Showing posts with label Epicureanism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Epicureanism. Show all posts

Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Epicurian Four Part Cure

From very nice Audible audio book _Stoics and Epicureans_ by Daryl Hale.

EpicurusImage via Wikipedia

Philodemus of Gadara summarizes the main teachings of the Epicureans as the "Four Part Cure" or the "Fourfold Remedy" against human anxiety. 1. Nothing to fear in God 2. Nothing to feel in Death 3. Good can be attained 4. Evil can be endured
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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Gideon Bible - helping some, but I would change the book...

I am just going to free form this one. Just in the last 24 months I gots a better grasp on things, from things I have read. It could easily fit inside one book. I think it would help a different sort of person than the ones who may find comfort in a Gideon Bible. If you collected the prescriptions and techniques of morality and virtue and ethics from these fine Greeks and Romans...

Diogenes sitting in his tub.Image via Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureanism ... if you collected their ethics and life philosophy, you would really have something. Forget their crazy science and cosmology - all stupid. Get a recent book - scholarship on these fine fellows only really began in earnest in the 1970s. ... and Plato and Aristotle can go stick it. Forget those two gas bags and everything they blubbered about. Socrates, alone, is of limited value as well - read what the Cynics, Stoics, Epicureans developed based on his example, because that is more comprehensive and usable. Besides, we don't have access to Socrates, we only have Plato's Socrates.

Cover of Cover via Amazon

You could do worse than start with: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy By William Braxton Irvine Read Larry Winget: you can do worse than start with "It's Called Work For A Reason" Here is a book free on Google Books Self-help: with illustrations of character and conduct By Samuel Smiles, [ http://books.google.com/books?id=hSwCAAAAQAAJ ], there is a nice write up by Charles Petzold [ http://www.charlespetzold.com/blog/2009/09/1859-Books-Samuel-Smiles-Self-Help.html ]. Dale Carnegie's _How to Win Friends and Influence People_ . Why not? Why make yourself miserable in human relations by not using these effective techniques? The Buddha had some solid info on eliminating human suffering. In huge block letters I would put on the first page:

The School of AthensImage by edlimphoto via Flickr

(1) NOBODY IS COMING TO RESCUE YOU! (2) NO INSPIRATIONAL MOMENT IS COMING TO BRING CLARITY. (3) YOUR BEST TOMORROW LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE TODAY, EXCEPT WITH A LITTLE MORE WORK AND A LITTLE LESS SELF-PUNISHMENT. (4) YOU WILL PROBABLY BE ALIVE 15 YEARS FROM NOW. YOUR BEST TODAY IS PAYING FORWARD FOR YOUR FUTURE 15 YEAR SELF. That is enough of this foolishness. Anyway, I have to scrounge up a few bucks to match the 1.5 billion Gideon's Bibles that are out there, for my book. Coming to a hotel nightstand drawer near you.

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