Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Epicurus and Death

Epicurus declaims :" Death should not concern us, for where we are, death has not come, and when death comes, we are not."

 That pertains to our own anxiety about death, not others' grief about our deaths.
  

  Another philosopher  notes that we are nothing  before being born and the same upon death.

 "Life is its own validation and reward and ultimate meaning to which neither God nor the future state can further validate." Inquiring Lynn

   "Francisco Jose Ayala and William Lane Craig can whine to the high heavens but their idea of ultimate meaning just relies on rhetoric! We decide what is ultimate for us; that supposed divine ultimate means emptiness anyway, and blasphemes us as His property to which He gives meaning and purpose!

  Our axiology- system of values- depends on us.
 We Epicureans look long-range and denounce short-range matters that could harm us in that long range. That is long-range hedonism that conflicts with that short-range eat, drink and be merry without consequences hedonism that Aristippus proposes.
  We seek eudemonia- human flourishing- well-being.
  Sam Harris in " The Moral Landscape" also   pleads for eudemonia.
 
  

From the archives: What’s Wrong with Sam Harris’ The Moral Lanscape (review)

From the archives: What’s Wrong with Sam Harris’ The Moral Lanscape (review)