Posts by EricR

I was pondering this the other day. If pain is an evil, then inflicting it on others is immoral. Of course, there is also the acceptance of personal momentary pain in order to avoid later and presumably worse pain. But inflicting pain on others is questionable if it denies their option of accepting it for that later avoidance.

Yes, I think links are a better way to go.

This is a fine idea, Cassius. Thank you. This week I created a website specifically for my compositions at http://ericrmusic.com. I also joined Soundcloud so can embed from there. I notice the mp3 extension is not on the list of allowed extensions so am assuming uploading sound files is not possible?

The validation via the senses is actually demonstrated in the video. It is suggested to close the eyes and notice that what is actually being heard. Those who take this video as evidence that "the senses can't be trusted" will possibly miss that part.

I would add that the video reminded me of a conversation I mentioned in the audio chat last week. I got into a debate with a friend, a medical doctor no less, who stated bluntly "I don't trust my senses". I got a tad annoyed at the obvious fact that he was telling me this so was assuming I could hear him. But I chose to ask him more about what he meant. Turns out he defines the "senses" as the entire mechanism of sense data + mental construction. So when the mind creates an illusion as it does in the video, he would say "see, the senses create illusions".

This way of defining the senses is a common error and we need to be on top of it with clear distinctions between "sense data" and "mental constructions".

I came across this video and thought it worth sharing here. It illustrates how the mind interprets sense data and can create illusory experiences. Of note is that this will be seen by many people as evidence that the senses are not trustworthy. I'm interested to know what folks here think.

Yes, that makes sense thanks. I am thinking of the word in the very limited way of a detached god and speculating that Epicurus' influence on Jefferson, combined with the term being prominent in his time might be connected. From what I've read, he kept his deepest beliefs to himself.

Thanks and I look forward to others' comments. My speculation comes from my understanding of the word "Deist" as describing a god that is not involved in the world, a detached god. This seems to correspond with Epicurus' notions of the gods so I don't find it to be a big stretch to think Jefferson may have been thinking along these lines. Also, Deism was a common thread of thought in his time. Maybe some of the more scholarly members here can shed light on this. Certainly this is not a major question, but I'm curious.

I've come across the claim that Thomas Jefferson was a Deist several times over the years and never really gave it much thought until discovering his Epicurean roots. Given Epicurus' notion of the gods being perfectly blissful beings without any wants or worries and therefore uninvolved in human affairs, I wonder if this idea, when applied to the concept of a single god, could've contributed to his Deism. (assuming he really was such).

Thanks for such good advice.

I came across a bit of helpful guidance on this a while back. The suggestion was to limit responses to someone and move on rather than engage in a time-consuming back and forth, even if they have the last word. So the formula is:

1. Post your statement, video, meme, lesson, comment etc.

2. When someone responds with a question or comment, respond once

3. If they come back with more, especially if argumentative, let it go and move on

This will often mean they will get the last word, but I try to remember I'm writing for all viewers. Of course one has to use some judgement on a case by case situation, but this guideline creates a auto-stop rather auto-argue!

Thanks for posting it, Cassius. Very kind of you.

For interested in the Epicurean aspect, it came about as I roamed social media, news headlines etc. I started to think that with all the difficulties in life, both natural and self-created, we often miss or worse, dismiss the simple pleasure of seeing beauty right in front of us.

May the images and music bring you all some pleasure.

Quote

The only thing that certainly lies ahead of us is death, and the only thing we can do to live our lives successfully is to fill them with as much pleasure and as little pain as possible.

That line reflects so much of what I've been pondering recently. Many here already know that I closed my FB account a while ago. Frankly, I have not looked back. I'm already on MInds.com and Gab.ai and can be found there. (look for innereric) But I am not convinced they are a great deal better than FB other than their free speech stance and not manipulating what one sees......so far. That said, all these social networks are potential places from which to invite interested people here. That is likely their best use.

For in-depth study of Epicurean Philosophy, this platform is much more suitable. So I would welcome more people here and will try to offer more input as it grows.

Thanks Mako. It remains to be seen how these platforms work out. Gab and Minds seem to be currently dominated by the worst of the free speech hatefest, but that's because many of them were kicked off Facebook & Twitter.

But there are many reasonable and interesting voices there and these are growing as well. So it remains to be seen what these platforms will look like in the coming years.

MeWe seems less popular and less vitriolic overall, but you can certainly find the extremes there as well. I'm active on them all to see how things go and how well one can customize the experience. If you join any of these, seek me out and let me know you're there so I can link to you.

Most welcome. I will watch for you. I don't yet know the value of these and it takes some getting used to since the online hatefest is going full force. My block lists grow every day! But FB is facing some challenges and these are part of the next wave. It remains to be seen how it all shakes out.

Free speech is....free and I personally value it deeply. So I am ok with the radicals. And as I said, they can be blocked.

I believe quality posts and information will outlast the haters and as I said it's possible to customize one's presence to an extend. Minds is seen as the top competitor to FB while Gab is the same for Twitter.

Here is my invitation to Minds: https://www.minds.com/register?referrer=innereric (they have a point system that allows one to boost posts and channels without spending $$. Could be very good for spreading messages)

Here is my channel on Gab: https://gab.ai/innereric

Here is MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/ericr

Thought I'd weight in here as well. I am on Minds and Gab so am getting more familiar with them every day. From what I've seen, they are growing and constantly improving. Another one I'm on is MeWe. It is a very nice platform and is also growing.

All of these are relatively untapped with regard to an Epicurean presence. The downside is the same as the upside - free speech. To put it mildly, there are a lot of bigoted, mouthy idiots who do little but repost news headlines promoting their politics. However, muting and blocking is easy so with some diligence it is possible to carve out a space on these platforms that reached the right people.

Let me know if you want links to my channels on these sites. You can sign up and look around at your leisure.