Stoicism: (from the Porch)
Roman Empire’s Main Philosophy for over 500 Years.
Can be “kind of” negative, “kind of” orderly, “kind of” comical, “kind
of” connected
Pre-Stoicism Ideas:
-Skepticism: Generally
a questioner of the “status quo”.
-Sophists: Life is a bunch of twisted words.
-Thesbians: Live is “tragedy”, and it is always a
“comic”.
-Cynicism: Cynosarges (lived in a wine barrel). This was the extreme version.
-All
materials are worthless and evil for the human spirit.
-All
powerful people are evil.
-Organized
society is a joke.
Named Founder of Stoicism is Zeno
-The skeptics
and cynics were “too radical” for the majority.
Zeno created an acceptable
form of skepticism and cynicism which changed
and evolved as Rome changed and
evolved.
-Fate: Everything is a part
of “Fate”. “If it’s meant to be it will
be”.
-“Meaningful Coincidence” – Things don’t happen by chance.
-Stoicism prefers the
“Non-Emotional”. It’s your fate, so deal with it.
-Logos: Order, Control
Everything is
connected and all answers are connected.
Everything works in a “ordered system” with
the universe and with mankind.
-We
need Cesar to be Cesar and ditch diggers to be ditch diggers
-Both are acting out
their fates. Both have meaningful
purpose.
-Critics of
Stoicism argued that it was a ploy to hold Rome together. It’s your “Fate” to
Be a peasant and follow Cesar. Enjoy the role you have, and don’t question
stuff too
Much.
HEDONISM and EPICURIANISM
(Two Greek Philosophies Based on Pleasure).
Hedonism: Pure Pleasure.
-Aristippus founder – student of
Plato. Went on his own.
-Physical Pleasure = The Meaning
of Life.
-The more intense the
pleasure, the more meaning and purpose.
-Enjoy Pleasure
without guilt, follow natural desires.
-The Roman’s actually took this
“to the next level”, and some of them somehow made
It fit in with Stoicism.
Epicureanism: Controlled Pleasure.
-Epicurus (341 – 270 BC) Studied under Plato and Aristotle, but rejected
many things.
-Started his own
school (The Garden).
-Everyone was
equal in The Garden. First to treat
women equally.
-All Pleasure is good, but not
all pleasure should be chosen.
-Momentary
Pleasure
-Kinetic Pleasure has a diminishing
return.
-Some
momentary pleasure causes lasting pain.
-some
pain created from pleasure is physical.
-some
pain created form pleasure is mental.
-Lasting
Pleasure
-Grows
rather than diminishes.
-Based
on Static Circumstances.
-Based
less on physical, more on mental and spiritual
-Ataraxia: The lack of physical pain and mental anguish.
-A
constant life of not having troubles.
-A
belief that pleasure = purpose (same as Hedonism)
-A
belief in moderation and balance must exist.
Questions:
-Do some Americans Participate
in Hedonism? Do some Americans
Participate in Stoicism?
-Do we mix the two?
-What does it mean when the
founding fathers say “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”?
-Do we let principles guide our
actions, or do we create principles that justify our actions?
-Is there some of both?
-Does it matter?
. Existentialism:
-The idea that we create
our own purpose.
-The idea that we have
complete Free Will.
-The lack of Fate.
-Usually Atheistic in
Nature.
-A Modern Philosophy –
Non-Greco-Roman.
-Underpinnings with
Kierkegaard (1600ds), but came alive
With Sartre’ (1950’s).
Kierkegaard:
-Was
A Thiest
-God
Designed us before he created us.
-The
creativity we have is part of God’s Plan.
-God
gave us Free Will that we can choose to do either good or evil with.
-We
control “Most” stuff we do.
-Occasionally
God “Elects” someone to perform general function of his plan.
-Examples
Kierkegaard gave were Abraham and Paul.
-There
wasn’t really “fate” as in Greco-Roman Culture, but limited election.
-For Kierkegaard: Essence
Precedes Existence.
Sartre’s Version:
-Absence of Fate, therefore NOTHING
is pre-determined.
-Therefore,
EVERYTHING is by CHANCE
-There is TOTAL FREE WILL.
-When
wrong occurs it is ridiculous to ask “why”.
-Nothing is a nice package of neat
answers like what the Roman Stoics followed.
-Life
is meaningless, other than the meaning we assign to it.
-Therefore we create our
own purpose and meaning.
-We
do this both individually and COLLECTIVELY.
-We are not good or evil by nature, but by
choice.
-Since
we create purpose and meaning, we are therefore RESPONSIBLE for our choices.
-No
one can “make” you to be happy or angry.
-No
action by anyone else can make you experience any emotion other than
what you choose.
-Collective
Choices are actually a result of individual choices, making all choices
extremely important.
-Therefore,
complete freedom is a Huge Burdon, because we now know that we are
Responsible and accountable. The only
freedom we don’t have is the choice to not be
free.
This is why Sartre’ made the famous statement: “You are Condemned to be
free”.
So for Sartre’
Existence Precedes Essence.
-You exist first, then you have
essence.
-Unlike a paper-cutter who’s essence
existed in someone’s mind first.
Deists: Another Option of Determinism and Free Will
-Deism
has some fairly good American Company as most of the writers of the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights were
Deists to some degree.
-They
advocated for Free Will, but they were Thiests, and they were somewhat
moderate in their views of the argument.
-God
is a watch-maker who makes a watch and then throws it down and lets it
tick on its own for the most
part, but not all the time.
-The idea of the
Constitution was Inspired to some degree, but also man-designed.
-There’s mostly
free-will, but there is also a divine plan.
Determinism
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------FREE
WILL
Find the Answer Create the
Answer
Many Philosophers are Both
(Dualism)
Buddhism
Siddharta Guatama (560-480 BC)
-Said to have lived in extreme
luxury until his 30’s.
-Said to have lived in
unproductive self-indulgence.
-He became bored.
-He went on 4 secret trips to find out what the “real world was”. Buddhism is about his findings
on his trips, and interpretation
of what other’s thought his sayings meant.
-But really hardly anything is actually known about him.
Major Elements of Buddhism:
4 Truths:
Everyone Suffers.
Physical Suffering is more obvious.
Dukkha:
Anxiety, Anguish, Persistent Dissatisfaction.
Suffering is caused by “Attachment”. Attachment creates “Bad Karma”.
“Enlightment” Cures suffering and creates “Good
Karma”.
Enlightment is like a journey on a raft.
The raft exists in simple daily life.
The raft moves toward Nirvana.
Nirvana is being unattached.
Nirvana is being “Totally Awake” (some define
Buddhism by this).
Nirvana is found in the “Middle Way”.
Ascetic----------------------------------------------X---------------------------------------------------Indulgence
The Middle Way
Other Things about Buddhism:
-Buddhism is the
only major religion without a deity.
-Some consider
being “Totally Awake” a good definition of Buddhism.
-Awakeness
comes from Controlled Living.
-Simplicity.
-Meditation.
-Concentration.
-Denial (but not too
much or you lose the Middle Way).
-Compassion.
-Buddhism is
deterministic as everything has a cause; but Buddhism is not “Dogmatic”.
It does not have to be the same for everyone.
-There is a “thirst”
or “desire” to either have or avoid.
-Cessation – The
process of getting rid of the desire and creating a re-education of
desire toward God and Enlightment.
-Anatta – No
Self. Self is a fiction that we invent.
-Anicca –
Nothing is permanent.
-Everything is in continuous change.
-Process is all there is.
-Actions are greater than stability.
Depak Chopra
– Present-Time Buddhist
-Very Wealthy, Has His own Web
Site, Has a camp for relaxation and Eastern medical techniques
-His 7 Statements:
-Give to get.
-Detatch.
-Show Compassion
and work off bad Karma.
-Create good
Karma now.
-Do more with less.
-Bring all
forces together with compassion at the core.
-Continue the
Process.
Stephen
Covey – Recently deceased American Christian - Organizational/Leadership
Speaker: He wrote: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
-Be
Proactive
-Begin with the
End in Mind
-Put First Things
First
-Think win-win.
-Seek First to
Understand, then to be Understood.
-The Whole is
Greater than the Sum of Its Parts – so Synergize.
-Renew.
