Group 8, Section 1 Midterm Post - Philosophy in Comics: Madi Stephens

 

 

For our group’s midterm project I choose this Peanuts comic because I think it relates to most college students.  With such busy schedules I think we get caught up on the little things in life and lose focus on the big picture. Charlie Brown is sitting in a class with a stomach ache and here he realizes that he worries too much but when he does that he begins to get stressed out about his stomach hurting which cause it to hurt more – which causes him to worry more.  This starts an endless cycle of worry and stress.

              I think this is the mindset of most college students especially during stressful times like finals or midterm weeks.  We start to stress about one test and worry ourselves sick about it so we begin to stress even more.  I think this cartoon demonstrates the occasional need for Stoicism.  The Stoics did not fret about minor things, they believed there was more to life than little everyday stressors.  Like the famous Stoics, Epictetus and Seneca, I also believe that life is short and we should not spend our time worrying.  Things that we cannot control come in and out of our lives daily and there is nothing we can do about it.  We need to focus on things that hold weight in our lives like morals and relationships with other people.  If Charlie Brown was to not worry so much his stomach would probably not hurt as bad and he would live a much more fulfilling life.