The Words of Epicurus: 1. Principal Doctrines I-XX

[Hoobifta]

I agree with millions of millions even billions of things authentically epicurean. I definitely agree with all three of these videos. *u*

[1awareness]

Amen

[abbesieyes]

Bless you for your slanders, unapologeticmind.

There is no oxymoron in squaring a circle. You show you know nothing whatsoever of classical (the only valid) Philosophy. "Let No One Ignorant of Geometry enter."

[fourplusseven]

Thanks for posting, enjoyable presentation of a very useful philosopher.

[aviannightmare]

Thanks for the reading BAJParry. A nice change from all the crap that is usually on the sites. I Chanced on this after looking a quote up from a modern book called "God is not Great How Religion Poisons Everything. Christopher Hitchens. Any thoughts on this book by others?

[fetalbetal]

I agreed with it.

[HelloHelicopter]

can someone explain 18 for me???

[fourplusseven]

@HelloHelicopter Sure. Epicurus believed that *physical* pleasure is maximized or reaches its 'limit' as soon as all pain has vanished -- all that can happen after that is different *kinds* of pleasure, not different *degrees* of it. He adds here that the limit of *mental* pleasure is reached by puzzling out the reasons for the anxieties and fears caused by unproductive habits of *physical* pleasure, thus removing removing those anxieties and fears.

[QRF11B]

@HelloHelicopter He who possesses is possessed.

[nickharvey7]

Interesting Video!!

[qaplatlhinganmaH]

Thomas Jefferson's letter to William Short

"As you say of yourself, I TOO AM AN EPICUREAN. I consider the genuine doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greece and Rome have left us. Epictetus, indeed, has given us what was good of the Stoics" Thomas Jefferson

"Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man." Thomas Jefferson

[Jtking3000]

epicurus is definately one of my favorite philosophers

[anuragchoubey]

@Jtking3000 Read about abt "Diogenes of sinope" probably he was d best.

[abbesieyes]

If one believes Epicurus great, how much greater then the source of 'his' Doctrines.

The Vedas.

[BryanAJParry]

Could you give me some of the similarities, please?

[abbesieyes]

Pretty much all the key points of Epicureanism can be found in Vedic philosophy. I would look to Epicurus as a refiner rather than an originator.

The easiest and first one would be the very concept of 'atom' itself. "If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one." Bhagavad Gita.

Self awareness as key to abscence of pain/fear (aponia), self sufficiency. Interesting that he did not agree with reincarnation though.

[BryanAJParry]

I'm definitely like to look into that, but I'm still on the Abrahamic religions. One day I'll read vedic philosophy, no dout :)

About "refining", the question I guess is did Epicurus know of such works in order to refine them, or did he (and/or his forerunner Democritus) come up with them independently? Certain ideas keep getting repeated in philosophy e.g. the notion that less can be more with the right mindset.

[BryanAJParry]

About the atom, what exactly was the vedic notion of the atom? Epicurus said atoms differed in weight, size, and shape, and that the combination of these atoms in various manners produced ultimately all we see, but that these atoms are too small to see etc. How about the vedic notion? Also, if your quote is meant to explain the vedic atomism, it doesn't. I don't quite see how that quote relates to the concept of the atom. Could you elaborate, please? :)

[BryanAJParry]

His rejection of re-incarnation was to do with his atomism. He thought that the soul and flesh were intimately knit, and even if the constituents were re-assembled again, even exactly as before, the continuity of sense-experience would have been broken, and thus the memories (effectively the person) would not remain. On what basis does vedic thought claim re-incarnation exists? I'ld be particularly curious to hear more about their notion of atoms and how that links to re-incarnation :D

[abbesieyes]

A simple google search for vedas and atom would have answered your questions far more ably than I can. You will likely run across a pdf from the Indian Journal of History of Science (1984) that goes into some detail.

I simply note that many developments ascribed to 'Western' philosophy, geometry and maths had 'Eastern' origins.

As for atoms links to reincarnation...an interesting question that I had not pondered. I was just noting that Epicurus did not support the concept.

[abbesieyes]

By the way the quote was not meant to explain a concept...it was highlighted as the clue it was meant to be.

The concept that 'less can be more with the right mindset' was warped by the sophists into 'asceticism'. The true intent, imho, was akin to Thoreau's 'simplify,simplify, fimplify' (in itself the essence of simplicity, heh). There is nothing that cannot be understood by the average human. Not easy to reduce to, but simple once achieved. First Cause, Prime Meridian.

[abbesieyes]

The first part of Oppenheimers quote at the atomic test in White Sands, NM was what I listed. The first part is almost always dropped and the second part highlighted "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."

Curious, the picking and choosing of what becomes part of the public awareness.

[unapologeticmind]

@abbesieyes To combine atomism and reincarnation would be the philosophical equivalent of squaring a circle, it's by definition an oxymoron. Judging by your ramblings here it's obvious that you don't understand Epicureanism (nor the Vedas for that matter)...

[GodlessStephen]

That's very unlikely. Epicurus does reach similar conclusions to a Nastika school of India (which denied the inspiration of the Vedas) called Caravaka or Lokayata.

[abbesieyes]

You have read little of Epicurus, nor any of the Vedas.

[GodlessStephen]

I've not read much of the Vedas. But I've read everything in tact by Epicurus (which is really just fragments and his letters).

Epicurus was a hedonist, who denied an afterlife. Also, his epistemology is almost entirely empiricist. And he believed in a telenomic world (no karma).

[abbesieyes]

Valid. When you study the Vedas, you will note they too are empiricist...though they also exhibit tendencies away from said...much as reality. And he (Epicurus) would believe in no karma, as such would be the direct outcome of the argument of denial of after-life.

I agree with the Vedas, that there is said and that there is karma...however I doubt that any human conception of said currently expounded can encapsulate it. Much as no human conception can now encapsulate the cosmos and God.

[abbesieyes]

Additionally, I doubt that denial of afterlife may be proofed in geometry, and as such I would hold that his view was in error.

[Hoobifta]

@GodlessStephen Epicurus was asking for happiness of mankind. I'm an epicurean and when compared to hedonism, they're both pleasures but are dissimilar. Epicureanism is a position to take if sex isn't the only thing you think of. Epicurus said food pleasures and intellectual pleasures are best, but the first hedonist said sex is the best pleasure. If you enjoy fine food, happiness, and comfort, hedonism and epicureanism are the ultimate existence, & epicureanism is for a quiet life, w. friends.

[GodlessStephen]

@Hoobifta I'm an Epicurean too. And I don't disagree.

[MushroomedAnymore]

@Hoobifta "Epicurus said food pleasures and intellectual pleasures are best"--Where does he say this? Thanks! :-)

[CapeandCowl]

Excellent video. Thank you for posting this.

[BryanAJParry]

Hey cheers, glad you liked it!

[millais89]

very nice job! very clear audio, too!

Epicurus is the greatest...

[BryanAJParry]

I told ya! When I record sound-only vids (and add the images later), the audio is fine. It's something to do with when I record with the webcam that it all goes a bit pear-shaped. Not sure why tho.

As to the vid: cheers for the compliments. Epicurus is the greatest! 8)