After doing research, I found a great many philosophers who discussed emotions and anger. However, I found a select few who seemed to have the same feelings about anger as I do. While they are much older, their philosophy has stood the test of time and is almost exactly what I have been searching for. This blessing is the idea of stoicism. Stemming back since the third century B.C., thinkers such as Seneca, Epictetus, and its founder, Zeno of Citium have all spent years pondering the causes, effects, and alternatives to destructive emotions. Stoics turned their thinking into a way of life, for those who wished to better themselves. They had a devoted following throughout the Roman Empire for hundreds of years.
However, the philosopher who will be the focus of this essay is not known for being a stoic. Rather, he was in fact a Roman emperor. Marcus Aurelius is a prime example of the reach and influence that stoicism had almost two thousand years ago. He was one of the great Roman emperors, and at the same time was one of the great stoic philosophers. In fact, other than the writings of Julius Caesar, The Meditations are the only works by a Roman Emperor to still be widely read in western culture to this day. His work continues to be a source of guidance for all who read it, though The Meditations was originally meant to be solely personal writings, and not with the purpose of being published. They were written while he was at war. He chose to write whenever he thought of something worth writing, ranging from a few sentences to large paragraphs, and it is for this reason that the twelve separate books contain so much meaning. He wrote simply to try to better himself.
The Meditations strongly agree with what I have been discussing thus far in my essay. He explains how any anger or emotional pains come from our own judgment. The world is how we perceive it, so we can either see an event as a positive or a negative. We have the power to control our lifestyle, whether we are happy or sad, good or bad. We have the power to make our lives worth living. He explains, “If thou art pained by an external thing, it is not this that disturbs thee, but thy own judgment about it. And it is in thy power to wipe out this judgment now.” (VIII, 47) Basically, as people, we have the power to not let any outside influence control our emotions. Good can come from everything, as can bad, so people need to be conscious that they are the mechanism that ultimately makes that choice between a positive or a destructive emotion.
Marcus Aurelius also goes further to explain how all people must not let bad things get inside their heads. They must avoid confrontation at all costs, and turn away from things that could possibly lead to a multitude of destructive emotions. “A cucumber is bitter. Throw it away. There are briars in the road. Turn aside from them. This is enough. Do not add, ‘And why were such things made in the world?’” (VIII. 50) Essentially, it is not always necessary to question things that are not understood. Rather, it is more beneficial to accept that they are there and just to accept these things for what they are. This is not to say, however, that nothing in the world should be explored. If something interests you, it should be a goal to gain further knowledge about that specific subject. What Marcus Aurelius is saying is that things that could turn a mood sour should not become a burden on the mind. Instead, people should move on and forget about these things.
Marcus Aurelius believed that people have the capacity to bear any burden. No matter what happens, our minds can stay strong. In Meditations, he explains, “Nothing happens to anybody which he is not fitted by nature to bear.” What he means is that the human brain has lasted for so long due to its ability to withstand amazing pressures, whether it be external or internal. People would not be where they are today if the mind was weak and fragile. And, while perhaps a majority of people are weak-minded, the strong ones that nature intended us to use are the ones who facilitate change and shape the world. Also, though Marcus Aurelius lived around 200 C.E., this quote could also be looked at as way ahead of its time. This is because it seems to bear a hint towards natural selection, or survival of the fittest. The strong minds have been selected for, as, from a scientific standpoint, they have the greatest chance at reproducing and passing on their genes. Those who have trouble controlling their anger have slowly been dying off as the emotionally sound people have been overshadowing them.
When somebody understands that this quote has truth to it, they can conquer all obstacles. Even the worst possible outcome, death, can be looked at with dignity and acceptance. He continues, “Think not disdainfully of death, but look on it with favor; for even death is one of the things that nature wills.” So, if one fears death, then one will live his whole life in fear of what is to come. All people die eventually, so there is no reason to fear it. People must live with confidence and a positive outlook in order to keep these negative emotions as distant as possible.
This last quote also demonstrates how Marcus Aurelius, and all stoics in general, went beyond the idea of quelling anger, and instead went to the extent of putting all emotions in conscious thought. Not just anger, but all emotions have a drastic effect on the continued presence of happiness. He warns, “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts, therefore guard accordingly; and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue, and reasonable nature.” He is saying how people must be careful not to demonstrate any emotions that may be considered unclean or destructive. Keep emotions in your conscious, and make any emotions that you exhibit are positive and lead to happiness in the long run. When he says to “guard accordingly” he is merely repeating my claims to keep anger in your conscious thought, though he is speaking for all emotions.
Even his writing shows that of a man with no regrets. He is extremely knowledgeable about life and about the world he lives in, both past and present, mentioning events such as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that buried the city of Pompeii almost fifty years before his birth. He speaks with a confident undertone, as if to say that he wrote what he knew was true, no matter what other people believed. He even explained that to truly honor the Gods, all people must have a pure soul: “Live with the gods. And he does live with the gods who constantly shows them that his own soul is satisfied with that which is assigned to him.” This also brings in the topic of fate, which only adds to his argument. In essence, the future has already been planned out, and nothing that happens in life can change that. So, anger is completely contradictory to the stoics’ ultimate goal of happiness. Anger can occur when people fail to realize that what happened happened, and could not have happened any other way. They have not yet learned to accept that the world and everything that happens in it is out of their control, though the way the world is perceived and responded to is completely voluntary and can either work constructively or destructively.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Dialogue
Philosophy Question
Introductory Paragraphs
I am addressing a philosophical question regarding the origins and reasoning behind anger as a negative emotion in our lives. It seems like anger can be destructive to both yourself and those around you. People do not seem to understand that they have the ability to control anger, as it is such a powerful emotion when it surfaces. Anger blinds people from the enlightened path that could be taken as an alternate route which is much better than the dark path that anger leads down. He who is angry forgets logic and reason, acting on impulse and emotions alone. Rather than get angry in a bad situation, one must look at failure as an opportunity to learn, so that they may succeed in the future. Though it is difficult, we all must make a conscious effort to bring our emotions into our conscious thought, so that when negative emotions threaten our psyche, we can curb them into constructive emotions and come out of the situation with a better understanding of the world around us.
The idea of anger was present in many of the books we read this year. While Man’s Search for Meaning and Things Fall Apart gave similar views of how anger can be harmful to one’s health, they did so in sharply contrasting ways. Man’s Search for Meaning showed how having a mind free of these negative emotions saved the prisoners’ lives. This gave them strength to persevere and work, and also allowed them to think clearly enough not to make any poor decisions that could result in their deaths. On the other hand, in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo demonstrated what happens when anger takes control. His reputation plummeted, and he ended up committing suicide in the end of the story.
Response (Adam Rhum)
This is a very interesting opinion regarding anger. I used to have anger issues and I would just hit people. I was a victim of the issue you brought up in the first paragraph. I definitely agree that we can turn anger into a constructive tool. However, from personal experience, I have realized that it is very very hard to see past anger and think rationally and logically. I have struggled with this many times. Many of the stupid decisions humans make come from anger. I agree that if humans in general had more patience, or we found a way to teach patience better, then much of the violence and many of the conflicts between people would disappear
1. Do you think it is possible for anger to be healthy? If so, when are those times?
2. Why do you think humans get angry? What causes anger?
3. What do you think the world would be like with no anger or just less anger?
Response to Questions
1) I do not think that anger can be healthy. I think that when people believe that anger can be healthy, they mistake it for a completely different emotion, such as determination, confidence, a strong will, or any mix of these and other emotions like them. Another time when people falsely believe that anger can be healthy is when people are angry initially, then take control of their emotions and transform their anger to something else. The anger is not actually healthy. Instead, it is the conscious effort to change that produces the positive results.
2) Humans get angry because it is such a potent emotion that people do not understand that it can be controlled. Most often, people seem to accept it as an inevitability in life. Those who get angry often are those with a weak mind. If people were taught to control their emotions earlier in life, we would all live much happier lives. However, as the majority of people do not think about these things, children are raised unaware of the importance of controlling emotions, and as they get older and grow up, it becomes harder and harder to change. This anger is caused by any number or things, ranging from actions to words to other emotions. People can get angry because somebody else did something wrongful to them, such as Okonkwo attacking the white messenger after the missionaries had all but conquered and converted his native village. People can get angry because they fail, which is often evident in sports, more specifically the volleyball story I discussed back in part I. Frustration can often lead to anger. Often in school, students who do not do well on a test turn their frustration outward into anger at the teacher, blaming the teacher for not teaching well enough instead of trying to figure out what could have been done to get a better score.
3) I think there are two different ways to look at this question. First is if, this second, all the anger was erased from the earth. In this case, I don’t think that the world would turn out for the better. True, there might not be any war or hate, but at the same time, most people would not know how to handle themselves. People would also lose the emotions that they believed came along with anger, such as determination. They would render themselves boring and dry. However, the second way to look at this question would be if everybody on earth had been raised to ignore and filter their anger. In this case, the world would still be filled with excitement, still without war or hate, but at the same time still with competition. The world would still be productive and people could still feel the true high of being happy. Many people have in their minds the idea that happiness would not be possible without the presence of its opposite emotion: anger. However, there are other emotions that can be substituted that are much more constructive that will still allow for happiness to thrive in our minds.
Response – Adam Rhum
1) I agree that anger is basically never healthy. It creates disincentives to act rationally, and people only want to get “payback”. However, I do think that it is necessary for anger to exist. The existence of anger creates duality so that people have a scale to compare peace with anger. With no anger, people would not know tranquility and peace. However, I cannot think of a situation where it is healthy to have anger. Although it is important to feel and have emotions, the emotion of anger only creates more problems. If humans could still function properly when they were angry then there would not be an issue with anger. But that is never the case,.
2) I think that humans get angry because, like you said, they are often reluctant to take blame by themselves. Anger is always directed at other people or things. Humans are selfish and never believe that things were their fault. If humans were less selfish then they would understand that many of the things that they get angry about are usually caused by themselves.
3) Like I said in response to the first question, I strongly believe that there needs to be an existence of hate and anger in the world. Although both of those seem to be totally bad, they create good. The existence of those creates duality so that humans can understand the difference between good and bad. Anger is very bad, but it makes humans appreciate peace, tranquility, and the lack of anger. I do agree though that limited anger is the ideal situation. It must exist, but people in general cannot be so angry.
a. How can anger be limited?
Introductory Paragraphs
I am addressing a philosophical question regarding the origins and reasoning behind anger as a negative emotion in our lives. It seems like anger can be destructive to both yourself and those around you. People do not seem to understand that they have the ability to control anger, as it is such a powerful emotion when it surfaces. Anger blinds people from the enlightened path that could be taken as an alternate route which is much better than the dark path that anger leads down. He who is angry forgets logic and reason, acting on impulse and emotions alone. Rather than get angry in a bad situation, one must look at failure as an opportunity to learn, so that they may succeed in the future. Though it is difficult, we all must make a conscious effort to bring our emotions into our conscious thought, so that when negative emotions threaten our psyche, we can curb them into constructive emotions and come out of the situation with a better understanding of the world around us.
The idea of anger was present in many of the books we read this year. While Man’s Search for Meaning and Things Fall Apart gave similar views of how anger can be harmful to one’s health, they did so in sharply contrasting ways. Man’s Search for Meaning showed how having a mind free of these negative emotions saved the prisoners’ lives. This gave them strength to persevere and work, and also allowed them to think clearly enough not to make any poor decisions that could result in their deaths. On the other hand, in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo demonstrated what happens when anger takes control. His reputation plummeted, and he ended up committing suicide in the end of the story.
Response (Adam Rhum)
This is a very interesting opinion regarding anger. I used to have anger issues and I would just hit people. I was a victim of the issue you brought up in the first paragraph. I definitely agree that we can turn anger into a constructive tool. However, from personal experience, I have realized that it is very very hard to see past anger and think rationally and logically. I have struggled with this many times. Many of the stupid decisions humans make come from anger. I agree that if humans in general had more patience, or we found a way to teach patience better, then much of the violence and many of the conflicts between people would disappear
1. Do you think it is possible for anger to be healthy? If so, when are those times?
2. Why do you think humans get angry? What causes anger?
3. What do you think the world would be like with no anger or just less anger?
Response to Questions
1) I do not think that anger can be healthy. I think that when people believe that anger can be healthy, they mistake it for a completely different emotion, such as determination, confidence, a strong will, or any mix of these and other emotions like them. Another time when people falsely believe that anger can be healthy is when people are angry initially, then take control of their emotions and transform their anger to something else. The anger is not actually healthy. Instead, it is the conscious effort to change that produces the positive results.
2) Humans get angry because it is such a potent emotion that people do not understand that it can be controlled. Most often, people seem to accept it as an inevitability in life. Those who get angry often are those with a weak mind. If people were taught to control their emotions earlier in life, we would all live much happier lives. However, as the majority of people do not think about these things, children are raised unaware of the importance of controlling emotions, and as they get older and grow up, it becomes harder and harder to change. This anger is caused by any number or things, ranging from actions to words to other emotions. People can get angry because somebody else did something wrongful to them, such as Okonkwo attacking the white messenger after the missionaries had all but conquered and converted his native village. People can get angry because they fail, which is often evident in sports, more specifically the volleyball story I discussed back in part I. Frustration can often lead to anger. Often in school, students who do not do well on a test turn their frustration outward into anger at the teacher, blaming the teacher for not teaching well enough instead of trying to figure out what could have been done to get a better score.
3) I think there are two different ways to look at this question. First is if, this second, all the anger was erased from the earth. In this case, I don’t think that the world would turn out for the better. True, there might not be any war or hate, but at the same time, most people would not know how to handle themselves. People would also lose the emotions that they believed came along with anger, such as determination. They would render themselves boring and dry. However, the second way to look at this question would be if everybody on earth had been raised to ignore and filter their anger. In this case, the world would still be filled with excitement, still without war or hate, but at the same time still with competition. The world would still be productive and people could still feel the true high of being happy. Many people have in their minds the idea that happiness would not be possible without the presence of its opposite emotion: anger. However, there are other emotions that can be substituted that are much more constructive that will still allow for happiness to thrive in our minds.
Response – Adam Rhum
1) I agree that anger is basically never healthy. It creates disincentives to act rationally, and people only want to get “payback”. However, I do think that it is necessary for anger to exist. The existence of anger creates duality so that people have a scale to compare peace with anger. With no anger, people would not know tranquility and peace. However, I cannot think of a situation where it is healthy to have anger. Although it is important to feel and have emotions, the emotion of anger only creates more problems. If humans could still function properly when they were angry then there would not be an issue with anger. But that is never the case,.
2) I think that humans get angry because, like you said, they are often reluctant to take blame by themselves. Anger is always directed at other people or things. Humans are selfish and never believe that things were their fault. If humans were less selfish then they would understand that many of the things that they get angry about are usually caused by themselves.
3) Like I said in response to the first question, I strongly believe that there needs to be an existence of hate and anger in the world. Although both of those seem to be totally bad, they create good. The existence of those creates duality so that humans can understand the difference between good and bad. Anger is very bad, but it makes humans appreciate peace, tranquility, and the lack of anger. I do agree though that limited anger is the ideal situation. It must exist, but people in general cannot be so angry.
a. How can anger be limited?
Monday, May 3, 2010
My Question and Literature
In Man’s Search for Meaning, the key to survival was keeping a sound mentality. In the concentration camps, if you began to doubt or hope, you were doomed. Viktor Frankl described his experience through an attempt to teach us what had to be done in order to outlast the war. He described indifference as important aspect of life. During the war, anger would only lead to misery and since there was nothing that any of the prisoners could do to change anything from the position they were in. Thus, a feeling of anger or hatred would cause a feeling of worthlessness. This could evolve to become depression or other mental disorders. Additionally, this could lead to a decrease in productivity, which, in the Nazi’s concentration camps, could very well mean the gas chambers, where prisoners breathed their last toxic breaths.
In Things Fall Apart, the focus is on the same issue, though from a completely opposing perspective. Instead of teaching how to survive by acting in a peaceful manner, this shows how death and destruction can follow anger and aggression. This is Okonkwo’s greatest flaw, and prevents him from achieving all that he possibly can. While he is a powerful member of his village of Umuofia, his inability to control his anger haunts him throughout the story. All he wants is to be seen as a great, strong, and powerful human being. However, his actions lead many to question him, therefore scarring his reputation. One specific example comes when Okonkwo beats his wife during the Week of Peace. This is considered a sin, and other than paying a hefty fine of yams, people look at him differently and he is permanently barred from becoming the people’s leader from that point forward.
One often meets his destiny on the path to avoid it.
http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=14745
In Things Fall Apart, the focus is on the same issue, though from a completely opposing perspective. Instead of teaching how to survive by acting in a peaceful manner, this shows how death and destruction can follow anger and aggression. This is Okonkwo’s greatest flaw, and prevents him from achieving all that he possibly can. While he is a powerful member of his village of Umuofia, his inability to control his anger haunts him throughout the story. All he wants is to be seen as a great, strong, and powerful human being. However, his actions lead many to question him, therefore scarring his reputation. One specific example comes when Okonkwo beats his wife during the Week of Peace. This is considered a sin, and other than paying a hefty fine of yams, people look at him differently and he is permanently barred from becoming the people’s leader from that point forward.
One often meets his destiny on the path to avoid it.
http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=14745
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