Why is it we view the stoics and epicureans as “different”?
Yet, we use some of the same ideas today. Like Epicureanism, we strive to live
at peace—or to ultimately reach tranquility. We strive to do things that will
make us happy. The stoics seem to be more honest about life without
spirituality or religion. They look at humans and nature from a natural, common
way. They use nature to explain everything. Would we honestly reach a place of
happiness if we took the stoic’s position and viewpoint? If I do not listen to
my own natural passion or any emotional factors, would I eventually find the
happiness that I am searching for?
For example: let’s say I fall in love with someone. We develop a relationship. I gain an
emotional attachment with them. I plan on marrying this person and making a
family one day. For me to be happy in the future, I tell myself that I will
continue this emotional attachment with him and to have a family. We break up.
Yes there are other men in the world, but what if I imagined only us two—not me
and anyone else? Would I reach that happiness?
The stoics would tell me to leave the emotions alone. If I do
not separate emotion and what is in “nature”, I will not find the virtues. What
they define as the optimal virtues would be wisdom, courage, justice and
temperance. If I fell so in love with him, it would be a passion of mine to
have a family one day. The stoics would say to find wisdom, courage, justice
and temperance, it would be best to not have that passion and to let it go. They
use the appeal of logic and common reason. To separate is to find those virtues.
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