Today we talked about Epicurus and how his philosophy is liked by so many people and used almost innately by the masses. People also use Epicurus' theory of practicality which basically says that if you don't need to do it don't do it or if you don't need it don't get it. We then talked about Pyrrho who from what we've read was a pessimist who woke up on the wrong side of the bed everyday he philosophized. Our group didn't really talk much about Pyrrho since we knew fro the first paragraphs that he generally didn't care about the bright side of things and we weren't very interested in his philosophy as a group.
We started talking about trees and how they somehow respond in growth according to how they are treated. We concluded that the trees are responding to a chemical reaction and can't actually feel anything and we said that we as humans from a philosophical point couldn't really feel anything in the eyes of Pyrrho.
So far from our readings, the philosophy of Epicurus is probably my favorite. I agree completely that if you simply dabble in luxury and grandeur, you will be tempted to do it again, and then again. Just avoiding such pleasures would make life easier. I also agree with his question and answer on death. You don't experience death, because once it happens, you're done. You don't remember what it feels like, so it isn't really an experience, and it's definitely not something you learn from. So far, I have been impressed with the open mindness of my group, as we keep finding examples of these older philosoper's philosophies and finding them in our modern times. We have had discussions on trees, fantasy football, and the origin and meaning of being an aristocrat (possibly from Aristotle?) and an epicuran, and how these word's present day meanings relate to those philosopher's and their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteDiscussion Question: do you believe that stoicism could make modern life a lot easier as far as stress, money, work conditions and other factors are concerned?
ReplyDeleteFactual Question: What were the four things Cicero said were the main problems associated with aging?
Discussion Question: Do you believe that after death means we are done for good or that some how we are able to continue on living among every one else in our spiritual body?
ReplyDeleteFactual Question: What is a rare situation in Ancient Athens?