What role do our worldviews, i.e. our understanding of nature/science, the individual, society, the divine etc., take in shaping our moral philosophy or ethics? In fact what is the difference between morality and ethics itself? Furthermore, what is the nature of ethics within a religious framework? How does a particular theology condition a morality? Here in the following space we will explore these issues and more via turning to the ancient Greeks.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Carpe Diem
So after talking about Epicurus and the importance of "living in the moment," what aspects of Stoic philosophy also emphasize this idea and why? Also what differences may there be in the Stoic conception of "living in the moment"?
When Epicurus talk about "living the moment", he explains that man cannot find true happiness unless he finds it living in the moment. We must not fret over the past and worry about the future but focus on the present moment. In this moment alone can we find true happiness. In the Stoic philosophy, they discuss a lot of training oneself. Even though something must be natural to us, we must still train our bodies or beings in order that we may perform these actions. I think that the Stoic conception of "living in the moment" would be that we must train ourselves to learn to live in the moment. Even though our natural desire is happiness, we must train ourselves to live in the moment in order that we may find true happiness. I don't belive that In contradiction to Epicurus' beliefe that we must live in the moment whether or not we like in order to reach true happiness, the Stoic view believes that we must first train ourselves to live in the moment, and then will we find happiness.
Stoicism stresses a certain kind of "indifference" to the situations that surround us because in reality they are out of our hands. This allows for the Stoic to give up worrying about the past, present, and future and also allows for their effort to do one's social duty in the "here" and "now." Yet, living in the moment for the Stoic is one of duty and less of the Epicurean's pursuit of happiness.
Stoicism is like having a neutral or indifferent opinion about things because it can't be controlled. This is their version of living in the moment because like the epicureans, it stresses that one should not concern themselves with the past and future. The difference between them involves their views of the present. A stoic person shows indifference to the present as well as the past and future to be happy while an epicurean emphasizes the importance of living in the present to be happy.
Like the Epicureans, the stoics focus on the here and now. To the stoics the things outside of the current particular situation relating to them do not matter because they are out of their control. This idea reduces stress and worry of things previous or future, bringing happiness. They are quite unconcerned with any other time such as the past or the future. According to the stoics, only when an individual is completely uninterested in the past or future can a person be happy as this state reduces stress and worry about unnecessary and unrelevant things. This is related to the Epicureans view in which in order to be happy an individual must also be unconcerned with the past or the future. To the Epicureans living in the present brings happiness.
In Epicurism pleasure is the absence of pain, when it comes to he stoics they have more of an indifferent attitude. The stoics reached out for wisdom and enjoyed each and every moment, much like Epicurism.
I agree with many of the posts before. In the Epicurus light, we should live in the moment and not concern ourselves with the past or future. Only what we do right now matters. However, with Stoic idea, one must use training as an outlet of life. With this in mind, it almost contradicts the "living in the moment" idea, because if we train ourselves, are we not training ourselves in the present for the future that will soon become the past? It's just a thought. :)
The Epicurean attitude towards "living in the moment" is much more focused on the idea that the now is the only thing that matters. The future and the past do not matter, nor do they really exist, the only thing that truly exists is yourself in the present moment. Therefore, the only thing a person should focus on is their experiences in the present moment, and to focus on achieving pleasure and happiness in that moment. Stoic philosophical thought is geared more toward disciplining yourself to control your emotions in the moment. In doing so, you strive to overcome negative emotions and achieve true happiness. Stoicism also involves a very deterministic view; that a person's life is predetermined, and therefore there is no reason to experience negative emotions, but instead find happiness in every moment with the knowledge that you have no control.
Epicurism and Stoicism have a similar concept which is "live in the moment". However, the two philosophies have a different definition for the term "living in the moment". Epicurism defines living in the moment as only being happy in the present and not worrying about the past, because one can not change it due to the fact that it is fixed, and the not focusing on the future, because it has not come yet. Living in the moment for Epicures is to act like the gods in a way that one is unconcerned about past or future and is only happy in the present. Stoicism defines living in the moment as training oneself to teach the body how to act appropriately and change his outlook. One must learn how to avoid passions because it will lead to other emotions such as confusion, sadness and envy. One must do this in order to be truly happy. One must educate themselves to act appropriately by their nature. We as humans must learn what is good, bad and indifferent in order to be happy and not to worry about things that we can not control.
For the stoic it is not just living in the moment. The stoic has to discern one mind and has to reason to live in the moment. The stoic has to train its mind to not be concerned with the past or future.
In the Stoic philosophy the aspects of living in the moment are similiar to Epicures yet, different. The Stoics' like the Epicureans believe in living in the moment right now and that we should primarly focus on our present circumstances. To them there is no reason to focus on other past or future circumstances that are out of our control. One big difference that sets Stoicism and Epicurism apart is the way they find true happiness. Epicureans believe we are naturally or instinctivly inclined to find true happiness to fulfill our lives. Stoics, however, believe we must make or push ourselves to find true happiness and that our goal of finding it is not instinctive but thought about.
I think the Epicuristic idea of living in the moment is all about the current moment we are living in with no thought to the past or future because we can not control them. This is different though from the Stoic idea that we must control things like emotions or thoughts to find this happiness. This is almost then thinking of the future because we know if we control these things, the future will turn a certain way. I also feel there is more reason and rhyme to the Stoics than Epicurus.
So after talking about Epicurus and the importance of "living in the moment," what aspects of Stoic philosophy also emphasize this idea and why? Also what differences may there be in the Stoic conception of "living in the moment"?
stoic philosophy emphasizes a sense of indifference towards situations and events which occur. It is not a non-chalont attitude, but it does teach a person to not be emotionally effected by things that happen, especially when things dont go the way you would want. This seems to be a difference between stoicism and epicurianism. Although both are concerned with the present regardless if that moment is a good or bad one because they understand that life should be appreciated in the present. Stoicism tries to minimize emotional reactions to events.
Both Epicurans and Stoics focus on the present and living in the moment. Epicurans do this because they believe the only happiness one can find is in the now. Stoics do this as a way to stay unaffected by emotions that they cannot control. By living in the moment, a Stoic believes they can find happiness through discernment and training oneself to be happy.
When Epicurus talk about "living the moment", he explains that man cannot find true happiness unless he finds it living in the moment. We must not fret over the past and worry about the future but focus on the present moment. In this moment alone can we find true happiness.
ReplyDeleteIn the Stoic philosophy, they discuss a lot of training oneself. Even though something must be natural to us, we must still train our bodies or beings in order that we may perform these actions.
I think that the Stoic conception of "living in the moment" would be that we must train ourselves to learn to live in the moment. Even though our natural desire is happiness, we must train ourselves to live in the moment in order that we may find true happiness. I don't belive that In contradiction to Epicurus' beliefe that we must live in the moment whether or not we like in order to reach true happiness, the Stoic view believes that we must first train ourselves to live in the moment, and then will we find happiness.
Stoicism stresses a certain kind of "indifference" to the situations that surround us because in reality they are out of our hands. This allows for the Stoic to give up worrying about the past, present, and future and also allows for their effort to do one's social duty in the "here" and "now." Yet, living in the moment for the Stoic is one of duty and less of the Epicurean's pursuit of happiness.
ReplyDeleteStoicism is like having a neutral or indifferent opinion about things because it can't be controlled. This is their version of living in the moment because like the epicureans, it stresses that one should not concern themselves with the past and future. The difference between them involves their views of the present. A stoic person shows indifference to the present as well as the past and future to be happy while an epicurean emphasizes the importance of living in the present to be happy.
ReplyDeleteLike the Epicureans, the stoics focus on the here and now. To the stoics the things outside of the current particular situation relating to them do not matter because they are out of their control. This idea reduces stress and worry of things previous or future, bringing happiness. They are quite unconcerned with any other time such as the past or the future. According to the stoics, only when an individual is completely uninterested in the past or future can a person be happy as this state reduces stress and worry about unnecessary and unrelevant things. This is related to the Epicureans view in which in order to be happy an individual must also be unconcerned with the past or the future. To the Epicureans living in the present brings happiness.
ReplyDeleteIn Epicurism pleasure is the absence of pain, when it comes to he stoics they have more of an indifferent attitude. The stoics reached out for wisdom and enjoyed each and every moment, much like Epicurism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the posts before. In the Epicurus light, we should live in the moment and not concern ourselves with the past or future. Only what we do right now matters. However, with Stoic idea, one must use training as an outlet of life. With this in mind, it almost contradicts the "living in the moment" idea, because if we train ourselves, are we not training ourselves in the present for the future that will soon become the past? It's just a thought. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Epicurean attitude towards "living in the moment" is much more focused on the idea that the now is the only thing that matters. The future and the past do not matter, nor do they really exist, the only thing that truly exists is yourself in the present moment. Therefore, the only thing a person should focus on is their experiences in the present moment, and to focus on achieving pleasure and happiness in that moment. Stoic philosophical thought is geared more toward disciplining yourself to control your emotions in the moment. In doing so, you strive to overcome negative emotions and achieve true happiness. Stoicism also involves a very deterministic view; that a person's life is predetermined, and therefore there is no reason to experience negative emotions, but instead find happiness in every moment with the knowledge that you have no control.
ReplyDeleteEpicurism and Stoicism have a similar concept which is "live in the moment". However, the two philosophies have a different definition for the term "living in the moment".
ReplyDeleteEpicurism defines living in the moment as only being happy in the present and not worrying about the past, because one can not change it due to the fact that it is fixed, and the not focusing on the future, because it has not come yet. Living in the moment for Epicures is to act like the gods in a way that one is unconcerned about past or future and is only happy in the present.
Stoicism defines living in the moment as training oneself to teach the body how to act appropriately and change his outlook. One must learn how to avoid passions because it will lead to other emotions such as confusion, sadness and envy. One must do this in order to be truly happy. One must educate themselves to act appropriately by their nature. We as humans must learn what is good, bad and indifferent in order to be happy and not to worry about things that we can not control.
For the stoic it is not just living in the moment. The stoic has to discern one mind and has to reason to live in the moment. The stoic has to train its mind to not be concerned with the past or future.
ReplyDeleteIn the Stoic philosophy the aspects of living in the moment are similiar to Epicures yet, different. The Stoics' like the Epicureans believe in living in the moment right now and that we should primarly focus on our present circumstances. To them there is no reason to focus on other past or future circumstances that are out of our control. One big difference that sets Stoicism and Epicurism apart is the way they find true happiness. Epicureans believe we are naturally or instinctivly inclined to find true happiness to fulfill our lives. Stoics, however, believe we must make or push ourselves to find true happiness and that our goal of finding it is not instinctive but thought about.
ReplyDeleteI think the Epicuristic idea of living in the moment is all about the current moment we are living in with no thought to the past or future because we can not control them. This is different though from the Stoic idea that we must control things like emotions or thoughts to find this happiness. This is almost then thinking of the future because we know if we control these things, the future will turn a certain way. I also feel there is more reason and rhyme to the Stoics than Epicurus.
ReplyDeleteSo after talking about Epicurus and the importance of "living in the moment," what aspects of Stoic philosophy also emphasize this idea and why? Also what differences may there be in the Stoic conception of "living in the moment"?
ReplyDeletestoic philosophy emphasizes a sense of indifference towards situations and events which occur. It is not a non-chalont attitude, but it does teach a person to not be emotionally effected by things that happen, especially when things dont go the way you would want. This seems to be a difference between stoicism and epicurianism. Although both are concerned with the present regardless if that moment is a good or bad one because they understand that life should be appreciated in the present. Stoicism tries to minimize emotional reactions to events.
Both Epicurans and Stoics focus on the present and living in the moment. Epicurans do this because they believe the only happiness one can find is in the now. Stoics do this as a way to stay unaffected by emotions that they cannot control. By living in the moment, a Stoic believes they can find happiness through discernment and training oneself to be happy.
ReplyDelete