Tag Archives: The Stoic

Arts, Literature, Philosophy

(Philosophy): The Stoic – Opinions Are Like…

UNBIASED THOUGHT

“What IS bad luck? Opinion. What are conflict, dispute, blame, accusation, irreverence, and frivolity? They are all opinions, and more than that, they are opinions that lie outside of our own reasoned choice, presented as if they were good or evil. Let a person shift their opinions only to what belongs in the field of their own choice, and I guarantee that person will have peace of mind, whatever is happening around them.” – Epictetus, Discourses, 3.3.18b–19

OPINIONS. Everyone’s got one.

Think about all the opinions you have: about whether today’s weather is convenient, about what liberals and conservatives believe, about whether so-and-so’s remark is rude or not, about whether you’re successful (or not), and on and on. We’re constantly looking at the world around us and putting our opinions on top of it. And our opinion is often shaped by dogma (religious or cultural), entitlements, expectations, and in some cases, ignorance.

No wonder we feel upset and angry so often. But what if we let these opinions go? Let’s try weeding (ekkoptein; cutting or knocking out) them out of our lives so that things simply are. Not good or bad, not coloured with opinion or judgment. Just are.

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Arts, Literature, Philosophy

(Philosophy) The Stoic: The Real Source of Harm

PASSIONS AND EMOTIONS

“Keep In mind that it isn’t the one who has it in for you and takes a swipe that harms you, but rather the harm comes from your own belief about the abuse. So when someone arouses your anger, know that it’s really your own opinion fuelling it. Instead, make it your first response not to be carried away by such impressions, for with time and distance self-mastery is more easily achieved.” – Epictetus, Enchiridion, 20

THE Stoics remind us that there is really no such thing as an objectively good or bad occurrence. When a billionaire loses £1million in market fluctuations, it’s not the same as when you or I lose a million pounds. Criticism from your worst enemy is received differently than negative words from a spouse. If someone sends you an angry email but you never see it, did it actually happen? In other words, these situations require our participation, context, and categorisation in order to be “bad.”

Our reaction is what actually decides whether harm has occurred. If we feel that we’ve been wronged and get angry, of course that’s how it will seem. If we raise our voice because we feel we’re being confronted, naturally a confrontation will ensue.

But if we retain control of ourselves, we decide whether to label something good or bad. In fact, if that same event happened to us at different points in our lifetime, we might have very different reactions. So why not choose now to not apply these labels? Why not choose not to react?

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Arts, Literature, Philosophy

The Stoic: Cut The Strings That Pull Your Mind

CLARITY

“Understand at last that you have something in you more powerful and divine than what causes the bodily passions and pulls you like a mere puppet. What thoughts now occupy my mind? Is it not fear, suspicion, desire, or something like that?” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 12.19

THINK of all the interests vying for a share of your wallet or for a second of your attention. Food scientists are engineering products to exploit your taste buds, Silicon Valley engineers are designing applications as addictive as gambling. The media is manufacturing stories to provoke outrage and anger.

These are just a small slice of the temptations and forces acting on us – distracting us and pulling us away from the things that truly matter. Aurelius, thankfully, was not exposed to these extreme parts of our modern culture. But he knew plenty of distracting sinkholes too: gossip, the endless call for keeping up to date and betterment, as well as fear, suspicion, lust. Every human being is pulled by these internal and external forces that are increasingly more powerful and harder to resist.

Philosophy is simply asking us to pay careful attention and to strive to be more than a pawn. As Viktor Frankl puts it in The Will to Meaning, “man is pushed by drives put pulled by values.” These values and inner awareness prevent us from being puppets. Sure, paying attention requires work and awareness, but isn’t that better than being jerked about on a string?

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