Posts by ResponsiblyFree

Good to have your thoughts, Cassius. I hope to see you and other members here at

SESSION 14: EPICURUS AND ETHICS (CREATIVE WITHDRAWAL)--Fri, Feb 3, 9pm; Sat, Feb 4, 9pm; Sun, Feb 5, 9am

Go here to check your time/day compared to Auckland, New Zealand:

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ZOOM CONNECTION DETAILS SCHEDULED FOR ALL 50 SESSIONS

1. FRIDAYS, 9PM, starting October 21, 2022 New Zealand time

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 828 7050 1796

Passcode: 772388

2. SATURDAYS, 9PM, starting October 22, 2022 New Zealand time

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 860 9663 1190

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3. SUNDAYS, 9AM, starting October 23, 2022 New Zealand time (with Steven Yates, PhD)

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“He who understands the wise is wise already. One’s first step in wisdom is to question everything--and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.” George C Lichtenberg

“First let a man teach himself, and then he will be taught by others. There are many men who fancy they understand whatever they experience. All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, until they take root in our personal experience. As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Just a quick response, Cassius, to your comments above on

"We don't want to let modern politics create division within the forum" and

"arguments that imply that Epicurean philosophy would provide general support for specific political positions of today's left, right, or middle are beyond the scope of what we are here to discuss".

I understand and respect your concern about causing conflicts among members due to exploring "political" considerations of Epicurus' work but as a Voluntaryist (all would be Rulers, including modern governments from dictatorships to democracies, are immoral since they attempt to make moral (legislate and execute) first use of physical force, and therefore should not be morally condoned or in any way supported) and Friend of Epicurus (I find wisdom in his work), I am hoping you can trust your community to maturely self-control to the extent of being able to discuss what writings of Epicurus would support (as I believe some do) a Voluntaryist orientation to Politics rather than its opposites (be they left to right wing versions of would be Rulers who try to justify Politics--the justificatory use of some few to morally, rightfully, rule the many). Whew! Just thinking on my fingers so to speak. So I hope we can attract you and some of your members to attend our Session 14 on Epicurus where you will get my Voluntaryist, Atheist, Autodidact viewpoint on Friday and Saturday (9pm NZ time); while on Sunday (9am NZ time) you will also get my co-presenter's view from a polar opposite Conservative, Christian, PhD in Philosophy viewpoint. Sapere Aude and Scire Licet! Thanks for your sterling efforts here on Epicurus.

To add to my invitation to attend our Tutorial, I am attaching Chapter one “The Refuge Of Philosophy—Epicurus And Friends” from the book “A Harmony Within--Five Who Took Refuge” by William A. Reinsmith. I am guessing his work might be new to most of you. This is one of my favorite renderings of Epicurus and I hope it brings your community at least some of the pleasurable wisdom it has abundantly brought me.

Hello Cassius and all Friends of Epicurus, this is Jack Carney in New Zealand, a member of your community who does not visit often and who is a friend of an active member, Martin Huehne.

I present a free, and hopefully, freeing Tutorial, The Philosophy of Responsible Freedom on an online, ongoing basis weekly (Fridays and Saturdays 9PM; and Sundays, 9AM—New Zealand time), which Martin attends. I use videos from the Academy of Ideas and our Session 14 is Epicurus and Ethics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R6BYr0nMP8

I extend an invitation to all here to join us on any or all of the 3 offerings as I would value having the comments of your community.

Quote from ADMIN EDIT

ADMIN EDIT: The link ResponsiblyFree provided results in an advertisement-like preview which I have received concerns about. In addition to our rule against contemporary politics, we have a rule against promoting other philosophies and viewpoints, and that link leads to much more than to the material on Epicurus. Please see post 27 below for the link to the Epicurus episodes, and from there you can judge for yourself what to pursue further, if any.]

My email: responsiblyfree@protonmail.com

You do not have to email me to join.

Please pass this invitation on to all members as the more the merrier.

I look forward to your contributions as we enter the Tumbler Of Great Ideas.

“It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others.” Montaigne

Jack

Hi Martin and other Friends of Epicurus here.

Martin, good to have you join us at our last Monday Self-Actualizing Responsible Freedom session #13 on Socrates.

I hope you--and any others here--will especially join us tonight, 9PM, New Zealand time, for our #14 Epicurus and Ethics.

Below is the Zoom URL which always remains the same for every session that takes place every Monday and Friday, 9PM.

I hope I can get some of you to join us and give us your thoughts on the Academy of Ideas version of Epicurus and my comments as the video runs.

Attached is the transcript for the 8 minute video (usually it is an actual transcript but this time it is auto-generated).

TONIGHT Self-Actualising Responsible Freedom, Friday, July 30, 9pm (NZ Time), 14.Epicurus and Ethics

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“If we can’t trust people with freedom, how can we trust them with power?” “If no one obeys, no one rules.”

If interested in getting and remaining free in an increasingly unfree world (Climate Alarmism, Covid-1984 and other Totalitarian Takeover Attempts), join us for a free, as in no charge, and freeing, as in owning yourself, ongoing online philosophy course: Self-Actualizing Responsible Freedom.

It takes place every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9PM New Zealand time on this Zoom: Always use this URL and ID number to enter the Zoom session:

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://…29cNgeRDW7WIzAu

Meeting ID: 824 532 0024

The course consists of 50 videos from the Academy of Ideas (http://www.academyofideas.com/).

My website (https://www.responsiblyfreeschool.com/academy-of-ideas) contains links to all 50 videos and transcripts. I have put these videos into a specific sequence that I think will be progressively accumulative and synergetic and lead you at the end to knowing what I consider it means to live Responsibly Free as a Self-Actualizing person.

We are only as free as we take the responsibility to be.

Jack

In addition, from a blog I wrote many years ago:

A Libertarian AS IF Thought Experiment: The 4F, Free-From-Force-Field.

The First and Last Freedom Where All Else Is Permitted.

Explaining the Most Fundamental Freedom Necessary to Free Humanity.

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Curtains part on the IMAX screen of your imagination.

1.

The year is 2100. Your 4F switch is on and your Free-From-Force-Field activated. It had been coming increasingly over the last few miniarches of the momentum leaps, yet when it arrived it still stunned most and left a wound of wonder in the center of the Great Question. Our Psience, as so often before, stumbled over the truth, but this time knew enough to stop and be examined by it. It was all so simply complex and complexly simple. We knew each of the 50 trillion or so individual cells of the human body possessed a biomechanical energy equal to the four forces at all levels of the Universal Demonstration. The trick was to release each cell’s energy transform at the turn of wave into particle and direct that process progressively throughout all the cells and then gather and store that tremendous power for human use.

2.

Never mind how it happened. Call it God or Evolution, Plan or Chance. No one can physically harm you. Knives, bullets, bombs, missiles, lasers…absolutely nothing can penetrate the force field that surrounds your body. And you cannot physically harm another. Everyone on earth at birth is protected by a Free-From-Force-Field known simply as the 4F with a grin for the now defunct military meaning. Further, whatever you touch – so long as it was not already the property of another human being – automatically becomes yours and is protected by your 4F. Everything else remains the same and yet is completely changed.

3.

Ponder this pure IF lifted out of life: IF no one can resort to the threat, or use, of physical force but everything else is permitted, how would we live our lives? My answer is easy: we would live our lives as we do now in 2010, by trading personal values for personal values. But we would do so freely, voluntarily, knowing that in the first and last instance, no one can force us to do anything we don’t chose to do. Released from the murderous matrix of human violence, we are now free for whatever it is that humans can do with each other when unable to reenact Cain and Able.

What would society be like if this happened? For a joyous start, there would be no need for The State or any other coercive collectives. No self-elected, or democratically elected, Tyrants or Saviors on any level could exist. Freedom from physical force is the final solution into which all human problems will be dissolved, and thus, never again arise to be solved.

All human problems – physical survival, limited resources, control, power, ownership – these and thousands of others, we attempt to solve by resorting, finally or at first, to physical force. The solutions we destructively create and impose – wars, the State, crime – all go on to create even more problems that call for more solutions that breed more problems…Humanity’s Hall of Horrors.

To Recap: Explaining the Libertarian Non-Aggression Axiom

My "Make Believe Story" is intended to explain the Libertarian Non-Aggression Axiom and what it could mean to humanity if everyone lived it. The first and last freedom – the one freedom from which all other freedoms issue – is this: to be free from one, single specific human action – which is, physical force or threat of it (the initiation of force – this does not include self-defense). Then, everything is permitted – everyone is free to do what they want to do. Once every human being lived this First and most Fundamental Freedom, then humanity could truly begin to creatively answer the Great Question: What are humans for?

I want to convince you that once you agree with my basic starting point for human action, then all the other difficult, contentious and confusing problems of humanity are dissolved within this most primary solution. Then you are free to do and be whatever you choose and allow others that same, infinite freedom.

Selah and Scire Licit.

TheMes of Jack

Just happen to see this out of the corner of my I. So I will take my NAP and see what I can awake as a Cat among the Pigeons.

First, a basic definition of my Non-Aggression Principle that can and should be Universalized:

The FIRST use of PHYSICAL force by one human being against another including his voluntarily acquired property, is the ONLY Human Action that must be prohibited, considered immoral, wrong, evil in all circumstances except to save that person’s physical life in the moment (e.g., physically stopping a child, a blind or mentally disabled person from wandering out into traffic).

I wait for your responses.

Cassius, thanks for your thoughtful, frank, prognostic and appreciated comments on my last post.

It will not surprise me if your club, like every other group I have encountered, finds me a difficult fit. But like Groucho Marx, I would never join any club that would have me as a member . So if you permit me, I will probably be an outlier in your club as I am in all others.

The Groucho quote, for the first time makes me think of something I cannot seem to find in Epicurus so far as I am aware: self-effacing humor. But I suppose a Human God like Epicurus can’t be all things  as I know myself, being one (as a Naturalist, Materialist, Individualist, Voluntaryist Humantheist).

So my invitation stands for anyone in your club to join me on my Zoom to talk about Epicurus on any topic but most especially those I listed in an earlier post. I hope a few will join with me to share our different interpretations of a philosopher we value.

Message received, Cassius, I appreciate your efforts.

Regarding the provision of a “live audio (and I add, video) interaction” on all things Epicurean, I offer my Zoom and my Self-Actualizing Responsible Freedom, Individualist-Voluntaryist, perspective on Epicurus (whew!) to any who are interested here.

The topics I would like to discuss (numbered for easy reference) are framed as philosophic concepts that I consider Epicurus’ Teachings and Philosophy to be inherently compatible with:

1. Voluntaryism: Everything should be Voluntary; that is, all use of first physical force against another human being or his rightfully gained property is considered immoral; therefore, all governments of whatever description are immoral and should not be condoned or supported. I would like to convince all self-identified Epicureans that they should morally declare themselves to Voluntaryists as I am and therefore be against all governments.

2. Self-Determining in the sense of Ryan-Deci’s Self Determination Theory (SDT) that addresses the 3 cores needs of Autonomy, Relatedness and Competency.

3. Self-Actualizing in the sense of the Human Potential Movement as embodied in the work of Carl Rogers, Rollo May, and Abraham Maslow.

4. My Voluntaryist Philosophy’s 4 Gold (Au) Standard Ideals, namely: AUtonomy; AUthenticity; AUthority; AUthorship.

5. Objectivist (Ayn Rand’s philosophy) in its Metaphysics (Existence Exists; The Law of Identity; Consciousness, see http://importanceofphilosophy.com/Metaphysics_Axiom.html which means Existence is primary and Consciousness is secondary, see http://importanceofphilosophy.com/Metaphysics_RealityIsAbsolute.html); and its Epistemology (“Our senses are valid, and the only way to gain information about the world. Reason is our method of gaining knowledge, and acquiring understanding. Logic is our method of maintaining consistency within our set of knowledge. Objectivity is our means of associating knowledge with reality to determine its validity. Concepts are abstracts of specific details of reality, or of other abstractions. A proper epistemology is a rational epistemology.”, see http://importanceofphilosophy.com/Epistemology_Main.html).

We can mutually arrange the best day and time internationally (my time is Auckland, New Zealand) to meet. I can usually meet almost anytime (my NZ time) on any day from 9AM to 11PM, except for Mondays and Fridays from 9PM to 11PM and Wednesdays 8PM to 9PM. I always use the same Zoom URL and ID:

Join Zoom Meeting https://www.google.com/url?q=https://…29cNgeRDW7WIzAu

Meeting ID: 824 532 0024

I would like to record the meetings for myself and invite any others to use their recordings in whatever way they desire including putting them online publicly for whatever purpose as I might do. So I would like as all to be comfortable in exposing ourselves publicly.

I have put many URLs here giving you the opportunity to know who I am and my Voluntaryist Responsible Freedom philosophy that I have integrated Epicurus into for many years on the reasoned basis his philosophy is morally consistent with, and adds to and supports, mine.

I await your response with the understanding we are only as free as we take the responsibility to be.

Faithful to the Evidence of our Senses, Reason the Scientific Method,

Jack in New Zealand

Ok, Cassius, thanks. Clarify for me, please.

The topics I am interested in discussing, you have classified these and I go to the individual categories to start a discussion with a post, yes?

What I am interested in as well as posting is having a recorded live discussion with whomever on various topics, whether this goes on your podcast or whatever.

So how does this live interaction take place?

Awaiting your response.

Jack

Hi Cassius

I am pleased you find that my version of Epicurus aligns with your community’s.

I will enjoy discussing our versions of Epicurus on your podcast. I listened to 079 and liked the respectful banter, each comfortable in bringing his ideas out. I think I can add to the discussion and look forward to that--aligning with my New Zealand time.

I would like to discuss three themes: Friendship; Freedom/Determism; and Older Age.

In that earlier attachment photo of the pocketbook I carried and still carry around: A Guide To Happiness (have you seen that Phoenix 60p paperback published in 1995?).

Page 18 on Friendship:

“#17. Of all the means which are presented by wisdom to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life, by far the most important is friendship.” I call my Voluntaryist group I started up in NZ: Free Friends (see attachment and note etymological origin of “friend” and “free” are the same and it is “love”).

Page 8 on Freedom/Determinism:

“He laughs at destiny which some have set up as the ruler of all things. He thinks that with us lies the chief power in determining events, some of which happened according to natural law, others by chance, others through our own agency. He sees that natural law cannot be called to account for itself, that chance is inconstant, but that our own actions are free.”

Page 15 on Older Age:

“It is not the young man who should be thought happy, but an old man who has lived a good life. For the young man at the height of his powers is unstable and is carried this way and that by fortune, like a headlong stream. But the old man has come to anchor in old age as though in port, and the good things for which before he hardly hoped he has brought into safe harborage in his greatful recollection.”

Attached is my document on my Free Friends, a shot of my pocketbook I took the quotes from, an Epicurus meme as well as chapter one from

A Harmony Within-Five Who Took Refuge-A Study in Creative Withdrawal that is on Epicurus.

I will be giving you a link soon with hundreds of books, articles, etc. on Epicurus for the community to download for free.

Email me if interested to meet on your podcast: themesofjack@gmail.com

All the best, Jack

Cassius and all here, I think the best way you can get to know my perspectives as a Epicurean Voluntaryist Passionate Poet and Rational Philosopher is to listen to the two podcast interviews done by my Voluntaryist friend, Skyler, on his Everything Voluntary podcast; and then add my website page with my illustrated poem that I read on a video on my Youtube channel. Here are details and links:

Podcast Interviews With Everything-Voluntary.Com:

1.Jack’s Journey, Autarchism, & Life-Coaching (54m) – Episode 099

December 7, 2017 Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Episode 099 welcomes Jack Carney to the podcast for a chat with Skyler. Topics include: living all over the world, Auckland, autarchism and political labels, moral principles and aggression, freedom schools and unschooling, psychedelics, early adulthood, life coaching, humanistic spiritualism, our emotional brains, his philosophical journey based on loss, and more. Listen to Episode 099 (54m, mp3, 64kbps)

Jack's Journey, Autarchism, & Life-Coaching (54m) – Episode 099

Episode 099 welcomes Jack Carney to the podcast for a chat with Skyler. Topics include: living all over the world, Auckland, autarchism and political labels,…

everything-voluntary.com

2.Jack C. Returns, NZ Lockdowns, & Be Your Own Authority (1h8m) – Episode 357

August 21, 2020 Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

Episode 357 welcomes back Jack Carney to chat with Skyler on the following topics: the COVID-19 lockdown experience in Auckland, New Zealand; lockdown protests stateside, their response, and then the George Floyd protests and their opposite response; government coordination on lockdown policies and website resource design; the Milgram experiment and what it says about today’s political climate; the Plandemic documentaries; the medical mafia; the changing usefulness of the Karen meme; why there are so few libertarian types in the world; government as God; the formerly rebellious nature of Mormons; why everyone must be their own authority, their own god; the non-aggression principle and self-defense; Free Friends, voluntary community building; his draft dodging of the Vietnam War in 1967; the Academy of Ideas YouTube channel; and more. Listen to Episode 357 (1h8m, mp3, 64kbps)

Jack C. Returns, NZ Lockdowns, & Be Your Own Authority (1h8m) – Episode 357

Episode 357 welcomes back Jack Carney to chat with Skyler on the following topics: the COVID-19 lockdown experience in Auckland, New Zealand; lockdown protests…

everything-voluntary.com

My reading:

We are only as free as we take the responsibility to be.

With care, your Free Friend Jack

Ah, another nice serendipitous event. I just happened to pick your Lucretius Today podcast 079 which I am just listening to now that seems to be on justice, fitting nice my Voluntaryist discussion point. Will share my thoughts after listening.

Hi Cassius and Martin

As I mentioned in my post, I nicely, accidentally, stumbled upon you when I was searching for podcasts on Epicurus.

I have connected with other Epicurean groups but had not known about yours, so was pleasantly surprised to come upon you.

As you can read in my attached piece on Epicurus, he is the ancient philosopher I most identify with, namely, what I interpret as his materialistic, voluntaryistic approach to life which is mine.

I read your rules about not bringing up politics but I hope you will allow it to be addressed tangentially as I do in that attachment I uploaded on my version of Epicurus.

As a lifelong Voluntaryist, I interact with other persons based on the Non-Aggression Principle and the belief all human interactions should be strictly voluntary.

Therefore, all collectives such as governments that use first physical force, are evil and unnecessary.

My reading of Epicurus as intentionally living outside of the politics and never seeming to approve of any collectives based on force, leads me to believe he too would be a "Voluntaryist" and a good "Free Friend" (which is what I call Voluntaryists).

I invite discussions on the question of whether we can accurately interpret Epicurus as a Voluntaryist as I am.

Thanks for your good work.

Jack

Hello Fellow Epicurean Free Friends.

I am grateful that I have stumbled into your Garden through a podcast.

I have been a long time "Free Friend" of Epicurus. He has faithfully accompanied me through my many years of gain and loss keeping me linked to life through our shared Love of Wisdom through which, with Katharine my Other Half, I came into the Wisdom of Love.

Attached is a piece I did on who Epicurus is to me as well as a photo of the cover of my well-worn pocketbook selection of Epicurus "A Guide to Happiness" I have kept close to me since I bought it in Brisbane, Australia, 1996.

Just recently on my Facebook page I posted this photo of my pocketbook along with this comment:

https://www.facebook.com/JackAsEveryMan/

VIRTUOUS REALITY VS. VIRTUAL REALITY--CHOOSE:

THE GREAT RESIST VS. THE GREAT RESET

https://plarium.com/en/game/raid-shadow-legends/

I saw this Virtual Reality Game Ad on FB and put this comment under it along with the photo of the book:

Hey, how about turning off your virtual de-vice and take a virtuous walk with your friend or loved one watching a butterfly cast its shadow on the many petals of the red, red rose with the pocketbook of Epicurus "A Guide to Happiness" in your hand open to page 31 reading together: "Remember that you are of mortal nature and have a limited time to live and have devoted yourself to discussions on nature for all time and eternity and have seen 'things that are now and are to come and have been.'" ResponsiblyFree

Main Websites As Responsibly Free Voluntaryist

1. For Home-Un-Schoolers and Self-Directed Life-Long Learners:

http://www.responsiblyfreeschool.com

2. For Committed Intimate Relationships:

http://www.pairingtoday.com

3. For Parenting:

http://www.parenteffectivenesstrainingnewzealand.com

4. For Self-Actualization Resources:

http://www.resourceforyoursource.com

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49 Youtube Videos:

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Podcast Interviews With Everything-Voluntary.Com:

1.Jack’s Journey, Autarchism, & Life-Coaching (54m) – Episode 099

December 7, 2017 Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

https://everything-voluntary.com/jack-c-returns…h8m-episode-357

2.Jack C. Returns, NZ Lockdowns, & Be Your Own Authority (1h8m) – Episode 357

August 21, 2020 Skyler J. Collins (Editor)

https://everything-voluntary.com/jack-c-returns…h8m-episode-357

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Online, Ongoing, Free Philosophy Course: Self-Actualizing Responsible Freedom

http://www.responsiblyfreeschool.com/academy-of-ideas contains details and links to all videos and transcripts. The course consists of 50 videos from the Academy of Ideas http://www.academyofideas.com/ and meets Mondays and Fridays 9PM New Zealand time on my zoom.

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Free Friends, A Voluntaryist Community. Every second Wednesday, 8PM (NZ time) I host our “Free Friends” gathering on my Zoom.

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Always use this URL and ID number to enter any Zoom session:

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://…29cNgeRDW7WIzAu

Meeting ID: 824 532 0024

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Email: themesofjack@gmail.com

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I look forward to connecting with any and all of you here as my new Free Friends.

Jack Carney in Auckland, New Zealand