THE PRINCIPAL DOCTRINES

TRANSFERRED IN CONTEMPORARY TERMS

By Haris Dimitriadis

1. I philosophize on the necessities of life.
2. Everything happens according to the natural laws, without any divine intervention.
3. All creatures have sprung from within the mother Earth.
4. I obey the laws of Nature.
5. I pursue a happy life.
6. I seek pleasure; I avoid pain.
7. I make choices wisely.
8. I live a quiet life away from the crowd.
9. I cultivate friendship.
10. I enjoy the moment.
11. I recall the past with gratitude.
12. I look to the future with optimism.

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I AM EPICUREAN

Thomas Jefferson to William Short,

October 31, 1819

Your favor of the 21st is received. My late illness, in which you are so kind as to feel an interest, was produced by a spasmodic stricture of the ilium, which came upon me on the 7th inst. The crisis was short, passed over favorably on the fourth day, and I should soon have been well but that a dose of calomel and jalap, in which there were only eight or nine grains of the former, brought on salivation. Of this, however, nothing now remains but a little soreness of the mouth. I have been able to get on horseback for three or four days past.

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The philosophy of Nature

By Haris Dimitriadis

The Natural Philosophy was founded by Thales, the first ever philosopher to seek for natural causes behind the natural phenomena and the functioning of human beings. The second pillar of Natural Philosophy was Democritus who established the atomic theory and the last and foremost Epicurus who emphasized the implications of the natural processes in the pursuit of human happiness. This claim of the Natural essence and functioning of the world was based on two simple observations: (1) We see that there are bodies in motion, and (2) that nothing comes into existence from what does not exist.

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