Finding Epicurus and the Tetrapharmakos (thanks Youtube)

A word from the Author

It's almost it seems to me  'de rigueur' to belittle those like Alain de Botton who seek to share their knowledge from engagement with Philosophy and the Greats of Ancient Greece

Botton is not the only one who (it seems to me) is bringing us (those who aspire to be Lovers of Wisdom ) some messages from the coal front, Jules Evans is going out there and bringing in his case particularly Stoicism (leader Zeno)  into modern life ( one the major competing philosophies to that of Epicurean-ism  in Ancient Greece).

The Two Schools both have some good things going for them - here's comparison.




Consideration of the Tetrapharmakos of Epicurus is something I have only just become aware of (as a realisation by Epicurus) and I can see the value of it - it feels like something that it is hard to argue against.

Pleasure is around us

Don't fear God. (God is something to measure ourselves against)
Don't worry about death (When you're dead you're dead)
What is good is easy to get (Good things like food and friends are there for the taking - other stuff can be hard to achieve and ultimately disappointing) 
and
What is terrible is easy to endure (If it's really bad it'll pass).

Here are two clips that might be worth looking at if you're feeling miserable because you don't have a Tesla car or a new iPhone.

School of Life/De Botton





And another take on it





The point is (I think) that we can spend our time getting things that we don't need/won't relish when clearly the things that are worthwhile are often close at hand.

Look at this view

A 'Turner for Free - framed in the attic window

Allotments and surviving the Existentialist crisis (73)

Great to be out on the Allotment and enjoying some pretty warm weather - it's somewhere that you can't really hurry things the seasons are what they are.

Another good year for Rhubarb 

The Other Mans' Grass (is on his shed) and greener too

As the benefits of getting back to nature are apparent perhaps too are the ideas of Alain de Botton - below a great Video on Existential Crises but here see his take on crushes - what I like about the writing is the very gentle humour I love the line about his crushes in this article'  which mentions  her macaroni lunch splash .

And making up for it £93 77

Doors

Kew Green (just across from the river Thames) has some lovely houses and on the front of them some lovely doors.

Kew Green and cue the door too

A nice Racing Green and traditional Milk man ( Okay so they don't want junk mail either) 

EU debate continues - Determinism versus Free Will and Red 16

So the Brexiteers and their supporters appear to be finding themselves increasingly rattled -reading Mathew Parris  on  his  party colleague Michael Gove is seems that Gove has been  able to blame his opponents for their negativity in causing the events to confirm the Remainers view on the folly of leaving the EU - wouldn't it be great if we'd had a cooling off period and people could change their minds as they reflected on the outcome and effect of exit?

An absolute lie on NHS funding from Boris & Mike?

Were  the battles over the EU within the Tory leadership anything beyond internal bad blood and thwarted ambitions?

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Determinism versus Free Will

I really found Alain de Botton's piece (within the School of Life)  on what governs our lives Free will or Determinism useful, intellectually I'm not too sure that it's either  and the idea of it being a blend of the two seems to work better  - of course the mind set we use to get us through the day to day is what is important - if we err with an attitude too far towards self will we will (generally) blame ourselves for things that we would in reality  have practically no control over.


Those who believe that all they achieve is by fierce determination in battling the odds - beating Cancer, winning despite their opponent having had a better start in life will ultimately be defeated by the onset of time.

One on every High Street?

Similarly irritating  are those who give up at the first set-back, 'I'm unlucky' or it's God's will are unlikely to be able to take credit for a good result from the effort they expended.


So in fact we should enjoy luck and victory but recognise that things might have gone differently - if we do not feel there's a greater power at work we can at least celebrate the accident that has given us the chance to 'take the ride'

It's an interesting exercise too to investigate the far edges of our memories - things we only just recall - perhaps then looking at it with someone else who shared the event.

One of  the ideas of human memory is that recalling actually tampers with the 'stored;' version when we go back again the  recall is slightly altered -does it mean (if the event is only recalled via memories) that we've changed history?

The idea that 'truth ' is less than intrinsic is a complex issue but my conviction on a past experience can I think be wrong (but remain true to me).

Red 16

16 Chard and what do you get?

Chard- A plant full of Red goodness

Work and Exploration

One of my favourite non-fiction writers is Alain de Botton, as well as being at the approachable end of the philosophy genré he has an unerring ability to hit the zeitgeist when it comes to selecting topics.

Although I've not yet tackled the architecturally angle book 'The Architecture of Happiness' I can hardly wait until April 2nd when the latest work The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work is published.
Gather from the rather egg-headed one's website that he's also involved in a rather exciting enterprise called the school of life to me this sounds like a truly admirable idea and surely worth a visit.
On the subject of books I've had my first experience of Waterstones on-line which has been very good, though I'm a little worried that they might be undercutting their retail presence by offering such good discounts and free shipping - having seen the book at my local shop I find it much cheaper online!

The book in question is How to be an explorer of the world by Keri Smith which I think might be aimed at a much younger audience than myself but which looks fabulous fun (although not all the reviewers at Amazon seem to see it the same way) - hopefully I'll update the blog as I carry out the tasks within.