Lucretius Today - Epicurus and Epicurean Philosophy

Lucretius Today is a podcast dedicated to learning Epicurean philosophy through study of the poet Lucretius, who lived in the age of Julius Caesar and wrote "On The Nature of Things," the only complete presentation of Epicurus' ideas left to us from the ancient world. We'll walk you line by line through the six books of Lucretius' poem, and we'll discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. In this podcast we won't be talking about modern political issues. How you apply Epicurus in your own life is entirely up to you. Over at the Epicureanfriends.com web forum, we apply this approach by following a set of ground rules we call "Not Neo-Epicurean, But Epicurean." Epicurean philosophy is not a religion, it''s not Stoicism, it's not Humanism, it's not Libertarianism, it's not Atheism, and it's not Marxism or any other philosophy - it is unique in the history of Western Civilization, and as we explore Lucretius's poem you'll quickly see how that is the case. The home page of this podcast is LucretiusToday.com, and there you can find a free copy of the version of the poem from which we are reading, and links to where you can discuss the poem between episodes at Epicureanfriends.com.

Episode 300 - An Epicurean Twist on The Lesson of King Canute

Welcome to Episode 300 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we will commemorate our 300th episode and relate where we have been over the years to where we are now as we dive further into the details of Cicero's and Plutarch's criticism against Epicurus. We'll spend more time on the second of Cicero's criticisms as to absence of pain in Section XX, and develop a useful analogy between the teachings of Epicurus and the lesson of King Canute. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4733-episode-300-td28-an-epicurean-twist-on-the-legend-of-king-canute/#post37331

09-26
53:03

Episode 299 - Was Epicurus Right That There Are Only Two Feelings - Pleasure And Pain?

Welcome to Episode 299 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we return to our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. Today we will be following up on last week's discussion as we continue in Section XX, where Cicero hammers against the inconsistencies he sees in holding "absence of pain" to be pleasure. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4727-episode-299-td27-was-epicurus-right-to-maintain-that-there-are-only-two-feelings/#post37234

09-16
55:48

Episode 298 - Facts And Feelings In Epicurean Philosophy

Welcome to Episode 298 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we are continuing in Tusculan Disputations from an Epicurean perspective, and we will be following up on past discussions about absence of pain.  Today we move forward into Section XX, where Cicero continues to spell out dramatically the difference between the Epicurean goal of life and that of the other "more reputable" schools. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4711-episode-298-td26-feelings-as-facts-in-epicurean-philosophy-part-1/?postID=37166#post37166

09-12
53:41

Episode 297 - Is Philosophy At War With Perfume?

Welcome to Episode 297 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes.  After two weeks looking at Plutarch, today we are back in Part 3 of Cicero's Tusculan Disputations, addressing much the same issues within the framework of anger, pity, envy, and other strong emotions. When we were last together we were in Section Section XVIII, and we will regroup today in Section XIX on topics related to Absence of Pain, and then continue as Cicero proceeds further. Since we've been away from this material for two weeks, let's go back to the end of XVII where Cicero gave his most recent summary of Epicurean ethics, and then move forward from there.https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4700-episode-297-is-philosophy-at-war-with-perfume-not-yet-released/?postID=37069#post37069

09-04
47:53

Episode 296 - Ancient Criticisms Of "Absence of Pain" Echo In The Modern World

Welcome to Episode 296 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world.Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today.If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes.Once again this week Joshua is away, and in the absence of our other podcasters today I want to use the time we have to take a look at some of the extensive comment and discussion we've had as a result of last week's episode.The topic we'll focus on this week is primarily Plutarch's allegations in Section 7 and 8 of his essay "That Living According to Epicurus is Not Possible. In those sections Plutarch alleged that even the animals pursue joy and delight when they have satisfied their essential needs of life such as for food and water, but that Epicurus - according to Plutarch - would deny his followers those same pleasures, on the grounds that the Epicurean goal is "absence of pain" rather than pleasure in the sense of joy and delight.   https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4687-episode-296-ancient-criticisms-of-epicurean-absence-of-pain-echo-in-the-modern-w/

08-29
54:16

Episode 295 - Plutarch's Absurd Interpretation of Epicurean Absence of Pain

Welcome to Episode 295 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week Joshua will be away, and Don has kindly agreed to step in during his absence. Rather than continue in Tusculan Disputations in Joshua's absence, we will briefly take up a topic we have not previously addressed: Plutarch's essay Against Colotes. Here Plutarch notes that Colotes had written an essay to the effect that it is impossible to live happily under the non-Epicurean philosophers, and Plutarch attempts to turn the tables on Colotes and argue that the opposite is true. This essay contains many specific allegations against Epicurus that are not well documented elsewhere, so even if we have only a short time, it will be good for us to point out to our podcast listeners the existence and general content of this ancient source. We won't have time to read long sections from the text but what we hope to do is to make you familiar with the general outline of Plutarch's argument so you can come back to it again in the future and know what to expect. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4673-episode-295-td25-plutarch-s-absurd-interpretation-of-epicurean-absence-of-pain/

08-19
01:01:50

Episode 294 - Distinguishing Dogs From Wolves And Pleasure From Absence Of Pain

Welcome to Episode 294 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world.Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes.This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint.Today we continue in Part 3, which addresses anger, pity, envy, and other strong emotions. Last week we started on Cicero's attack against calling "Absence of Pain" pleasure in Section XVIII, and we will continue that examination and provide our responses.https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4665-episode-294-td24-responding-further-to-cicero-s-attack-on-absence-of-pain-as-ple/

08-12
01:02:10

Episode 293 - Cicero Accuses Epicurus Of Evasion In Calling Absence of Pain A Pleasure

Welcome to Episode 293 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. Today we continue in Part 3, which addresses anger, pity, envy, and other strong emotions. Today we'll continue into Section XVI, where we compare Epicurus' views on dealing with grief to those of other schools. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4649-episode-293-cicero-accuses-epicurus-of-evasion-in-calling-absence-of-pain-a-plea/ 

08-06
01:04:09

Episode 292 - Is Virtue Or Pleasure The Key To Overcoming Grief?

Welcome to Episode 292 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. Today we continue in Part 3, which addresses anger, pity, envy, and other strong emotions. Today we'll continue into Section XVI, where we compare Epicurus' views on dealing with grief to those of other schools. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4637-episode-292-td22-is-virtue-or-pleasure-the-key-to-overcoming-grief/

07-30
45:36

Episode 291 - Epicurus Pushes Back Against "Expect The Worst And You'll Never Be Disappointed"

Welcome to Episode 291 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. Today we continue in Part 3, which addresses anger, pity, envy, and other strong emotions. Today we'll continue into Section XIV, where we compare Epicurus' views on dealing with grief to those of other schools. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4619-episode-291-td21-epicurus-pushes-back-against-expect-the-worst-and-you-ll-never/ 

07-25
40:25

Episode 290 - Tiptoeing Around All Disturbance Is Not Living

Welcome to Episode 290 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. Today we continue in Part 3, which addresses anger, pity, envy, and other strong emotions. Today we'll continued where we ended last week in Section X. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4610-episode-290-td20-tiptoeing-around-all-disturbance-is-not-living/ 

07-16
48:56

Episode 289 - Epicureans Are Not Spocks!

Welcome to Episode 289 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. Today we continue in Part 3, which addresses anger, pity, envy, and other strong emotions. We'll continue reading today with Section IX. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4550-episode-289-td19-epicureans-are-not-spocks/

07-10
48:04

Episode 288 - Will the Wise Man Feel Grief Or Other Strong Emotions?

Welcome to Episode 288 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world.Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes.This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. This series addresses five of the greatest questions in human life (Death, Pain, Grief/Fear, Joy/Desire, and Virtue) with Cicero speaking for the majority and Epicurus the main opponent.Today we begin in Part 3, which addresses Grief or pain of mind.We'll first comment on some general points Cicero makes, and then begin reading with Section IV.https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4518-episode-288-tusculan-disputations-part-3-will-the-wise-man-feel-grief-not-yet-re/

07-03
51:51

Episode 287 - The Fear of Pain Is Overrated, But Cicero and Epicurus Disagree As To Why

Welcome to Episode 287 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. Today we close in on the ending of Part 2 - "Is Pain An Evil?." Last week we focused on Cicero's argument that all we should face pain "like a man," focusing most of his attention on soldiers and military analogies. This week, Cicero turns his attention to examples of wise men facing pain, and he begins to summarize his argument. We'll pick up with Section XXV.https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4510-episode-287-td17-the-fear-of-pain-is-overrated-but-cicero-and-epicurus-disagree/

06-24
46:35

Episode 286 - Confronting Pain With Reason Rather Than "Virtue"

Welcome to Episode 286 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. Today we close in on the ending of Part 2 - "Is Pain An Evil?." Last week we focused on Cicero's criticisms of Epicurus' PD04, and Cicero's argument that all we need to do to overcome pain is to approach it "like a man." This week, Cicero says that the call to virtuous conduct and overcoming of pain come from reason itself, which is the master of the soul. To what extent Epicurus agrees is what we'll be discussing when we pick up with Section XX. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4498-episode-286-confronting-pain-with-reason-rather-than-with-virtue/

06-20
01:03:50

Episode 285 - The Significance Of The Limits Of Pain

Welcome to Episode 285 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. Today we continue in Part 2 - "Is Pain An Evil?." Last week we focused on Cicero's observations that we can prepare ourselves for bodily pain through exercise and training, a point in which Cicero did not pick out Epicurus as an opponent, and on which the ancient Epicureans would likely have agreed, at least to an extent. This week, Cicero tells us that he is going to leave to the Stoics to argue that pain is not evil, and he himself is going to proceed to talk about his opinion on how to deal with bodily pain, whether you are a soldier or a philosopher. We'll be picking up today with Section XVIII, and we'll see that Cicero focuses his attack on Epicurus' Principal Doctrine 4, and that will give us a great opportunity to explore that doctrine more closely. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4492-episode-285-the-significance-of-the-limits-of-pain/

06-13
47:48

Episode 284 - In Dealing With Pain, Does Practice Make Perfect? Or Does Practice Make For A Happy Life?

Episode 284 - In Dealing With Pain, Does Practice Make Perfect? Or Does Practice Make For A Happy Life? Welcome to Episode 284 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. This series addresses five of the greatest questions in human life (Death, Pain, Grief/Fear, Joy/Desire, and Virtue) with Cicero speaking for the majority and Epicurus the main opponent: Today we continue in Part 2 - "Is Pain An Evil?," picking up with Section XIII, where Cicero continues his assertion that infamy is a greater evil than any pain. https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4477-episode-284-does-practice-make-perfect-or-does-practice-lead-to-a-happy-life/

06-04
47:50

Episode 283 - "Philosophy For the Millions"

This is special episode of the Lucretius Today Podcast is devoted entirely to a reading of Norman DeWitt's essay "Philosophy For The Millions," an introduction to the history of Epicurus and his ideas.The full text of this reading is available in the podcast thread here: https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4476-episode-283-philosophy-for-the-millions/?postID=35577#post35577

05-31
28:58

Episode 282 - Is a Trifling Pain A Greater Evil Than The Worst Infamy?

Welcome to Episode 282 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world.Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes.This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint, and today we continue in Part 2 - "Is Pain An Evil?," picking up with** Section XI, where Cicero attacks Epicurus for saying that pain is the greatest evil.Show Notes:  https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4462-episode-282-is-a-trifling-pain-a-greater-evil-than-the-worst-infamy/

05-29
56:18

Episode 281 -Is Pain The Greatest Evil - Or An Evil At All?

Welcome to Episode 281 of Lucretius Today. This is a podcast dedicated to the poet Lucretius, who wrote "On The Nature of Things," the most complete presentation of Epicurean philosophy left to us from the ancient world. Each week we walk you through the Epicurean texts, and we discuss how Epicurean philosophy can apply to you today. If you find the Epicurean worldview attractive, we invite you to join us in the study of Epicurus at EpicureanFriends.com, where we discuss this and all of our podcast episodes. This week we continue our series covering Cicero's "Tusculan Disputations" from an Epicurean viewpoint. This series addresses five of the greatest questions in human life (Death, Pain, Grief/Fear, Joy/Desire, and Virtue) with Cicero speaking for the majority and Epicurus the main opponent: Today we begin Part 2 - "Is Pain An Evil?," starting with Section V, where the question is posed. -------------------------- Show notes are here: https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/4454-episode-281-is-pain-the-greatest-evil-or-even-an-evil-at-all-part-one-not-yet-re/?postID=35286#post35286

05-21
43:45

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