If Odysseus landed in modern-day Washington D.C, he would be viewed with the darkest suspicion, photographed and finger-printed, his iris-print recorded. He would be handcuffed and interviewed by the Department of Homeland Security. He would be lucky to escape electrocution as a common pirate, a fate he probably richly deserved, and would very likely be …
Continue reading ‘The death of the eccentric and the adventurer’ »
BREAKING THE SPELLReligion as a Natural PhenomenonBy Daniel C. DennettViking. 448 pp. $25.95 Fertility rates in the relatively secular blue states are 12 percent lower than in the relatively religious red states, according to Philip Longman in the March/April issue of Foreign Policy. In Europe, a similar correlation holds. As Longman writes: "Do you seldom, …
Continue reading ‘Are secular liberals doomed? What are the odds?’ »
Epicureans, committed or otherwise, should seek ataraxia, that is peace and calmness of mind. This becomes difficult when one is confronted with people like Charlie, who seem to be in favour of a deliberate conflagration in the Middle East for religious ends. I have said that Charlie should be allowed to have his say, but …
Continue reading ‘Epicureans reject advocates of religious extremism’ »
Live simply and prudently, with self-control and moderation. Seek simple pleasures, those that satisfy natural and necessary desires, chief of which are food, drink, clothing, shelter, friendship and love. The idea that Epicureanism sheer self-indulgence is nonsense, but it is perpetuated by the Roman Catholic church today. See their derogatory piece on Epicureanism: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05500b.htm
“I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all”. Ecclesiastes This is why Epicureanism is …
