Stoic virtue ethics teaches the individual to develop self control and resilience as methods to overcome possible destructive emotions. A stoic person would be considered one who is unaffected by pleasure or pain, and ultimately indifferent to these feelings. For one to practice virtue ethics they would have to be indifferent to feelings because if you are, then you have self-control. Not all stoic beliefs are as strict as they seem because one can interpret their philosophy be cable of recognizing emotion is something that can be self-controlled. Instead of saying emotion is detrimental in stoic beliefs, one can argue that it is more important in controlling your emotions than have them be a negative aspects all together. Can a homosexual be a stoic, or to what extent is gay marriage …show more content…
The gay man seeks pleasure and one can argue that he is not a stoic because heterosexual relationships are nature because there is no way of reproduction. In a sense stoic philosophy goes against the theories existentialism and creates conflict with homosexuality. The Bible and Qur’an are both against the teachings of the stoics so it does not make a practical argument for the society we live in today. If everyone were to be stoic, our current considerations homosexuality will shift to it being a bad thing because it prevents the expansion of humanity and fails to adhere to the natural basic theories of the stoics. Evolution, in the sense of the stoic demands that we procreate in order to maintain a population. Gay marriage fails to maintain the biological necessity of being a human, and that is to create offspring which cannot physically happen in a gay marriages. The physical aspect of stoic teachings is critical because humans are products of nature, urging individuals to go about life attaining only to natural
In this short article I will explain that in what sense did Salutati adopt Stoic ethics according to his letter found in Jill Kraye. Salutati was an Italian humanist and man of letter and he is one of the most known political and cultural leader for Renaissance Florence and he was appointed chancellor of Florence on 1375 until his death , which was on that time one of the most important position in the administration of the republic of Florence.
It was said that in the Greek millenium “ .. male attachments are presented in an honorific light, through there were always some skeptics. But for many biographers, for man not to have had a male lover seems to have bespoken a lack of character or a deficiency in sensibility.” Homosexuality was accepted and even encouraged, it was seen as very manly and noble. Men would gain acceptance throughout their society if the were known to have been with a male lover. Many philosophers such as Plato, believed homosexuality was acceptable. He wrote that he understood other philosophers views on this topic but did not completely agree with their views. He himself was Gay which changed his philosophy about it, he would write from his perspective of it. In Greek society young men were encouraged to be with older men so they could learn from them, and then in the future could help guide other young men. This philosophy of guiding younger men was so that the society around them could appear as a stronger and well put together community.
Aristophanes thinks that a human’s love is clearly “a lack” – a lack of one’s other half- and having no meant to satisfy themselves they begin to die. Zeus, having failed to foresee this difficulty repairs the damage by inventing sexual reproduction (191 b-c). Any “embracements” of men with men or of women with women would of course be sterile – though the participants would at least “have some satiety of their union and a relief,” (191 c) and therefore would be able to carry on the work of the world. Sex, therefore, is at this stage a drive, and the object is defined only as human. Sexual preferences are to emerge only as the human gains experience, enabling them to discover what their “original form” had been.
In Hellenistic Greece, Epicureanism and Stoicism were two influential philosophies encouraging a life of happiness; these philosophies were similar in their belief of the afterlife, but differed in their beliefs of the gods and the approach to attain happiness in life.
Roman social customs are fairly well known, and same-sex unions occurred as high in society as among Roman emperors. Roman statesman Cicero also documented legal rights of an individual within a same-sex marriage. Female same-sex unions were not as common, but only because women enjoyed less freedom in their economic and social endeavors (Eskridge, 1996).Hinduism and Buddhism tend to view homosexuality primarily from the standpoint of its karmic effects, with varying conclusions (Ishay,
In the approximate year of 320 B.C., one could be walking down the street with a high probability of passing a house where several men would be gathered out on the porch. It is likely that this was a gathering of individuals discussing philosophy. The gatherings became a more common occurrence, and since they would take place out on the porches, the school of philosophy derived from them takes its name from the Greek stoa, or porch. The ideology of that movement is henceforth known as Stoicism. Also, the Stoics have come to use the statement made by Socrates as the cornerstone of their judgments, being that "no harm can come to a good man." However, this concept is taken a bit further by the Stoics, as they deduce it to symbolize the eventually complete rejection of worldly things. These things they also deem "things which cannot be controlled."
As a worldview, Stoicism is a philosophical approach to help people to cope with times of great stress and troubles. In order to give comfort to humanity, the Stoics agree with the Pantheistic view that God and nature are not separate. Instead, the two forces are one. By believing that God is nature, humans have a sense of security because nature, like God, is recognized as rational and perfect. The perfection of nature is explained through the Divine, or natural, Law. This law gives everything in nature a predetermined plan that defines the future based on past evens (cause and effect). Because the goal for everything in nature is to fulfill its plan, the reason for all that happens in nature is because it is a part of the plan. It is apparent that, because this law is of God, it must be good. The Divine Law is also universal. Everything on the planet has a plan that has already been determined. There are no exceptions or limitations to the natural law. The world in the Stoics’ eyes is flawless, equal, and rational.
Epictetus was a philosopher that was born in 50 C.E.and died in 130 C.E., Epictetus was famous for his strong belief in self discipline. Unlike fellow philosopher Epicurus Epictetus does not believe that matter is the most important thing in the universe and that people should try to fulfill their pleasures. Epictetus believes that the most important thing in the universe is God. He believes that people should live their entire lives understanding where they stand in the cosmic universe. As stated in the book Great Traditions In Ethics Epictetus believes “That we are first to learn that there is a god; and that his providence directs the whole” (Denise, White, &
Homosexual relationships can be traced back throughout history and in every civilization. The ancient Greeks in particular were well noted for homosexuality being an integral part of everyday life. “The secret of Greek homosexuality has only ever been a secret to those who neglected to inquire. The Greeks themselves were hardly coy about it”(Davidson, J. 2007). Famous authors such as Plato, Xenophon, Herodotus and Athenaeums all explored this subject in their writing. A modern day writer Thomas K Hubbard, has translated the most important primary texts on homosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome into modern, English and collected together a comprehensive sourcebook. Here we get a true glimpse into the past of the daily lives of the ancient Greeks and homosexuality was not only perfectly normal, it was a huge part of society.
In spite of the fact that Aristotle was a companion and scholar of Plato, he didn't concur with Plato's speculations on ethical quality. In the same way as other Greeks, Aristotle did not have confidence in the presence of inalienably terrible practices.
...at to the stability of family life in our society. Sexual intercourse, explained by Haines (2011), is a special bond that is created for the aim of reproducing children despite not being able to, at times. It unites two dissimilar body parts in a way that can produce a reproductive effect. Thus, same sex relationships are opposed because male-female relationships are the only sort that can fully embrace the sexual complimentary (Haines, 2011). If we de-emphasize the procreative function of marriage, then it is only focused on the intensity of feeling between married couples (Pinkerton, 2014). Pinkerton (2014) said that no matter how deep and intimate one’s feelings may be, it can decrease after many years of raising children. This would ultimately lead to divorce and broken families which threatens the stability of family life in our society as stated earlier.
“All men are created equal, No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words,” Harvey Milk. A homosexual, as defined by the dictionary, is someone of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex. Homosexuality is ethical, and I will provide rational arguments for, and irrational arguments against the topic. A few objections are as follows: It is forbidden in the Bible and frowned upon by God; It is unnatural; Men and women are needed to reproduce; There are no known examples in nature; and the most common argument that concerns homosexuality is whether it is a choice or human biology.
Jacques Balthazart, in the book, Biology of Homosexuality, examines the historical and cultural context in which homosexuality is expressed and attempts to dissect homosexual behavior and cognition from a biological perspective. He explains that there are behaviors in human sexuality that exhibit greater diversity than the sexual behavior of other animals. This exertion may lead one to conclude that human sexuality, as a result of its biological and emotional components, is more complex than the sexuality of other species. (Balthazart, p.4)
Everyone in civil society has heard of the latest dispute at least once in the past few months – is homosexuality really a choice, or is it just the product of many genetic and hormonal differences? Some argue that homosexuality is a combination of both, but the scientific aspect argues that it is solely based on biological differences. Whether or not homosexuality is exclusively one or the other, the topic itself has caused a ripple of social unease and activist movements.
“Homosexuality” was the main term used in the late 1950s until a new “gay” culture came about. This new gay culture not only meant same-sex desires but also gay selves an...