Experiments in Stoicism
or
Apathy on the Porch as the Good Life
ἀνέχου καὶ
ἀπέχου“All philosophy lies in two words,
“Bear and Forebear”
Eudaimonistic ethical system in the Socratic traditionArose in dialogue with Cynicism, Epicureanism, Platonism, and Aristotelianism
Popular and influential
Stoicism
Figures in Stoicism
Mar
cus A
urel
ius
Anto
ninu
sZe
no
Chry
sippu
sEp
ictet
us
Eudaimonia
What is the Good Life?What is the end (telos) of human existence?
What is happiness?
"eu" ("good") and "daimon" ("spirit")“flourishing” “blessedness”
Aristotle
• A well ordered life as a whole
Epicureanism• Ataraxia • ("tranquility")• freedom from
distress and worry
Stoicism• Ataraxia and
apatheia• (a- "without"
and pathos "suffering" or "passion")
• equanimity
The eudaimon life is…
Stoicism’s simplified list:
Fame Wealth Power Beauty Life Pleasure etc.
What is good?
Only
Virtueis good.
Stoicism’s simplified list:
Notoriety Poverty Weakness Ugliness Death Pain etc.
What is evil?
Only
Viceis evil.
Anything else, whether preferred or rejected,
appropriate or inappropriate, cannot affect true eudaimonia, true happiness.
Fame or NotorietyWealth or PovertyPower or WeaknessBeauty or UglinessLife or DeathPleasure or Pain
What is indifferent?Everything else
?
Stoic Assumptions
Physics• Dynamic
materialism and determinism
• Rational element within nature and within humanity
Logic• All knowledge is
based on sense impressions
• Reason can abstract hidden causes (Socratic method)
Ethics• Rational, social
animals• Moral character
grows with reason (appropriation)
ἀνέχου καὶ
ἀπέχου“There are things which are within our power, and there are things which are
beyond our power. Within our power are opinion, aim, desire, aversion, and, in one
word, whatever affairs are our own.
“Beyond our power are body, property, reputation, office, and, in one word, whatever are not properly our own
affairs.”Epictetus
“Now, the things within our power are by nature free, unrestricted, unhindered; but those beyond our power are weak, dependent, restricted, alien.
…if you attribute freedom to things by nature dependent, you will be hindered, you will lament, you will be disturbed, you will find fault both with gods and men…”
“But if you take for your own only that which is your own, and view what belongs to others just as it really is, then no one will ever compel you, no one will restrict you, you will find fault with no one, you will accuse no one, you will do nothing against your will;
no one will hurt you, you will not have an enemy, nor will you suffer any harm.”
Epictetus, The Handbook
Covey’s virtue ethic
Stoic virtue ethic
What is meant by “passion”?
What we call “emotions”?“Animal instincts”?Pleasure or pain itself?
Not sensations
Pleasure Pain
Not pre-emotions (propatheia) Eros
Not good feelings (eupatheia) joy (chara) caution (eulabeia) wish (boulêsis)
PassionsGreek: pathê; Latin: perturbationes.
Passions are false
judgments
Delight(present)
Lust(future)
Distress(present)
Fear(future)
Four Main
Passions
Delight (Greek: hêdonê; Latin: laetitia.)• disorder arising from presence of [an
apparent] good; exuberant transport at having secured some coveted object
Distress (Greek: lupê. Latin: aegritudo.)• disorder originating in distress at
present evil
Passions pt.1
Lust (Greek: epithumia; Latin: libido.)• belief of prospective good and the
subject of this thinks it advantageous to possess it at once upon the spot.
Fear (Greek: phobos; Latin: metus.)• a disorder arising from expectation of
evil
Passions pt.2
Comparisons
Passions Perturbation of
character (Zeno) Distorts sense of
reality
Neuroses Distortion of
personality (Hine, 1983)
Distorts sense of reality
Passions replaced by good
states
Joy instead of Delight
(present)
Wish instead of Lust
(future)
…(nothing)… instead of Distress(present)
Caution instead of Fear
(future)
Three Good States
?
How?
The Three Disciplinesof Epictetus
Discipline of Desire
• Study of philosophy, science, and theology
• “View from above”
• Amor fati
Discipline of Assent
• Uncover implicit value judgments
• Meditation on misfortune
• Stoic mindfulness (prosochê)
Discipline of Action
• Cultivation of cardinal virtues
• Reserve clause (God willing)
• Oikeiôsis and cosmopolitanism
Cognitive Behavioral and Rational Emotive
TherapiesAlbert Ellis and Aaron Beck explicitly drew on Stoic sources
in devising a therapeutic school apart from psychodynamic and behavioral traditions.
Cognitive therapy assumes that maladaptive behaviors
and disturbed mood or emotions are the result of inappropriate or irrational thinking patterns, called automatic thoughts.
Therapy may consist of testing the assumptions which one makes and identifying how certain of one's usually unquestioned thoughts are distorted, unrealistic and unhelpful. Once those thoughts have been challenged, one's feelings about the subject matter of those thoughts are more easily subject to change.
Assumptions
Overgeneralization
Mental Filter Magnification and Minimization All-or-Nothing Thinking Disqualifying the Positive
Jumping to Conclusions Labeling Mind Reading Fortune Telling
Emotional Reasoning Shoulding Yourself, Shoulding Others Personalization and Blame
Common Cognitive Biases
Four steps: Identification of problematic cognitions known as "automatic thoughts" (ATs)
which are dysfunctional or negative views of the self, world, or future Identification of the cognitive distortions in the ATs Rational disputation of ATs with the Socratic method. Development of a rational rebuttal to the ATs
Six types of automatic thoughts: Self-evaluated thoughts Thoughts about the evaluations of others Evaluative thoughts about the other person with whom they are interacting Thoughts about coping strategies and behavioral plans Thoughts of avoidance Any other thoughts that were not categorized
Cognitive Restructuring
Live Like a Stoic Week
http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday
Download Handbook Fill out surveys:
“Satisfaction with Life” “Flourishing” “Positive and Negative Emotions” Stoic Attitudes and Behaviors
Preparation
Morning Meditation Stoic Mindfulness throughout day Evening Meditation Blog about experiences
Stoic Week
Fill out surveys again:
“Satisfaction with Life” “Flourishing” “Positive and Negative Emotions” “Stoic Attitudes and Behaviors”
Meet to discuss experience with others
End of week
Philosophy for Life
http://philosophyforlife.org
Stoicism Today http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday
Philosophy of CBT http://philosophy-of-cbt.com
Resources