Amber Dunsford

Alexander Izrailevsky
Philosophy Paper
Marcus Aurelius
Stoicism: Man's Emotional Code

A resurgence of Stoicism that acknowledges emotions can be good if they are tempered, not
as a false belief, but as a true belief could help many people who are on anti-depressants. Stoicism
might be a very healthy philosophy to follow if a man could master his emotional expressions that
also included the celebration of life and the grieving of death .
A person could try getting off their anti -depressants by practicing indifference to external
pleasure or pain. While the doctors continue to medicate symptoms of depression with prozac,
they fail to coach a cognitive method that a man could have unrealistic expectations causing them
themselves their

destructive behavior , giving them an opportunity to control their thoughts.

Instead of blaming external forces for the pain that was inflicted upon him. If this person were to
condition himself to not react, but to think about thinking the emotion through, he may avoid
destructive emotions. A person could meditate on his worst possible outcome in preparation for
his reaction, where the impact could be as exactly as expected or more than likely,
underwhelming. Man could meditate on his newborn child coming out of the womb and decide to
still be more excited when the event is happening. A modern stoic man could meditate about a
missing child, allowing the childs's parents a permission to grieve ,their loss, the Stoic would
learn that it might be useful to be connected to something external, and allow himself to go
through the stages of emotional grief when the day ever

comes.

Realizing your reality, and making necessary adjustments. Realizing a person is depressed
because their life sucks, and who and what they associate themselves with are what's causing
them emotional trouble is extremely difficult, but not entirely impossible. Recognizing that they

need to stop feeling pity for

themselves, and make the best out of any difficult situation they are

in. Keep a smile on in the face of adversity, even when they have been let down, or life didn't go
as they had expected. Stop putting expectations on others and situations. Strive for perfect
emotional temperance, but not perfection. Stoics wouldn't pity themselves in times of troubles
they would recognize the natural order of the Logos, which is out of their power, and beyond their
own control. A wise man would be subjected to emotions bad and good .

A man who experiences serenity without emotion towards death may have never known
what it is like to know love. What if we instead see death as an opportunity to celebrate ones
existence? Having a celebration of someones life through stories, songs, poems, allows us to
connect to love, not romantic love, but love for another human person. This love moves past that
human person, and allows himself a brief glimpse of a reflection of himself in Logos.

A man should base his happiness on his efforts, and not his results. Disappointment in one's
self is a destructive behavior that can be reversed based on how we control our emotions toward
the event. A great example of this is a student who has been going to school for sometime to
become a nurse who loved Biology, Math, Chemistry, and once she became a nurse decided she
hates taking care of people and working around illness. To reverse her destructive emotions she
decides to use the Biology, the Math, the Science to work as a mortician.

"If failure is not an option, then neither is success. " (Godin) Be satisfied with what you have.
Do your best, be content, and make peace within yourself. " Staying calm and keeping focus on
the work being done not the results of the work.

Some American NFL football team coaches

have incorporated a sort of stoic philosophy, or at least some code of calm to keep their hyped-up
emotional players to remain steady throughout a game. The players have learned to discipline
themselves not to celebrate, even when the team has scored or made a big play. It's not about

winning it's about doing your best. Stoicism is a form of training.

Do what's right because it's right. If you choose to influence others it must come from a pure
place with good motives, and should never be used to manipulate to further your goal. You are
responsible for yourself and your desires. Society could be influencing from the outside
embracing the "What can you do for me?" mentality instead of altruism
This is type of thinking is distorted .
true., and how the world

for

your fellow man.

Recognize that the intentions made were

responds is not within

good

and

our control. A person who chooses do what's

right can sleep at night, reduce stress, and be content.

"Character concerns both actions and emotions. Actions are what character chooses ,
emotions are part of what character actually is. So if virtue is excellence of character then virtue is
excellence of

emotion too. What kind of emotional makeup is excellent and what kind is

defective?" (Russell) Grief is a healthy response to lose, and Stoics didn't believe

in grief

of

death, and they felt we should train ourselves to not be susceptible to loss. "We should not attach
ourselves to anything beyond our immediate control because we could jeopardize our character
and our freedom." (Russell)

Shaping a reality based on external forces causes fear, appetite for pleasure, and passions for
external attachments is nonwise. Caution is what the Stoics believed was a true good feeling that
promoted a calm feeling of dislike. "Stoicism recognizes three "good feelings," called hai

eupatheiai in the Greek. The three good emotions are Joy, Wish, and Caution. The list was
developed to contrast with three Passions, the "bad feelings" of Stoic philosophy. In the battle of
the mind, the Stoic lineup is. Joy v.s. Pleasure, Wish v. Appetite (also translated Lust) and
Caution v. Fear.
Having the discipline to discern joy from pleasure is a difficult for a person who may only

have had brief glimpses of joy because it is likely he associated his joy by something that engaged
with him externally. If he instead relied upon the the steps he is making toward the goal of what
would be his ultimate pleasure, he would find that the path to the end brought him more joy than
the result. This is cognitive awareness of a man's soul, and his thoughts. It is conscious thinking
about thinking, it's rational separation of emotion.
Being aware of thoughts is not repressive, but could be enlightening. Giving emotion to a
thought is dangerous, so use caution , as to not lose one's identity in the process. This is the key,
learn to experience grief as a true belief , and this will not abandon one's character, but possibly
enhance his character. Practicing Stoicism can guide us to cognitively account for our emotions,
good or bad because Stoicism teaches us to control our thoughts, and by controlling our thoughts
we have the ability to create a new reality that exists from the mind remaining in a calm state
rather than a mind that signals physical reaction through emotional response.

Bibliography
Russell, Daniel C. Happiness for Humans. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
"Seth's Blog." Seth's Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

"Stoic Emotions...All Three of Them." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.