From time to time I post a brief description of Epicureanism, not for the benefit of the cognoscenti, but for new readers for whom Epicurus is just the name of a philosopher: Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based on the teachings of Epicurus, founded around 307 B.C. It teaches that the greatest good is …
“In 1997, the Department of Defense set up the 1033 program as part of the National Defense Authorization Act to provide thousands of domestic police forces with “surplus” equipment of almost every imaginable militarized kind. “Since then, thanks to your tax dollars, it has given away $7.4 billion worth of such equipment, some of it …
(A bit long, but important. How millennials can benefit from the ideas of Epicurus) For young people leaving college since 2008 the prospects of a full-time job have been stressful, to say the least. Now, during this crisis, more than ever. Their grand-parent’s generation enjoyed almost full employment for the majority of their working lives, …
Continue reading ‘Millennials – the unluckiest generation’ »
If you haven’t read it Stephen Greenblatt’s book, “The Swerve: How the World Became Modern”, do try to find time to do so. It a very readable. It introduces the modern reader to the most famous of Epicurean books, de rerum natura of Lucretius. Greenblatt’s book, which won several prestigious awards, is contentious because it pictures …
“We are born once and cannot be born twice, but we must be no more for all time. Not being master of tomorrow, you nonetheless delay your happiness. Life is consumed in procrastination, and each of us dies without providing leisure for himself.” (From “The Essential Epicurus”, by Eugene O’Connor, Great Books in Philosophy …
The idea that life’s objective should be pleasure was greeted with horror by contemporaries, who believed that man’s highest calling was self-sacrifice, self-denial and worship of the Gods, and the Emperor. The early christians regarded pleasure as a form of vice. To them the pursuit of pain triumphed over the pursuit of pleasure. Bravery and …
There seems to be good evidence that regular sessions of mindful attention have a calming effect on the amygdala, the brain’s emotion processor, and reduce impulsive reactions to stressful or negative thoughts and experiences. Mindfulness, they say, can help mute our emotional response to physical pain, and lessen anxiety and mind-wandering (not the kind that …
Epicureanism was never meant to be a dry academic philosophy. In fact, it is best kept away from academia, where, as usual with philosophy, long words render it dull, if not incomprehensible. Rather, it is a vital way of living which seeks to free men and women from a life of unhappiness, fear and anxiety. …
In the words of Lucretius: “..we are all born from the same celestial seed; all of us have the same father, from which the earth, the mother who feeds us, receives clear drops of rain, producing from them bright wheat and lush trees, and the human race, and the species of beasts, offering up the foods with which all …
They peddle fear here: They peddle fear of terrorists and sudden death, They peddle fear of rapists and angry drivers, They peddle fear of government and paying tax, Of deer ticks, butter, sugar, fat, untested drugs; Of unknown visitors and dark-skinned men, Of invasion, war and sudden death, Of gunmen holding up cashiers, Of bombs in …
“Great abundance is heaped up as a result of brutalizing labor, but a miserable life is the result”. (The Essential Epicurus”, by Eugene O’Connor, Great Books in Philosophy series) Well, that was prescient! What immediately comes to mind is Amazon – huge numbers of people working long hours at pitiful wages so that we can …
Continue reading ‘The hypocrisy of the Amazon-using classes’ »
“Happiness and blessedness do not belong to abundance of riches or exalted position or offices or power, but to freedom from pain and gentleness of feeling and a state of mind that sets limits that are in accordance with nature.” ( The Essential Epicurus”, by Eugene O’Connor, Great Books in Philosophy series)
There really are two Epicurean gardens in Greece, one in Athens and the other in Thessalonica. I quote: The “Garden of Thessaloniki” was launched in November 2007 as a voluntary, participatory, informal company of friends and fans of the teachings of Epicurus. Since then there have been countless meetings and open events, participations in national meetings …
Epicureanism: the chief beliefs, not necessarily in order of importance: equality of treatment and opportunity suggested by the actions of early Epicureans courtesy to all, rich and poor, child and mother politeness and consideration tolerance rejection of superstition, organised religion, man-made gods and “eternal suffering”. compassion for immigrants, the oppressed and the sick refusal to …
Pre-Socratics (6th-5th cent BC) Interested in the natural world –Thales: 1st philosopher; “everything comes from water” –Anaximander: “Our world is one of many and what comes before and after all created things is boundless.” –Parmenides: “Everything that exists has always existed and nothing changes.” He was the first …
Continue reading ‘A somewhat long, but hopefully useful, philosophy crib list’ »
Brian Dougall, in The Hobo Test, his 2013 critique of Epicureanism, published in Philosophy Now, began by explaining what Epicurus meant by pleasure and then went on to explain what Epicurus meant by a “good. life” . He wrote that easily- accessible pleasures in the era of Epicurus included water, fruit, a comfortable hammock, a simple …
“Great abundance is heaped up as a result of brutalizing labour, but a miserable life is the result”. (p.100, “The Essential Epicurus”, translated by Eugene O’Connor, Great Books in Philosophy series) The employment practices of Big Business, the outsourcing and the indifference of politicians have led the the highest suicide rate per thousand in the …
Eton College is adding gratitude, kindness and empathy coaching to its curriculum to build its pupils’ “character”. Following a review into what values Eton should be promoting, boys at the £40,700-a-year school are being taught to take a moment each day to acknowledge how others have helped them and what they have to be grateful …
Don’t smoke The Hisayama Study, an ongoing investigation of a suburban Japanese community, has found that smoking in mid to late life not only raises the risk of lung cancer, but also ups the chance of developing dementia. Smokers who quit, even in their 40s or 50s, didn’t see the same rise in risk. Don’t …
“Vain is the word of a philosopher, by which no mortal suffering is healed. Just as medicine confers no benefit if it does not drive away bodily disease, so is philosophy useless if it does not drive away the suffering of the mind”. (from “The Essential Epicurus”, trans. by Eugene O’Connor, Great Books in Philosophy …
Private equity work has been sweet for Marc Leder, the numero uno at Sun Capital Partners. He’s parlayed his takeovers of troubled firms into a fortune big enough to make him a co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers in basketball and the New Jersey Devils in hockey. New York’s tabloids, meanwhile, have come to dub the …
Continue reading ‘The pension thief: no pensions but plenty of parties’ »
Epicureanism stands for charity, friendship, foregiveness, and suspicion of ambition and politics. What Epicurus offered was not help in dying, but help in living. Liberated from superstition, he taught, you are free to pursue a pleasant life. Here are some further thoughts: “It is impossible to live pleasurably without living prudently, honorably snd justly, and …
I have to confess, I’m a big fan of technology. I own a MacBook Air, an iPad, a smartphone, a digital camera, a speaker system and much else besides. Every time Google or Apple announce the release of a new product, I’m always amongst the first to hear. But recently, I’ve come to the conclusion …
Dear Editor: Brian Dougall’s article ‘Epicureanism: The Hobo Test’ in Issue 98 is more a caricature than accurately characterizing Epicurus and his philosophy. Dougall concludes that anyone trying to live a pain-free, pleasurable existence would end up a hobo, the implication being such an ambition is not realistic or even possible in today’s world. However, …
Continue reading ‘Ave Epicurus ( a short run-down on Epicureanism)’ »
Awhile ago, I wrote piece on how Epicureans should raise children. Robert has made his own contributions on the subject, which can be read here. Today, I thought I would address something altogether more fundamental: whether Epicureans should be having children at all. From what I can gather from my research, Epicurus disapproved of marriage and …
