Category: Popular Culture
-
A Time For All Things Under Heaven – Epicureanism And Incidental Participation In Public Life: The Cincinnatus Model
A favorite topic of fans of Epicurus today is that of discussing to what extent we should “live unknown” or participate in political affairs. Aside from the more modern example...
-
Gibbon, The Immortality of the Soul, and Epicureanism Among Women – Part I
Several recent emails and Facebook posts have me thinking about a phenomena that seems even more rare today than that of men who publicly embrace Epicurus’ Principle Doctrines: women who...
-
Love, Marriage, and the Epicurean in the Modern World
This past week I received a very interesting set of emails from a fan of Epicurus by the name of Maruli Marulaki, who related to me her desire to find...
-
Reflections on Epicurean Ethics
A recent discussion on Facebook prompted the following reflections, which I want to summarize on the NewEpicurean blog for future reference. The discussion was prompted in part by a common...
-
I Tell You Now — You, All Of You, Were Free From Your First Breath
Years before I became familiar with Epicurus, I was aware of the importance of free will, and I knew there were aspects of Roman civilization worthy of admiration. At that...
-
What Business Have We To Be The Only Sane Men In A Crowd of Madmen?
Recent events in Oslo call for reflection on how Epicureans should react to the malicious and aggressive frauds who all too frequently populate the world. A first thought is to...
-
Epicureanism and Sympathy for Animals
There are several famous passages by Epicurean-influenced authors that indicate a profound sympathy for the feeling of animals. Consider: Lucretius in Book II of De Rerum Natura: (“A calf, struck...
-
A Case Study in Failing to Appreciate the Scope of Epicurus’ Wisdom: Ayn Rand and the Objectivists
Casual readers are frequently attracted by Epicurus’ views on pleasure, on peace of mind, or on the requirements of living happily. Some are attracted by Epicurus’ understanding of the non-interference...
-
A Guidebook for the Wilderness: Stefan Streitferdt’s “From Pain To Pleasure – The Proven Pathway to Happiness”
When I first started blogging about Epicurus a year ago, there were several websites devoted to Epicurean thought (Epicurus.info and Epicurus.net) but only one devoted to applying Epicurean principles to...
-
Freedom Isn’t Free – Agora, the movie (2010)
This weekend I had the opportunity to see Agora, the recent movie starring Rachel Weisz. Agora is now showing only in the U.S., in very limited distribution prior to the...