Epicurus' seems to have conceived the "atoms" (i.e. the elementary particles in today's language) as hard bodies, which has been refuted by modern physics. Therefore, Epicurus' inferences from that hardness are not sound. This concerns in particular the interaction between atoms and the formation of compounds. Nevertheless, modern physics does describe interaction between atoms and the formation of compounds.
Although the analogy between today's physics and Heraclitus’ flux might appear stronger than between today's physics and Epicurus' hard atoms under that aspect, Heraclitus' flux is useless for meaningful modelling of reality whereas Epicurus' hard atoms can still be used for simplistic starter models to explain some phenomena.
Posts by Martin
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Welcome David!
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On a similar note, forest cemeteries have become popular in Germany in recent decades. My siblings fed the ashes of our mother to a tree in such a forest cemetery. The urn was buried with those of several others around that tree.
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Welcome Sam!
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Welcome Ceiltechbladhm
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Welcome back Adrastus!
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Welcome Ulfilas!
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would it be reasonable to equate prolepsis with instinct?
No because there are also acquired variants of prolepsis. In a recent video call, I mentioned reflexes as similar examples for innate prolepses. However, Epicurus used prolepsis as a standard of truth. Both instincts and reflexes are about automatic behavior, and not about truth. Therefore, it might be wrong to call instincts or reflexes prolepses.
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Welcome Noah!
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Welcome Derek!
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Welcome Karim!
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Which are your favourites? What do y'all think about the idea in general?
Martin, do you have a suggestion?
I do not have a particular preference for any of the suggestions in this thread so far and have none on my own. Among the shown stable three body systems, this one appears to be optimum between simplicity and complexity and provides multiple aspects for symbolism:
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Here is an article why the reliance on models/theories in science and the realism-anti-realism dispute in the philosophy of science should not turn us into Sceptics:
"When is a Fact a Fact?": A Conversation with Peter Vickers
I found the link at Philosophy Matters on: Facebook
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I do not see it, probably because of the larger atom at the top and the different sizes of the "eyes" as mentioned by Julia.
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I will probably join, too.
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Welcome Vlas!
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I mostly agree with Cassius' take on humanism. However, the definition of humanism by the American Humanist Association appears to be compatible with Epicurus' philosophy:
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Welcome Rolf!
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In the recent article "Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex" in Quantamagazine,
(Link:Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex | Quanta MagazineA new suggestion that complexity increases over time, not just in living organisms but in the nonliving world, promises to rewrite notions of time and…www.quantamagazine.orgfound on the FB-page "Philosophy Matters": https://www.facebook.com/PhilosophyMttrs )
Philip Ball mentions two times that the suggested answer to the question is compatible with / does not contradict the second law of thermodynamics.
Considering that according to C.F.v. Weizsaecker, the second law of thermodynamics actually drives complexity -
see "Aufbau der Physik" or "The Structure of Physics", English edition by Thomas Goernitz, Holger Lyre, Springer Science & Business Media, 2007, ISBN 1402052359, 9781402052354:
https://books.google.co.th/books/about/The_Structure_of_Physics.html?id=DeexONN0zDgC&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y
- it should be possible to derive the answer given in that article from the second law of thermodynamics. -
Another big issue with fragments, especially from Philodemus, is whether a particular fragment expresses Philodemus' own view or that of an opponent.
Finding Things At EpicureanFriends.com
Here is a list of suggested search strategies:
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