Saturday, March 18, 2017

Stoicism ... "it can always get worse"

PHILOSOPHY - The Stoics

Published on Sep 17, 2014
How the Stoics can help us tackle anxiety, fury and loss of perspective - and realise that very little is needed to make a happy life. 

“‘Stoicism’ was a philosophy that flourished for some 400 years in Ancient Greece and Rome, gaining widespread support among all classes of society. It had one overwhelming and highly practical ambition: to teach people how to be calm and brave in the face of overwhelming anxiety and pain…”


6 comments:

  1. wow, no one is commenting? you all finished? or forgot?
    JWH

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  2. I thought this was a very interesting point of view. The stoics tried to find peace with the worst case scenario in order to get through anxiety. I do not agree that suicide is a solution to the problem though. The next time I feel anxious, I will use their method of coping with the situation.

    Amelie Onate
    id: 5678853

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  3. This film presents a very blunt fact about life which we tend to want to avoid facing: bad things will happen. If we not only understand this but expect misfortune to happen, we will be less battered by it and more prepared to trudge through it, shaping our character and making us more resilient.
    Kyle Peche
    PID: 5865833

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  4. I thought it was very interesting and pleasing to learn about Stoicism. I like the way they approach the concept of the worse case scenario. I actually relate to it a lot. Whenever I'm planning something like an event, a presentation, or anything as a whole, I try to picture everything that could possibly go wrong so that I am prepared and nothing can surprise me. In addition to that, I am a very positive and optimistic person, so I always like to look at the good side of things. When something bad happens, even if it is really bad, I tried to look at it in the sense of: "Oh, it could have been even worse if this happened, or if he said that, etc."

    Matheus Coelho
    #5705161

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  5. Though I do agree that thinking of the worst case scenarios and creating a plan can help, I don't agree with the "it could be worse approach" I feel its equally as negative to build your self up on the idea of being better off than someone below you.

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  6. I personally love Seneca's practice of replicating worst-case scenarios. If we expose ourselves to what it feels to live under these hardships then we will realize each time, that we are more resilient that we believe we are. Whenever the inevitable bad in life comes, perhaps this practice will allow one to cope, and push forward.

    Kyle Peche
    PID: 5865833

    ReplyDelete