In the book Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy Behind The Military Mind, the author Nancy Sherman presents a strong argument of the connection between ancient stoics and the modern military that leaves little room for rebuttal. Being raised by a father who served in WWII, she seldom heard stories about the war but still developed an appreciation and fascination with the military. Most of her career she was “focused on ethics and the emotions, in ancient and modern philosophy,” as she states. Her fascination with both the mind and the military crossed paths in the nineties when she was appointed as a civilian assistant to the military where she served as the inaugural occupant of the distinguished chair of ethics. Throughout the book she utilizes the contemporary military as a lens to study and evaluate Stoic philosophy. She uses examples from wars, ranging from Ancient Greek to Iraq, not only to highlight and confirm the presence of the Stoic philosophy has on the modern military warrior but also why it is such a compelling guiding principle for not only military members but civilians as well. Throughout Stoic Warriors Sherman expresses a common theme that has always been present in the minds of warriors and military members for centuries, that
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 choices we make define the destiny of our lives. Since the beginning of time, man has always been an imperfect being full of flaws. Man is faced with different situations that can end up bringing disgrace to himself and his family if the situations are not well handled. In the texts Book II of the Aeneid by Virgil, Antigone by Sophocles, Oedipus the king by Sophocles, and Book XXII from the Iliad by Homer; Creon, the Trojan people, Hector, Achilles, and Oedipus embody what can lead to a man’s downfall through their own choices. Through these texts we are able to learn from the mistakes people made in the past and lead good moral lives. The texts illustrate how pride, lack of empathy, and ignorance lead to the destruction of man.
In A Tactical Ethic, Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace, author Dick Couch addresses what he believes to be an underlying problem, most typical of small units, of wanton ethical and moral behavior partly stemming from the negative “ethical climate and moral culture” of today’s America (Couch, D., 2010, p. 15). In chapter one, he reveals what A Tactical Ethic will hope to accomplish; that is identify the current ethics of today’s military warriors, highlight what is lacking, and make suggestions about what can be done to make better the ethical behavior of those on the battlefield and in garrison. He touches on some historic anecdotes to highlight the need for high ethics amongst today’s military warriors as well as briefly mentions
The Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger once said “Perjor est bello timor ipse belli”, which translates to: “the dread of war is worse than war itself”. With this quote, Seneca identifies that war has both its physical and mental tolls on its participants. The psychological and emotional scars of war do much more damage to a solider than the actual physical battles. Tim O’ Brien repeats this idea many years later in his novel “The Things They Carried”, by describing how emotional burdens outweigh the physical loads that those in war must endure. What keeps them alive is the hope that they may one day return home to their loved ones. Yet, the weight of these intangible “items” such as “grief, terror, love, longing” overshadow the physical load they must endure since they are not easily cast away.
Snider, D. M., Toner, K., & Oh, P. (2009). The Army’s Professional Military Ethic in an Era of Persistent Conflict. Security (p. 30). Carlisle.
Posttraumatic stress disorder is a psychological disorder that occurs after a person has been through a traumatic event, such as combat warfare. In this essay, I would like to compare Vietnam soldiers to soldiers in the Trojan War, and contrast the similarities and differences between the two, also analyze how soldiers’ lives have been affected similarly throughout two completely different wars. I would also like to show the irony of war, and how war doesn’t only dehumanize soldiers, but it also inspires valuable human qualities. In the movie Achilles in Vietnam, Dr. Shay does a great job by showing us how the psychological devastation of Vietnam veterans compares to the one Achilles experienced after losing his beloved comrade, Patroclus.
Clashing swords, miraculous survivals, pain of loss, and heroic sacrifice are all terrifying yet thrilling moments in a battle. The strong possibility of death and the frailty of human life add into the suspense of battle. Yet the reasons behind the wars, death, and suspense can be overlooked. The stories behind the warriors who have died will not be told again, but the stories of warriors still alive are what give the men strength to continue fighting against impossible odds. Ultimately, the reason of why a man would risk his life in battle is for someone, or something, he loves.
A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain ...
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, written by the talented author Chris Hedges, gives us provoking thoughts that are somewhat painful to read but at the same time are quite personal confessions. Chris Hedges, a talented journalist to say the least, brings nearly 15 years of being a foreign correspondent to this book and subjectively concludes how all of his world experiences tie together. Throughout his book, he unifies themes present in all wars he experienced first hand. The most important themes I was able to draw from this book were, war skews reality, dominates culture, seduces society with its heroic attributes, distorts memory, and supports a cause, and allures us by a constant battle between death and love.
in order to lead a stress free life- what is the sense in being distressed over something that is beyond your control? The modern day notion of self-improvement implies changing one’s character to be a ‘better’ person. The issue of inconsistency is a result of the objectors’ misguided application of the modern day understanding of the terms. It is not an inconsistency that lies within Stoicism itself, but an inconsistent use of the definitions. The Stoics speak of one set of definitions and the charges speak of another. To prove inconsistency in their work it is necessary that the philosophy be challenged on it’s own terms. Therefore, the charges of inconsistency against Stoic determinism do not stand; they are misguided objections that do not coordinate with the Stoics established understanding of self-improvement and responsibility.
A natural response to such a violent environment is to simply behave in a way that portrays no weakness. If the soldier does not show any signs of weakness, he finds it much easier to convince himself that he can survive by his strength. In asserting his control over himself by hiding all of his weaknesses, h...
On passage eleven I shall have to disagree with him since it seems far too cold of a way to go through life. As he wrote this passage it seems that Epictetus was focusing on the fact that the world is an easier place if empathy is lacked in how I go through it so that I can lack any sort of connection to the things that I come in contact with. The world is a cruel place, obviously, and the way I know it can be changed in an instant so it just makes the world easier if I don’t try to become connected to anyone I meet or any of the property I own. I should keep from becoming empathetic about the world around me and never care about the people who are suffering since it causes too much harm to be worried about anyone else. It works if I am able and willing to keep from getting close to anyone in my life though it would make for a lonely existence to always be thinking that to keep everything from being taken away at a moment 's notice, I must not care about anything that I come in contact
A soldier’s “greatest fear is not death but failure, and the shame that accompanies failure. More than anything else, warriors fear letting themselves down and letting their leaders and friends down at a moment when it matters most. They fear most not losing their lives, but their honor” (Nash, 2007, p. 25).
...ndividual equally. View your father like you would a stranger; as another human being living through nature. All in all, distress is avoidable as long as one is able to live life to the full potential in a tolerant manner. Eudaimonia to Epictetus is continuous recognition that one’s life is not determined by the individual. One can only control his/her thoughts. By accepting the world, one can reach happiness.
He also wants us to know that we should understand what is in our power and what is not. When something is not in our power we should just accept it and move on with our lives. It’s very important that in life we conquer our will and use our “Rational Nature.” (Denise et al., 52). Epictetus believes that we should avoid frustration and disappointment. This goes along side his idea of not taking to heart what is out of our control. We should try to avoid the feelings of frustration and disappointment and instead use our will power to overcome it. Epictetus argues that everything that happens in life is because of the divine beings will for it to be so. We should act logically and just trust that everything happens for a reason. “[ Remember ] that such is, and was, and will be, the nature of the world, nor is it possible that things should be otherwise than they now are.” (Denise et al., 52). It is important that humans just accept everything as is and try their best to fulfill their duty to the city of God. Epictetus warns that a person who chases after pleasures will feel more sorrow than someone
During the age of Epicureanism, people questioned the philosophy of Epicurus. In order to understand the history of Epicureanism, the person must first understand the knowledge of how and why it came to be. The how part which helps people to better understand the teachings of Epicureanism is “the art of making life happy.” To people in Athens this was reflected by the people as to why they not live their lives to fully while they are in this world. As for the why part, Epicurus decided in 310 B.C that people should want to live their lives knowing that they are living for themselves and not the purpose of pleasing others or society. Epicurus then began to form a new school which would explain why someone would want to live for themselves and not for the satisfaction of someone else. Epicurus said, “We cannot live pleasurably without living prudently, gracefully, and justly; and we cannot live prudently gracefully, and justly, without living pleasurably” (newadvent.org). This made people think that Epicurus was correct. Why should someone live life to in submission when, in fact, if he/she lives life to be fulfilled then they would feel better about their life and not have so many worries. Thus, the Epicurean way isn’t too far from today’s world views on how Americans live. Thomas Jefferson, during the history of Ame...