Toronto Canada Meetup Group

Quote from Cassius

AxA check this thread for some past discussion on Meetup group possibilities:

Thread

Planning And Execution of A Local Group

Epicurean Meetings and Conventions

New: Meetup Handouts

Update: As of 2/10/25 as I am writing this, it is my understanding that the Sydney Australia Epicurean meetup group is no longer operational. I have left the links below in case you want to look for prior versions of the page, but at present i am not aware of any operational Epicurean Meetup groups.

In most parts of the world, there are at present very few opportunities for regular people who are interested in Epicurus to get together to…

Cassius

January 8, 2018 at 6:58 AM

Great discussion. Exactly the kind of experience I want to learn from.

The links to the DokuWiki pages seem to be broken.

The latest internet archive I can find for the Sydney meetup is 2021, and its recent events appear to have been in a “virtual garden”:

Sydney Epicurus Philosophy Garden (Sydney, Australia)

The purpose of this Group is to explore the philosophy of Epicurus through discussion and the enjoyment of the simple pleasures of life such as friendship, as…

web.archive.org

I like this statement: “it is probable that almost any metropolitan area of any size would support a Sydney-style meetup group if even one or two people act with determination to keep the meetings on track and recognize that attendance will likely remain small for an extended period.”

This is what I’m going on. The minimum is 2 people per metropolis willing to meet once a month to talk Epicurean philosophy. That seems doable.

I also like this statement: "the academic world ... has labeled Epicurus as a philosophy for losers, misfits, loners, and recluses." I can work with that. Sounds like labels for anyone who doesn't place high enough value in social approval and honours. I have no interest in directly fighting that narrative. I'd rather embrace it with a laugh, and live the way I want to among my friends without regard for mainstream approval. The happier we live, the more hollow anyone else's disapproval becomes.

My idea for the first meeting is to present some of the major teachings of Epicurus and otherwise have a free discussion. If it strays too far into unhelpful and irrelevant topics, I'll have to bring it back, and if there are participants who insist on sidetracking the discussion I'll have to control them. This will certainly be a challenge, the same any discussion moderator faces.

I don't feel a need to strictly enforce Epicurean positions. I see this as a free exchange of ideas and discussion of them on their own merits. I find that Epicurus has many excellent ideas and I want to share them and discuss them with others, including those who disagree with some or even all of them.

I wonder if the strict doctrinal enforcement here is a consequence of being an internet forum. There are just so many trolls and discussion hijackers that it takes strong policing to keep a good online discussion going. It may turn out to be this way in person as well, but I see the default state as being a free discussion with Epicurean philosophy as a "home base" to keep returning to. Policing of positions is something I only wish to do to the minimum necessary to keep the discussion fruitful for all.

Quote from Kalosyni

AxA you may want to check out this section of the forum (if you haven't already):

Outlines, Guides, And Maps

I missed that page. Thanks. I'll use this to help assemble my handout for the first meeting.

I can imagine a possible consequence of my permissive approach, that it ends up with a bunch of people arguing against everything Epicurus said, and these arguments end up taking up the whole conversation. I imagine that might be what's happening online, and what led to the strict enforcement you recommend.

If this happens, I believe what I will have to do is divide into two groups, this one open to the public, and another one a more personal gathering of friends who agree at least enough to not be arguing all the time about basic positions. But I think the way to that is through this more open approach. I won't be able to assemble my Garden of Friends until I meet them.

Report on yesterday's in-person Eikas gathering in Toronto

The group was formed and event announced on the meetup.com platform 2 weeks ago.

We had 20 people show up at an alternative new age cafe called Alternity, sitting on cushions around a table. (Picture attached.)

4 of them knew me personally, including one friend who was very supportive in joining the group first and sharing with her friends.

2 people said they were familiar with Epicurus. One had read Lucretius and The Swerve. The others almost entirely found the group through general interest in philosophy, although there was one who said she had no interest and philosophy and was interested in the simple living aspect.

We started by going around the circle and each person saying name and why they came or any other comment. Then I introduced some of the main points of the philosophy as shown in the brochure I printed. The rest of the 2 hours was open discussion. I was ready to bring up new points when the conversation stopped, but it continued all the way through.

The group generally responded favourably to these ideas. One guy even said afterwards that this was exactly the philosophy he's been looking for.

Some of the objections that came up:

- Pain as a source of meaning vs boring bland state of continuous pleasure (I did not even get into the whole "pleasure as absence of pain" definitional issue, and this came up at the end and was never really addressed)

- The necessity of dealing with violent external enemies raised on hate who will be "harder" than you chill garden people (I had to reassure this guy I'm not a pacifist, but it remains an issue how much to compromise in the name of defence)

- The value of spiritual beliefs and practices in comforting the afflicted (one participant gave an impassioned speech about the beauty of Aphrodite's grief over the death of Adonis and how oppressed women could find comfort in this. I had no response)

- A sense that this philosophy is "for individuals" (or friend groups) and is somehow disconnected from wider politics, something that only the privileged can do, and that does not address world issues (my usual response to this is instead of trying to influence how people vote, which is "downstream" of their beliefs and values, I see more potential in going "upstream" to these beliefs and values themselves - imagine how a world of Epicureans would vote)

By the end, there was enthusiasm to have another meetup next month, which I will be holding as a pot luck feast, and I will start a second monthly event to be a cafe discussion like this one.

I encourage all Epicureans to arrange in-person gatherings anywhere in the world. As long as at least one other person shows up, it's worth it. No need to wait for other Epicureans to present themselves. The general philosophically curious public is ready for these ideas!