Who has heard of Epicurus?

in #steemit7 years ago


I want to say I'm not sure why when I ask people whether they have heard of the Greek Philosopher Epicurus, that they most often look at me with a "curious" look, yet not with the good connotation of curious that indicates interest, but the bad kind of curious that indicates I'm strange for talking about a Greek philosopher like it's an acceptable topic of conversation in 2017. I want to say I don't know why, I do. But the more I read about Epicurus and the Epicurean community that he extolled upon, the clearer the rationale becomes for why I had not heard his name actually spoken aloud before and why despite his definite existence (as opposed to other forms of societal control that still debate the physical or non-physical nature of a super entity), why I had to first read of him here, as you do, on the Internet, feeding myself knowledge that was known, was espoused, elaborated, and felt so long ago, pushed aside and denigrated, perhaps even actively diminished but never lost, for how could that which is so true ever be truly lost. Read of him here what you will, and if what you read rings true, let's elaborate and expound upon it further here together.
Please forgive my lack of structure. This is only my 2nd post. I sat down to my email a few hours ago, saw my acceptance, posted a comment in the crypto forum, and decided I'd like to ask the Internet if It reads the same way I do. I'd be happy to be told either way. I think people usually say they'd love feedback, but I don't like the term as it seems like people should offer their opinions without the opportunity (or obligation =]) of the solicitor to respond. I'm looking for dialogue, so if this is non-sense I'd love to know why, and if this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, why aren't we in the desert doing this right now? AMA. pls? =] ty.

G3

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I recall studying him briefly in an ethics course but I don't remember much; just recall him associated to a hedonistic lifestyle and ethic. I will upvote and follow.
Thanks for posting.

Brilliant. Thank you for the comment. I believe that the "hedonistic lifestyle" in question might relate to what we might call a "free love" mentality. I feel like that type of thinking has been corralled into the stereotype of "hippie culture" in the United States, but truthfully I conjecture it was something more of a "live and let live" lifestyle that he was getting at. The lack of a willingness to condemn or denigrate others for reasons like flaunting societal norms could be considered "hedonistic" in that mindset, and could be grounds for the accusal of advocating "corruption of the youth," a commonly utilized psychological grounds for being hostile towards an ideology. Pederasty was also a common practice, and would be looked upon as "curious" to be willing to facilitate the willful removal of or protection of people in these positions to "somewhere else," out in the wilderness/desert/greek isles etc, where life can go on, albeit without society, and still be quite happy about it all. It seems like he was waaay ahead of his time in political correctness terms, and indeed even more so in terms of human rights and human kindness.

I will have to go back and research him again because some time has passed since I studied him (even then, it was brief).

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