Welcome Samj!

Welcome SamJ! When you get a chance, please introduce yourself and tell us about your background in Epicurean philosophy.

Quote from SamJ

(Training themselves to step aside from punches).

And I would say, COUNTERPUNCH!

Thank you for joining us Samj!

You have pointed out many of the reasons that people are initially attracted to Epicurus. From my personal perspective, I am glad that those brought you here, but I would advise you to keep an open mind as to how those ideas fit into the overall philosophy. Epicurean philosophy has much more in conflict with Stoicism (and Buddhism and similar "ascetic" viewpoints) than it has in common with it, which is why there was so much conflict between Stoics and Epicureans in the ancient world. The apparent similarities to which you point are those which are emphasized today by modern Stoics, but they were not considered to be of great significance by the ancient authorities who knew both schools well.

I say these things not be negative on your goals, but to give you an early taste of what you will read as you go further. In a very real sense Epicurus teaches not that limitation of desire is the goal, but that desire itself is the meaning of life - meaning the desire for pleasurable "feeling" in the full physical, emotional, and mental senses in which it is experienced.

The standard book I always suggest that people read is Norman DeWitt's Epicurus and His Philosophy. There you will find a full explanation of the true basis of the philosophy without the Stoicism overlay you find in most other places today.

You will find the points you brought up explained very well, but I think you will also get a better picture of how they fit into the larger context.

Apparently DeWitt was neither a Stoic or an Academic himself, so he made no effort to draw parallels that really don't exist. He went straight to the underlying issues about the nature of the universe and epistemology that separate Epicurus from not only the Stoics but also all the other major Greek schools.

Again, welcome!

Samj I just noticed today your logo with the medallion. That looks great - what's on the other side? Did you make that yourself?

OK yes maybe now in retrospect I have seen that one. Pretty well done, and it's good to have it available even at a charge, but I hope at some point we can generate some of our own designs and make them public domain so anyone with access to a 3d printer can make them. No doubt there is room both for people to make and sell their designs, plus having free ones available. And of course there is a time and materials cost in producing things and sending them over the mail, so that has to be factored in too. Even though 3d printers are easier and cheaper than ever, a lot of people might want something and yet never have access to a printer of their own.

What do you mean via "easy" - is that a service?