who enjoy Epicurus, and to create any kind of organization would require a leader (or leaders) who can clarify the Epicurean philosophy in such a way that a group of people find it appealing and worthwhile to join together to study and discuss (and to have shared 20th meals ).
So would modern science include 1, 2, and 4 from Bryan's list in post 15?
If you want to give your mind some direct interaction with regard to the consideration of what is possible and what is impossible, try watching a "sci-fi/fantasy" movie.
In fact, just last night I watched a sci-fi movie that had all sorts of impossible things happening.
Now in our current world we have technology built upon science. But science is a complicated thing in itself. And science uses concepts, models, and theories.
Concept
I have this concept of a unicorn in my thoughts. I know unicorns do not exist but I have this idea of what they would look like if they existed
Model
I had this model made to make it easy to explain my concept. You can see from my model my concept idea looks like a horse with a horn growing from the forehead
Theory
I have a theory that unicorns might exist on other planets and that is where our concept of unicorns comes from. I intend to test my multiple ideas into the theory of unicorns on our planets by checking people who think about unicorns and what planets they also think of. Perhaps I can narrow it down to 1 planet
Concept - Generally (there can be exceptions) a idea about something which does not exist or a idea about something which might exist if we build it
Model - Build a model or make a drawing to show what the concept will look like if made
Theory - A collection of ideas which can be arranged or linked together to produce a new idea which can be tested to see if agrees with reality
(Source)
Here is an interesting read:
List of existing technologies predicted in science fiction - Wikipedia
Forecast just for Don and kochiekoch ...but they say you need to get out from the city lights.
Also, this website has Aurora forecast (for US):
