Marcus Aurelius
Roman Emperor and Philosopher
5 Life Lessons of Marcus Aurelius
The Life Of Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius most recognizable work titled Meditations was written somewhere between 171-175 AD while he was in his peak as Emperor of Rome. Meditations outlined how a stoic philosophy would live his daily where pursues personal enlightenment. This account showed how strong of an Epictetus was on Aurelius since he drawn so strongly to the ideology of stoicism. Aurelius became fascinated with Epictetus theory of "three topoi" or three areas of study.
- Desires (orexeis) and aversions (ekkliseis)
- Impulse to act (hormas) and not to act (aphormas)
- Freedom from deception, hasty judgement, and anything else related to assents (sunkatatheseis)
All three areas of study reflect the philosophical debate that earlier stoics described in further detail which was the ethical, the physical, and the logical. Meditations did not feature philosophical theories that could realistically stand the test of time like Aristotle's work. Through this work, Aurelius details philosophical exercises that he did to transform his character and change his complete way of life starting with his behavior. Through the three areas outlined by Epictetus, Aurelius creates exercises that benefit himself physically, ethically, and logically. This is where Aurelius acknowledged that he had reached that next step of becoming a philosopher by being able to teach himself theories that he could practice.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
So what is stoicism or stoic philosophy? It's a school of philosophy states that virtue that is happiness and judgement should be based on behavior, rather than just words. Stoics believed that we cannot focus on things that are out of our own control. We must only stress and focus on we respond to those events. Ultimately, stoics did not care about why certain things happened but more of how am I going to respond to that thing happening. Constant note taking was a common theme among all of the prominent stoics and the in-depth note taking of Marcus Aurelius stands out. Aurelius would take a majority of notes while he was emperor of Rome elaborating on deeper thoughts such as compassion and humility. Historically stoics were known as the sad philosophers as they often pondered on the negativity in life. When you investigate deeper you realize a majority of the high profile stoics lived sad or highly stressful lives. Epictetus was caught up in the early century slavery ring while his apprentice Aurelius was of course emperor of Rome.
Stoics like Aurelius were a part of the early schools of thought that were pursuing personal enlightenment. These ways of thinking are not popular today but certain aspects are worth implementing in our daily lives. We sometimes do not need to focus on things we cannot control and we certainly do not need to stress about how others think of us constantly. Live a little and you may never know how far that could possibly take you.
Sources:
Links to other Final Blog Posts:
Matthew Rigney - Section #5
Post-Quarantine Run Total: 12 runs
I'm honestly not sure how many runs I had before the quarantine.
There's much to be said for the stoic philosophy, especially in times like these. But I come back to the point I always make about "what we can control": we often don't know the scope of our influence over events UNTIL we engage with them and try to exert some control. Thus, the wisest stoic is also an action-oriented pragmatist whenever possible. See John Lachs, Stoic Pragmatism
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/books/edition/Stoic_Pragmatism/iMJJgovcgbcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=stoic%20pragmatism&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover&bsq=stoic%20pragmatism
I'm a firm beleiver in the idea of "impluse to act", also Aurelius is just a huge inspiration for self improvement
ReplyDeleteHaving read "Meditations" over the course of quarantine, I can say that the insight and advice found within is truly timeless. Aurelius had a firm grasp over his internal tranquility and solitude during a very eventful life. I believe maintaining our own individual sense of calm will continue to be a key to living through one of the most disruptive national events in American history. Stoicism will prevail!
ReplyDelete#5
ReplyDeleteIt has taken me a long time to finally understand that I cannot stress over things that I have no control over. Like the stoics, I can only focus on how I respond to whatever is happening. In doing so, I believe I have become a much happier person because I'm not upsetting myself all of the time. Whatever thing happens, ask yourself if it's permanent or temporary. Then, question if it is truly something to stress over.