Friday, September 19, 2014
Lucretius: Stoicism
Lucretius created this strange theory referred to as Atomism. He tells us that everything, including ourselves, is made up of many atoms. He believes that since we are made up of this physical stuff that once we die our consciousness ceases to exits therefore we should not fear death. With this he along with other epicureans believe that to attain happiness one must train themselves to desire nothing but what is natural and necessary for human life. Plato would argue this concept as taking away from part of the soul, the spirited part. Platos philosophy says in doing this it would cause unhappiness and I agree. The pain one may feel is subjective according to the type of pain it is. The concept of accepting things as "how they are" is almost inconceivable. It would be possible maybe a thousand years from now that perhaps if stoicism were adopted and a loved one passed away there would be no tears or sadness because they've come to terms and realize that this is normal and just life therefore no reason to be sad. But I am curious about the thousand years leading up to that point. This concept is unimaginable due to the amount of emotions that have been instilled in us since the creation of man. The idea of training yourself to prevent pain and to desire nothing but what is natural and necessary seems almost as a utopia, where everyone is happy because there is no "pain" in their lives. I find this concept interesting on the fact of how strange it really is.
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I agree Jacob, the Idea of stoicism is incredibly interesting. First off, because Lucretius had such a clear understanding (or theory) of atoms at such a time, but also because of how both complex primitive the concept appears. In essence, through how I see it, through not feeling attachment is almost animalistic. To distance yourself to the people you are close to so you won't feel pain seems almost alien to me. I couldn't imagine not feeling sorrow if some one, such as a relative or close friend, were to die or be hurt. It seems like it would feel empty, and lonely. Yet, it is complex in how deep and thoughtful Lucretius went into this. he makes valid points, that if we accept things as accordance with nature, we as humans might be able to fund pleasure through that. But to me it seems less like please, and more like lack of sorrow (which is different.) It all seems very indifferent and passive about the world.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Jacob sine it was Epictetus with the idea of stoicism. I do believe that Jacob made other valid points discussing Lucretius' philosophy. As a student of Epicurus, he was considered Epicurean (go figure). This group of people believed in a "swerve" in the universe that I agree with. The idea that there was a randomness factor to each person's life made them different from the stoics, as they sought the highest pleasure in everything.
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