Misunderstood as it may be, Stoicism has transcended time in a way that not many philosophies have been able to accomplish. Despite its creation occurring during a completely different time period, its teachings and techniques carry into everyday life for all centuries. Humans will always have human reactions, so the Stoic ideas will never cease to be relevant. Because people are far from perfect, all people necessitate improvement. No man is capable of the perfection that is associated with God. If coming in at a close second is the best we, as humans, can do, then we should forever try to become the closest to perfection that we can. Through Stoicism, as well as other philosophies, individuals attempt to reach this “perfection” in order to …show more content…
Self-improvement initiates both happiness and an increased ability to succeed in things over which we have some but not complete control. Because we cannot control them, the greatest thing we can do is to internalize the goals we form about the things over which we lack complete control. Irvine’s example depicts a person who wants to win a tennis match. This person does not have control over their opponent or how they play, but they do have control over how much they prepare for the match and how they perform during it. If they set goals to train and play to their best ability, then they increase their chances of winning compared to if they did not play as well as they …show more content…
Stoic principles can guide many toward a successful life. The few discussed previously – negative visualization, insults, and the dichotomy of control – serve as a good starting point for people like me who are just beginning to learn about Stoicism. Through negative visualization, we can grow to respect, appreciate, and acknowledge the fortunate circumstances that we each have been lucky to be placed in. Whether you are the richest or the poorest, it could always be worse. By following the Stoic teaching on insults, we develop immunity to “insults.” When they no longer have an effect on us, it is almost ridiculous to call them insults. We learn to either laugh at them or ignore them. We cannot control what others think so there is no use in letting it have a negative effect on something we can control – how we respond. This idea goes back to the dichotomy of control based around the things we can and cannot completely control. By concerning ourselves solely with deriving benefits from the things within our control, we can eliminate the typical strong effect that the things we cannot control have on
This man had spent the better part of a year reading and rereading the Handbook of Epictetus, throughout that book the message is similar to one of the topics Sherman touches on, “Some things are up to us and some are not up to us,”(pg 2). Basically the circumstances maybe beyond our control, but ultimately what affects us is our judgements and the way we react. She makes a great point that we underutilize our ability to control ourselves when we let external things drive our happiness and that is the difference in so many people's lives, they wager their happiness and satisfaction on factors that should not ultimately
“The Greek maxim ‘Nothing in excess’” (Hollister 131) illustrates the need for self-control. Every tragic hero ended up committing an act of hubris based on his own fatal flaw. Many of those fatal flaws could have served the man and his country if tempered with self-control. “In the field of ethics, [Aristotle] advocated moderation in all behavior, arguing that emotions and actions (anger and love, eating and drinking) are themselves neither good nor evil and should be neither suppressed nor carried to excess: virtue is the avoidance of extremes, the ‘golden mean’” (Hollister 130).
Stoicism was the belief that emotions were only because of an error in judgment and those that were true intellectuals would be able to forgo all emotion. They felt that all things, including God and the soul were material, because they felt that in order to have true pairs, body and soul, God and the world, that both must be the same substance. (Stoicism [The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]) While Epicureanism was the belief that pleasure is the absence of pain and confusion. To truly follow this line of belief, the believer must seek reas...
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. Letters From a Stoic. Translation and Introduction by Robin Campbell. New York: Penguin, 1969.
The mindsets of people in society are often heavily influenced by the conflicts and circumstances that are common within the time-span in which these people lived. In times of war, people may be more patriotic; in times of pestilence, people may be more pious. Whether cynical or optimistic, the understandings of these mindsets allow for a better insight into how theses people lived their lives and the philosophies that guided them. In the case of the philosophers Plato and Epictetus, their philosophies sprang up amidst collapsing cities and exile. Plato and Epictetus’ philosophies differed due to their individual experiences in that Plato believed that all is not what it seemed, while Epictetus believed that what was presented should only matter if they are within an individual’s concern.
Cicero, was truly a man of the state. His writings also show us he was equally a man of
Success isn’t always so easy. Sometimes there are risks and factors that play along to allow for growth. However; personal development is a lifelong process. It’s a way for individuals to assess their skills and qualities, and consider their aims in life to set goals in order to maximise their potential. In order to receive the best outcome; there may need to be obstacles and challenges in the way to prevent an easy route to reach the top in success.
With their philosophical roots grounded in ancient Greece, Stoicism and Epicureanism had contrary yet significant impacts on Roman society. These two philosophies differed in many of their basic theories. Stoics attempted to reach a moral level where they had freedom from passion, while Epicureans strove for pleasure and avoided all types of pain. Stoics like the Epicureans, emphasized ethics as the main field of knowledge, but they also developed theories of logic and natural science to support their ethical doctrines.
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus is one such philosopher. In The Enchiridion he outlined how to live a good life as a stoic. Anything that is not one's own action is out of their control and should be ignored. He lists "Body, property, reputation, and command" as examples.1 He claims they are weak, and do not belong to us. Trying to control them will lead to unhappiness. On the other hand, he believes if you recognize that external things belonging to others, and internal things as yours you will be much better off.2 To Epictetus, proper way to live is to let things come to you, while being reserved. To illustrate this, he uses the example of a dinner party, where you should not reach across the table and take things. Instead you wait till they come to you.3
Achieving my goals constructs the feeling of satisfactory and confidence me within myself, which is my number one
Stoicism was popularized by the Roman elite of the Late Republic, and it appealed to the elites especially because it provided teachings on how to deal with strife. During the civil war between Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar and the resulting power vacuum after Caesar's assassination, the chaos and violence caused a desire for an...
Accomplishing goals and personal records is huge and leaves the brain extremely satisfied with itself. It’s another reason to get up everyday, even if school/work is stressing you out. When you see yourself constantly improving, you can’t just stop, you keep going and getting better. It’s an endless cycle of needing to improve and you gain confidence because you are doing so much better than at the beginning. The mirror is much easier to look into in the morning and you find yourself saying “hey good lookin!” All of this due to you being mentally hooked on being the best you possible.
Stoic virtue ethics teaches the individual to develop self control and resilience as methods to overcome possible destructive emotions. A stoic person would be considered one who is unaffected by pleasure or pain, and ultimately indifferent to these feelings. For one to practice virtue ethics they would have to be indifferent to feelings because if you are, then you have self-control. Not all stoic beliefs are as strict as they seem because one can interpret their philosophy be cable of recognizing emotion is something that can be self-controlled. Instead of saying emotion is detrimental in stoic beliefs, one can argue that it is more important in controlling your emotions than have them be a negative aspects all together. Can a homosexual be a stoic, or to what extent is gay marriage
...cy that left behind would not be here today. Like a sermon that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “ I want you to be the first in love, I want you to be the first in moral excellence, I want you to be the first in generosity…” What this quote meant to me meant a lot in self-improvement. If you want to change be the first one to change. Don’t wait for someone else but take the initiative, take the action! But here’s the catch! Don’t wait to try to self-improve when you think you’re ready because if you wait to when you think you’re ready, you will never self-improve. This kind of ties up to “When do we need to self-improve?” and “How do we self-improve?” Overall, Self-improving is key in someone’s life. Without it, we wouldn’t be where we were in the past, who we are in the present and who will be become in the future. It is needed in our lives, no doubt about it.
The need to continually improve ourselves is basic to all human beings. Self-development allows us to reach our true and fullest potential. Through self-development we become better able to understand ourselves, others, the world around us and to make positive changes in that world.