I do agree that the highest pleasure is the cessation of pain...but it's found right in that moment when the pain ceases. So in order to experience it, you must also experience pain.
34:01 - Epicurus was worshipped as a god by his earliest followers because in his own withdrawal and contemplation, he participated in what the gods were doing. He was supremely happy so he was among the supreme happy ones.
loved the video it's very enlightening and useful to philosophical people, one thing I wanted to inquire about is is the cremation of care ceremony, epicurean philosophy?
Dr. Johnson has presented several series issued by The Great Courses (The Training Company), which I recommend. It has to be kept in mind that this man is a Roman Catholic (in fact he used to be a priest) though he has some beliefs which run against the Church, e.g. his belief that same-sex unions are perfectly OK and holy ! He is married and has fathered one child. I find his lecturing style somewhat plodding, but you can understand every word he says.
epicurus wasn't a stoic but was likely the most plausible of the ancient virtue theorists ... the speaker seems to hold a withdrawal from political life just is withdrawal from society. if that's the case, it's mistaken. epicurus held that happiness is only found in relationships, social commitments. aristotle was an elitist who thought only certain people can be happy and his entire ethic (of habituation of virtue through acting from reason in such a way as would be appropriate as judged by a prudentially wise person) was eventually thrown out for happiness as merely a life of contemplation. never does he give the impression that happiness isn't externally conditioned, contingent. most importantly, while aristotle thought we shouldn't leave happiness (eudaimonia) completely to luck/gods, he nevertheless thought it was ultimately a matter of luck. epictetus had an ethic which suggested neither the death of a stranger or loved one should impact us at all ... stoicism is extremely odd and of course we can't control some aspects of our internal lives (that which E claimed we can) and can control at least some external things (but E claimed we couldn't). happiness for the christian is an experience. living in such a way in which our fullest experience of our humanity obtains. that is via the means and mode as revealed through the truth of jesus' life. hodos, alethea, zoe language of john's gospel. this would be the born-again-ness of that philosophy. that's at least one interpretation. stoicism had a huge impact on christian theology ... i'm not so sure this speaker makes a strong case about how offensive one philosophy would be with the other. stoicism and early christian thinking are ultimately a synthesis in what resulted in later christian philosophy. the entire ending of the talk is disheartening as this speaker talks about how "they" (aristotelian, epicurian, stoic virtue theorists) would have reacted to matthean ethics. it's "no, just no!" wrong! for instance, a prudentially wise person might well find meekness to be a mean between extremes and crying over the death of a loved one the virtuous thing to do. the stoic wouldn't; the epicurian and aristotelian would. these three philosophies can't be lumped together in that sort of analysis. *that* is academically vulgar. it's done so that a load of bollocks can be sold. that is the idea that jesus' ethic is novel. that too is far from the case. like every other philosophy, it is an extension of previous philosophies. it too was and continues to be an ever-changing dialectic.
Eh. I came here because I wanted to hear about Jesus and learn about him. Instead I got 40 minutes of Greek philosophers and their comparisons against Jesus. Pass
Luke Timothy Johnson is an amazing man who practices what he teaches. He is selfless and practices caring for other like Jesus did ❤️
Great lecture. Really glad UA-cam suggested this to me
Jesus Is Lord
I do agree that the highest pleasure is the cessation of pain...but it's found right in that moment when the pain ceases. So in order to experience it, you must also experience pain.
Brilliant lecture
34:01 - Epicurus was worshipped as a god by his earliest followers because in his own withdrawal and contemplation, he participated in what the gods were doing. He was supremely happy so he was among the supreme happy ones.
Thank you
loved the video it's very enlightening and useful to philosophical people, one thing I wanted to inquire about is is the cremation of care ceremony, epicurean philosophy?
Dr. Johnson has presented several series issued by The Great Courses (The Training Company), which I recommend. It has to be kept in mind that this man is a Roman Catholic (in fact he used to be a priest) though he has some beliefs which run against the Church, e.g. his belief that same-sex unions are perfectly OK and holy ! He is married and has fathered one child. I find his lecturing style somewhat plodding, but you can understand every word he says.
epicurus wasn't a stoic but was likely the most plausible of the ancient virtue theorists ... the speaker seems to hold a withdrawal from political life just is withdrawal from society. if that's the case, it's mistaken. epicurus held that happiness is only found in relationships, social commitments.
aristotle was an elitist who thought only certain people can be happy and his entire ethic (of habituation of virtue through acting from reason in such a way as would be appropriate as judged by a prudentially wise person) was eventually thrown out for happiness as merely a life of contemplation. never does he give the impression that happiness isn't externally conditioned, contingent. most importantly, while aristotle thought we shouldn't leave happiness (eudaimonia) completely to luck/gods, he nevertheless thought it was ultimately a matter of luck.
epictetus had an ethic which suggested neither the death of a stranger or loved one should impact us at all ... stoicism is extremely odd and of course we can't control some aspects of our internal lives (that which E claimed we can) and can control at least some external things (but E claimed we couldn't).
happiness for the christian is an experience. living in such a way in which our fullest experience of our humanity obtains. that is via the means and mode as revealed through the truth of jesus' life. hodos, alethea, zoe language of john's gospel. this would be the born-again-ness of that philosophy.
that's at least one interpretation.
stoicism had a huge impact on christian theology ... i'm not so sure this speaker makes a strong case about how offensive one philosophy would be with the other.
stoicism and early christian thinking are ultimately a synthesis in what resulted in later christian philosophy.
the entire ending of the talk is disheartening as this speaker talks about how "they" (aristotelian, epicurian, stoic virtue theorists) would have reacted to matthean ethics.
it's "no, just no!" wrong!
for instance, a prudentially wise person might well find meekness to be a mean between extremes and crying over the death of a loved one the virtuous thing to do.
the stoic wouldn't; the epicurian and aristotelian would.
these three philosophies can't be lumped together in that sort of analysis. *that* is academically vulgar. it's done so that a load of bollocks can be sold. that is the idea that jesus' ethic is novel. that too is far from the case. like every other philosophy, it is an extension of previous philosophies. it too was and continues to be an ever-changing dialectic.
Eh. I came here because I wanted to hear about Jesus and learn about him. Instead I got 40 minutes of Greek philosophers and their comparisons against Jesus. Pass
Nothing can make you happy. Happiness is the natural human condition.