Stoicism was one of the more extreme philosophies to come out of Rome. Their philosophy is characterized by reason and lack of emotion, or apathy. They believed that anger was pointless and destructive. Love and happiness are risky when it comes to living this lifestyle, so they only had a few people that were close to them. They wished to live in conformity with nature and in accordance with reason. Some famous Stoics are Zeno, Chryssipus, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.Factual question: What best characterizes Stoicism? A: Apathy, Reason, and Unity with Nature are all possible answers.
Discussion questions: To be a Stoic, one must minimize their desires to disconnect themselves from negative emotions. Is it worth not having high points in one's life to avoid the low points? Would you give up your dreams to ensure you will not be disappointed by failure?
I feel that everyone was a little hard on stoics. maybe they just felt that while emotions are useful to interpret our feelings, they shouldn't be used to dictate our actions. In the James-Lange Theory of emotion, emotion is said to be merely the result of a physiological arousal and the cognitive interpretation that follows. in theory, we could interpret the event any way we want. So why should we let our emotions speak for us?
ReplyDelete"Without the bodily states following on the perception, the latter would be purely cognitive in form, pale, colorless, destitute of emotional warmth. We might then see the bear, and judge it best to run, receive the insult and deem it right to strike, but we should not actually feel afraid or angry." -William James
Matthew Williams
I don't think that I would ever give up my dreams to avoid failure, or live an emotionless life. Our emotions help to keep our lives in check, and offer a sort of compass on how our realities are matching our life visions. But, I think the point of Stoics not wishing for emotions to "dictate our actions" is interesting and valid. Just because I'm angry, doesn't mean I'm going to act out in a negative way on that anger (i.e. punch someone). Life needs emotions. People need to be aware of happiness, sadness, disappointment, anger, regret, embarrassment, all of the rainbow of emotions because they help guide us and make life more interesting. However, we do not need to be people that are fueled purely by our emotions.
ReplyDeleteI feel that one has to try for their dreams, even with the chance that they may fail. Living a life of a constant good or bad would be boring. You have to have the peaks and valleys to learn to appreciate life.
ReplyDeleteYAY! I am finally able to post something!(Updated to Google Chrome) Anyhoo, I agree with Mr. Practical. I don't believe Stoics gave up their dreams in order to avoid the lows, instead they lived a life free from emotional torment. I think that this philosophy is wonderful! When emotions control our actions, almost every incidence we end up doing something we regret. Like fighting, getting married to the wrong person, or quitting a job because you didn't like what your boss said. The Stoics had a great idea! To not let emotions lead your actions would create for a much more peaceful and logical existence. The Stoics take on accomplishing your dream? They never said that you couldn't go for it, but having a dream with an emotional foundation probably wouldn't stand. Now having a dream standing on firm logic and knowledge will take you much farther towards its accomplishment.
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