Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a roman philosopher that lived from 4 B.C. to 65 A.D., offered some of the most influentially inspiring writings that argue the very purpose of life and the inward reflection of oneself. Seneca was a confidant of the Roman Emperor Nero and towards the end of his life procured many letters and writings of his beliefs to mentees. He is considered a major influence on the Christian theology because of the comparison between the morality expressed in his philosophy and verses in the Christian bible; specifically those concerning money and wealth as a path to evil and the treatment of man to one another. His philosophy expanded the traditional views of stoicism; a Hellenistic ideology that addresses the ways in which one …show more content…
Seneca references in Letter VI, the importance of intimacy as an opportunity for growth. This is to say the intimate friendships between individuals cultivate a stimulus of affection, thus alleviating the feeling of isolation or the need for self-content. However in letter IX, Seneca warns of the dangers of wrongful intentions of friends. He felt that the company you entertain will either strengthen you or hinder your virtue, i.e. character. I believe Seneca’s letter to Lucilius was a reminder to always be conscience of your character and not to jeopardize ones virtue for friendship. The people you consult with should be like you and you should look specifically for “individuals who will improve you.”(pg.43) He feels that the people are consistently selfish in their actions. In that, we as people should initiate a trade of information that promotes mutual benefits. I believe what he is intending to convey is that our ability to influence one another in an intimate relationship whether it be friend or spouse should polish one another. The value of information and knowledge increases as it is shared. He uses the example of being in the presence of people that can offer differing perspective and influence to a subject as one might already have a fixed opinion of. He suggests these interactions more preferable in comparison to entertaining friends that sit around and do nothing all day. Their contribution is limited and often times not thought provoking. This is a familiar fixed idea that most western civilizations recognize as two heads is always better than one and one hand washes the other. By networking in unity, the possibility for efficacy rises. The benefit of exchanging thoughts and ideas between
Seneca has a strong opinion on the liberal arts and the liberal study’s in general. He thinks students are only focused on the worldly skills, and not the skills of life. Students are lacking the common knowledge on how to treat others and losing sight in what it takes to become a decent human being. In “Liberal Studies and Education” by Seneca, the path to virtue is through self-awareness. Throughout Seneca’s letter he states his views on liberal education and how important it is in life, students can’t just focus on worldly things, they need to focus on the things we take with us after death. The mind is important, but in Seneca’s letter, he feels the soul should get the most attention in the education field, virtue being his main idea. The effects of virtue are illustrated through the characteristics of, kindness, love for the common man, and inner strength.
What I noticed when comparing the two readings, Cicero refers to the virtue of the friendship more than
Late one evening, curled up in her nest, Harriet lay thoughtfully reading the last of Aristotle’s model of friendships: the perfect friendship. Though no secret to Harriet, Aristotle presents the idea that it is the most desirable and genuine of the three forms. The foundation of this friendship is not trivial, but instead the relationship is built on a common good and virtuous nature. As Aristotle explains, “those who love for the sake of utility love for the sake of what is good for themselves, and those who love for the sake of pleasure do so for the sake of what is pleasant to themselves.” Aristotle continues, “Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in virtue; for those wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves.” (concluding sentence or two...)
II In Books VIII and IX, Aristotle discusses the role of friendship in the good life.
Aristotle believes that everyone is in need of some type of friend, he states that “for rich people and those who rule and have power, there seems to be the greatest need for friends.”(page. 144, book VIII) Aristotle believes that we as humans benefit greatly from having friends, no matter who we are or what position we are in wealthy or poor. There are three distinct types of friendship that Aristotle directs his beliefs towards. These three types of friendships include: Utility, pleasure, and Goodness or virtuous friendship. Aristotle believes that friendship is something that is extremely important to have and should be held above many things. Friendship Utility is unlike the friendships of pleasure or goodness because as Aristotle puts it is “for the old” he explains that friendship Utility is a friendship that two people may have where they only communicate with one another for self-benefit or to gain something for one’s self. These two people are not likely to live with each other and at times may not even be nice to th...
In the writings of Aristotle, seen in Nicomachean Ethics, it is evident that Aristotle believes that friendship is necessary for a virtuous and therefore happy life. I believe that this is accurate due to the similar conditions necessary for a complete friendship and a happy life. It is also evident that friendship is useful in achieving a happy life because friendship can make performing virtuous actions easier. His interpretation can be misunderstood and mistakes in practice can be made, so we will need to discuss these follies as well, in order to understand all the effects of friendship on achieving a happy life.
philosophical temperament and affluence. Yet at times these two forces within Cicero clash and contradict with the early stoic teachings. Cicero gradually adopted the stoic lifestyle but not altogether entirely, and this is somewhat due to the fact of what it was like to be a roman of the time. The morals of everyday Rome conflicted with some of the stoic ideals that were set by early stoicism. Thus, Cicero changed the face of stoicism by romanizing it; redefining stoicism into the middle phase.
First, the article introduces the audience to friendships described by Aristotle, and Todd May. In the text it states, “It is threatened when we are encouraged to look up on those
Stoicism was a group of philosophers in the First Century who made laws that they thought should be followed by the citizens of Rome. Two of these laws were the concepts of rationality and nature. Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of Rome at the time and he also the most known Stoic. His concepts were vital to the survival of the Stoics.
Cicero believes all about the good in friendship whereas Aristotle believes friendship should be placed in categories. He also believes the old cliché that with friendship “you scratch my back, ill scratch yours.” I think that these two men are very knowledgeable on what friendship really is. Aristotle sounds like an opportunist to me. He would not be considered a loyal friend in my eyes and I would not scratch his back for a million bucks. Through both of their differences, you can clearly see who the “jerk” is, and who the sincere one is. You can see the “sharing out of the goodness of one’s heart” form of friendship as described by Cicero. Meanwhile, Aristotle claims that a friend gives only because he or she expects something in return. I refuse to allow myself or my views on friendship to be manipulated by Aristotle’s arrogance. Everyone in life deserves a friend that does not look for a reward. I personally like the saying “it’s better to have loved than to have never loved at all”. I believe that you should be someone’s friend whole heartedly and if you cannot be that person’s friend whole heartedly then don’t be their friend at all. There is a saying that I have formed from my own personal experience and it is “If you can’t exist in peace, don’t exist in pieces”. Although, some may not agree with Cicero and may even prefer Aristotle’s views that he has about friendship; if what he says is true then why on earth would you want someone to do something for you just because they can get something in return? It’s wrong! It simply amoral from my own point of view. I believe in doing well without looking for a reward in return. Life is much better that way. If there were more Cicero’s in the world, I believe this world would be a better
By saying this he means that companionship is the environment in which friendships comes to be. Lewis believes that friendships are made possible by companionship, but when the friendship comes into play, there is a revolutionary break from the matrix of companionship. Lewis provides a schematic for the formation of friendship proper, but he does not provide characteristics related to the time in life when the best type of bond is formed, the time length of the bond, or the time necessary to form the bond as Aristotle does. Aristotle’s description of Virtue Friendship’s long formation period also has within it a notion that Virtue friendships may have formed from preexisting Use or Pleasure Friendships; similar to Lewis’ idea that companionship is the matrix of friendship.
Seneca Illustrates this through various essential examples found throughout On Liberal and Vocations Studies. When speaking of the musician, Seneca asks, “what good is there for me in knowing how to parcel out a piece of land if I know not how to share it with my brother?” This quote reminds the reader of the importance of giving back to the community or society rather than being petty with the belongings. Seneca emphasizes that rather than being selfish with belongings and bragging, society should share with each other like the brothers and sisters we were intended to be. “There is one thing that brings the soul to perfection – the unalterable knowledge of good and evil.” Seneca understands that true knowledge is hard to obtain because it’s not being taught. However, when one’s soul is in harmony or when one learns how to keep from uttering doleful notes, knowledge will be instilled deep within one’s heart. Seneca continued to show how virtue is caused by stating, “it counts no evil as another solely.” It’s important to understand that knowledge is power. When one knows that something is wrong, turning the other way makes the person observing just as bad. As a society, there must be a sense of protection and community, looking out for each
Aristotle wrote on many subjects in his lifetime but one of the virtues that he examines more extensively is friendship. Aristotle believes that there are three different kinds of friendship: utility, pleasure, and virtuous friendships. He also argues that a real friendship should be highly valued because it is a complete virtue and he believes it to be greater than honor and justice. Aristotle suggests that human’s love of utility and pleasure is the only reason why the first two types of friendships exist. Aristotle also argues that humans only set up these types of relationships for personal gain. But when he speaks of the virtuous friendships, Aristotle states that it is one of the greatest attainments one can achieve.
Marcus Aurelius was a stoic. In the book Archetypes of Wisdom, Soccio defines stoicism as a philosophy that, “counsel’s self-control, detachment, and acceptance of one’s fate as identified by the objective use of reason. Stoics believed that everything is about your attitude and that happiness comes only through the detachment from all external things. In book two of The Meditations Aurelius writes that nothing can injure him because no one can implicate him in what is degrading. This would be considered a stoic thought because Marcus is not letting external factors influence his happiness. Another example would be that when he speaks of his brother. His stepbrother Verus was very incompetent, but Aurelius could not turn his back on him, because it would go against Nature. Nature is the same thing as Logos. Logos is a force that governs the universe. It is also known as World Reason, Cosmic Mind, God, Zeus, Nature, Providence, Cosmic Meaning, and Fate. He mentions several of these throughout the document.
Ralph Waldo Emerson stated that, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, and to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” It is right to have a heart that would continually give to others, because not only are you helping changing someone lives but, you are also helping yourself in doing such a genuine act. Helping others brings good feelings to the giver and the receiver of the good deeds. Using your special gifts to help others can be a gift to yourself as you enjoy a self-esteem boost for making others' lives better, and make the world a better place. You feel more worthy of good deeds yourself, your trust in the decency of people is reinforced, and you feel more connected to yourself and to others.