I think for me what was interesting was when I learned that Seneca had major Epicurean influences. I think for other folks with a Stoic background, it might be helpful to talk through the history of the two schools, and areas where the Stoics in previous history saw value in what the Epicureans put forward. Also hearing out the Stoic on their position may reveal that they use Epicurean reasoning as part of their Stoic "faith," if you will, and that can invite a wider conversation to open up to the ideas of Epicurus. I also think because this person would be philosophically inclined, it would be a longer-term conversation, and would be geared towards sharing thoughts "in good faith," with the hope that they at least appreciate the good in Epicurus' thoughts, and in the best case can become "a friend in the Garden." At least for me, some charity in my worldview, a good conversation, and understanding Epicurus a little more with some key source material really made a world of difference, and I'm sure it can for others as well.
Posts by ayraj
-
-
Thanks for the welcome and the helpful links to source materials!
One way you can be most assured of your time here being productive is to tell us a little about yourself and personal your background in reading Epicurean texts. It would also be helpful if you could tell us how you found this forum, and any particular areas of interest that you have which would help us make sure that your questions and thoughts are addressed.
My background is actually a bit eclectic and unfocused prior to meeting with a philosophical counselor and watching some of their content on YouTube (Dr. Gregory Sadler).
Basically I grew up with a Stoic father (although he approved of Epicurus' teachings, he was preferential to Stoics - he just couldn't stand Cynic philosophy, however) and a liberal ELCA Lutheran mom. As I grew up I began questioning my religious and philosophical underpinnings, and decided that there was actually not much difference between religion/philosophy, and that what I wanted more than anything was a way of living and a practical, applied, and reasonable philosophy to ground my life to.
I began looking at the philosophers I knew (the Stoics my dad favored) and thought "okay this is good enough, but still want to know more..." and looked into Cynicism, Academic Skepticism, Pyrrhonic Skepticism, Platonism, etc. (admittedly superficially - I have a basic understanding from summaries and proponents' perspectives, but not a deep primary document perspective) and found them all somewhat good, or having interesting thoughts.
But then, oooooo boy. I found the Vatican Sayings online! It was just a few quotes but it ignited my curiosity for Epicurus, Lucretius, and whatever I could find. Admittedly, I read half the sayings and decided I wanted to know more. Unfortunately work got in the way and for the last 4 months I've not done much with it.
Then I found a YouTube video by Dr. Gregory Sadler on Epicurus and it reminded me that above all, I wanted to be an Epicurean, and to feel confident in that identity, that mentality, and to develop the mindset and philosophical underpinnings to be successful with it in applying and knowing it for my own life, and to understand it in the original context and in the classical sense. I got philosophical counseling from Dr. Greg, and he recommended I try to find online communities of Epicureans - I did a quick Ecosia search (sorry, Google) and boom! This website popped up. The thing that also interests me a lot about Epicureanism is it seems a little bit like the Hobbit worldview from Lord of the Rings, and I've always been really drawn to it. A cup of tea, a nice conversation, and a good day's work, seem like a great life to me (not sure if that is in line with Classical Epicureanism, so apologies if not!).
My goal is to learn more from the primary writings, to read posts from others, and to learn to be an Epicurean. Because I've left a faith tradition, I'm also interested in any rituals or "best practices" anyone has for making Epicureanism a part of everyday life - kind of like how Christians pray, Buddhists meditate, or there are holidays to commemorate important holy days, etc., or even something simple like a home altar to reflect at. Not sure how much is in the purview of the Classical Epicurean perspective, but I truly am interested in being a student of Epicurus, Epicureanism, and in becoming a "devout" so-to-speak Epicurean.
I have already ordered a collection of Epicurus' extant writings from Amazon, as well as On the Nature of Things.
