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Stoicism Stoicism

Stoicism - PowerPoint Presentation

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Stoicism - PPT Presentation

An Introduction to Epictetuss Stoicism Some Facts about Stoicism Began Roughly 300 BC Lasted about 500 years Heavily influenced Spinoza Descartes was a major influence on Spinoza Stoic philosophers include ID: 412455

stoicism world happen desires world stoicism desires happen external stoic events state perfect determinism control believed universe epictetus

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Slide1

Stoicism

An Introduction to Epictetus’s StoicismSlide2

Some Facts about Stoicism

Began Roughly 300 BC

Lasted about 500 years

Heavily influenced Spinoza

Descartes was a major influence on Spinoza

Stoic philosophers include:

Zeno (founder)

Seneca

Marcus Aurelius

Epictetus*Slide3

Epictetus

55 – 150 AD

Wrote “The

Encheiridion

Also known as “The Handbook”Slide4

Epictetus’ Beliefs

To be completely happy, one must lack dissatisfaction with outside world, while also being intelligent and conscious.

Impossible to attain all desires, so don’t even try.

Instead of creating impossible desires that are not reasonable based on the external world, conform so that your desires are in line with the external world.Slide5

How To Put Yourself Into This State of Mind

Realize that all external events are completely determined by prior states of the universe (form of Determinism – to be discussed later).

Anyone who knows everything that happened prior to a moment would be able to accurately predict what will happen in the immediate future.Slide6

Stoicism as Determinism

Universe is perfect in design

Orderliness that links all parts

Pattern is such that all local events could not have been otherwiseSlide7

Aligning Your Desires

Since all items in the universe happen only as they can (and could not have happened otherwise), dissatisfaction occurs when one’s desires do not align with this orderliness

Example: Life is a mathematic equation. Just as 2+1=3, so too must each event produce a predictable and finite answer.Slide8

Level of Understanding Needed to Satisfy Desires

Disagreement between Stoics

Some believed a perfect knowledge of events is necessary

Some believed a simple acceptance of this fact could produce satisfaction

Perhaps a compromise: ordinary people only need to accept the fact, but other entities (i.e. the state) would need greater knowledge to attain greater satisfaction.Slide9

Objections to Stoic Determinism

If true, then what moral responsibility do we have since the world could not be otherwise.

Do you then have to regard as all things as indifferent since you cannot be dissatisfied with any state of nature? Aren’t the positive and negative values to life?

Not just external world is indifferent, but also states of consciousness such as pleasure and pain.Slide10

Stoic Ethic

“Nothing is good except moral virtue”

Plausible since Stoics believed virtue was part of the perfect, natural world.Slide11

Quotes from Epictetus’s Handbook

Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in

one

word, whatever are not our own actions

.

Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things. 

Do not seek to have events happen as you want them to, but instead want them to happen as they do happen, and your life will go well.Slide12

Focus Questions

Discuss the validity of the objections to Stoicism.

Provide arguments and counter arguments

In what ways do we see Stoic ideas in Cartesian philosophy?

How does Stoicism complicate the idea of free will?

Does our physical world contain spontaneous acts which are unpredictable?Slide13