Marcus Aurelius and Stoic Philosophy
Stoicism is a belief that the universe, despite its appearances, is completely rational and guided by fate. Within it, individuals can, by conforming themselves to divine reason, find their proper place, learn to accept whatever happens with a strong and tranquil mind, and fulfill their obligations to society. These beliefs are the heart of Stoicism, a philosophy that originated in Athens during the 3rd century BC.
Stoicism can be divided into three periods: Old (300 - 129 BC.), middle (129 - 30 BC.), and New (30 BC. - AD 200). The foundations were laid by Zeno and were reshaped by his Greek and Roman followers (Comptons). Among the eminent Roman Stoics were Seneca, Epictetus, and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, all of who provided valuable writings on the subject. Of special interest are Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations", which were private notebooks written during his military campaigns. He wrote "Meditations" as a relief from his lonely office, attempting to reconcile his Stoic Philosophy of virtue and self-sacrifice, with his role as Emperor.
Stoicism is essentially a system of ethics, which is guided by logic as theory of method, and rests upon physics as foundation. The whole philosophy was fairly complex and included a complete view of the universe, physics, psychology, and political theory. The ethics, or the principles governing the behavior of people in society, was the most prominent and appealing feature of the philosophy. By the time of Cicero in the 1st century BC, Stoicism had become the most widely diffused intellectual movement in the Roman Empire. It persisted as a powerful doctrine for centuries and influenced many of the early Christian writers.
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I think stoic philosophy is fairly reasonable and easy to identify with. It is a mistake to regard health, wealth, success, or any other temporary condition as a cause for happiness. Only virtue is good, and vice is evil. The individual who pursues virtue can become wise. Virtue is defined as the attainment of courage, justice, and moderation. These are the ingredients of a good life, and the only things that can provide true happiness. A morally weak individual is unhappy no matter what good fortune the world brings. Money, wealth, and success can create a temporary psychological condition called happiness, but they cannot create real happiness --- described as the good life well lived.
Works Cited
"Marcus Aurelius." Comptons Encyclopedia. Online. America Online. 12 Feb.2001.
"Stoicism." Stanford Encyclopedia. Online. America Online. 10 Feb. 2001.
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus is one such philosopher. In The Enchiridion he outlined how to live a good life as a stoic. Anything that is not one's own action is out of their control and should be ignored. He lists "Body, property, reputation, and command" as examples.1 He claims they are weak, and do not belong to us. Trying to control them will lead to unhappiness. On the other hand, he believes if you recognize that external things belonging to others, and internal things as yours you will be much better off.2 To Epictetus, proper way to live is to let things come to you, while being reserved. To illustrate this, he uses the example of a dinner party, where you should not reach across the table and take things. Instead you wait till they come to you.3
In the times of Seneca, the popular belief was that the liberal studies were the path to salvation; however, Seneca did not agree with that belief. Seneca was a stoic – an individual who could endure pain without expressing it emotionally or physically. Seneca stressed on how one must overcome adversity: “you must remove therefrom all superfluous things…Let all other things be driven out, and let the breast be emptied to receive virtue” (Seneca 28). These quotes represent an internal decision to
More specifically, Stoicism is a moral guide for humans. Though nature is absolute and perfect through God, the human thought is the one and only feature of life that is controlled and changed by people. Humans have the ability to reason and to know that everything in life is determined. For every event that they encounter, humans are able to acknowledge the fact that it is a part of their life plan. Therefore, a person can control whether he/she accepts that the action is unchangeable. Many humans think that they have a choice for all that they do and all that happens to them. But in Stoic reality, natures plan has one path with no possible differences. Thus, good is not defined by what a person does; but, by a per...
People who are viewed as happy in our culture today are also seen as being rich, having a loving family, and a great occupation. Our society is attracted to material things, rather than spiritual ones. Can a person who does not have many possessions and an elevated social position still live a happy life? Epicurus believed that each one of us could achieve true happiness, and our only problem is that we stubbornly search for it in all the wrong places. Epicurus states that we only need three things to be happy besides the essentials needed for survival: friends, freedom, and an analyzed life. I will be comparing contemporary American notions of happiness to the Epicurean view.
Aurelius, Marcus. The meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. New York: A.L. Burt, 189.
The Epicurean theory essentially encompasses the thought that we as humans, have a natural instinct to seek pleasure and avoid pain and that this instinct in and of itself is what will ultimately cause us to achieve happiness and the ‘good life’. Pleasure is considered a feeling of satisfaction, joy and overall contentment with a particular situation or state of being. While pain as the polar opposite, being a feeling of immense physical or mental discomfort/distress.
Cicero, was truly a man of the state. His writings also show us he was equally a man of
The mindsets of people in society are often heavily influenced by the conflicts and circumstances that are common within the time-span in which these people lived. In times of war, people may be more patriotic; in times of pestilence, people may be more pious. Whether cynical or optimistic, the understandings of these mindsets allow for a better insight into how theses people lived their lives and the philosophies that guided them. In the case of the philosophers Plato and Epictetus, their philosophies sprang up amidst collapsing cities and exile. Plato and Epictetus’ philosophies differed due to their individual experiences in that Plato believed that all is not what it seemed, while Epictetus believed that what was presented should only matter if they are within an individual’s concern.
Stoicism was popularized by the Roman elite of the Late Republic, and it appealed to the elites especially because it provided teachings on how to deal with strife. During the civil war between Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar and the resulting power vacuum after Caesar's assassination, the chaos and violence caused a desire for an...
Marcus Aurelius’ literary work, Mediations, has been seen throughout history as one of the most important literary works. It is similar to a journal, written by Aurelius during his life, about his life. Aurelius was a man who was unlike other emperors. While most other emperors disgraced themselves, he was an exception. There was no particular reason why he acted this way, and no external forces caused him to act this way. He was a man who could get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and yet he didn’t use his power for his own benefit. He was afraid of doing what was wrong, and intended to live a life where he wouldn’t feel guilty about anything. He never wanted the things he wrote to be published; however they have given advice to many people over the years. Aurelius lived a lonely life, because there was no one as his equal, and anyone who talked to him was looking for something. Throughout the passages in Meditations, Aurelius makes a lot of really good observations.
Many stoic philosophers have taken a different approach to virtue and happiness. Homer and Epicurus for instance argue that happiness through desires and virtue are co-dependent suggesting that men with no desires cannot live happy lives. This slightly counters Seneca’s belief that happiness is a result of virtue.
The Stoic and Epicurean philosophies both made major impacts on all of Greek and Roman thought, although they were very different. Epicureans solely endeavored to obtain pleasure. They also believed that the world was filled solely of atoms and the void in which they are surrounded. They thought that life ended after death, with no afterlife or god to fear. Stoics on the contrary were indifferent to all types of pleasure, often putting themselves in danger for their beliefs. Stoics lived according to nature claiming that it was in conformity with the divine order of the universe. Epicurean philosophy defined the time in which it was created, where life was thought only to be full of pleasure without any fear punishment in any life after death, while Stoic philosophy went against the normal desires of humans to seek pleasure.
Happiness is a goal every human pursues, yet the ways in which it is pursued differs amongst people. Some believe prosperity will bring them happiness. Others believe material, power, fame, success, or love will bring them happiness. No matter what one believes is the right way to conquer this goal, every person will take their own unique path in an attempt to find it. But what is happiness? Happiness is often viewed as a subjective state of mind in which one may say they are happy when they are on vacation with friends, spending time with their family, or having a cold beer on the weekend while basking in the sun. However, Aristotle and the Stoics define happiness much differently. In Aristotle’s
Marcus Aurelius was a stoic. In the book Archetypes of Wisdom, Soccio defines stoicism as a philosophy that, “counsel’s self-control, detachment, and acceptance of one’s fate as identified by the objective use of reason. Stoics believed that everything is about your attitude and that happiness comes only through the detachment from all external things. In book two of The Meditations Aurelius writes that nothing can injure him because no one can implicate him in what is degrading. This would be considered a stoic thought because Marcus is not letting external factors influence his happiness. Another example would be that when he speaks of his brother. His stepbrother Verus was very incompetent, but Aurelius could not turn his back on him, because it would go against Nature. Nature is the same thing as Logos. Logos is a force that governs the universe. It is also known as World Reason, Cosmic Mind, God, Zeus, Nature, Providence, Cosmic Meaning, and Fate. He mentions several of these throughout the document.
The pursuit for happiness has been a quest for man throughout the ages. In his ethics, Aristotle argues that happiness is the only thing that the rational man desires for its own sake, thus, making it good and natural. Although he lists three types of life for man, enjoyment, statesman, and contemplative, it is the philosopher whom is happiest of all due to his understanding and appreciation of reason. Aristotle’s version of happiness is not perceived to include wealth, honor, or trivial