{"id":8385,"date":"2013-11-04T11:27:22","date_gmt":"2013-11-04T11:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2013\/11\/04\/the-stoic-insight-and-its-limits\/"},"modified":"2013-11-04T11:27:22","modified_gmt":"2013-11-04T11:27:22","slug":"the-stoic-insight-and-its-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2013\/11\/04\/the-stoic-insight-and-its-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"The Stoic Insight and Its Limits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within limits we have the power to control our minds, our moods, our responses to people and things, and in consequence our happiness.  Happiness is in some measure made or unmade in the mind.  We all know people who make themselves miserable by their refusal to practice very elementary mental hygiene.  Just as I can let myself be annoyed by someone's remark or behavior, I can refuse to let myself be annoyed or affected. The trouble, however, is that this power of detachment is limited.  What's more,  it must be developed by protracted thought and practice, a fact that requires that one be well-endowed and well-placed — facts not in one's control. I am in control of my responses to the world's bad actors and unfavorable circumstances, but not in control of the circumstances in which alone I can develop the Stoic's self-therapeutic armamentarium. I have the leisure, inclination, and aptitude to pursue Stoic and other spiritual exercises.  But how many do?  I can't see that a solution that leaves most out in the cold is much of a solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Stoic wisdom  may not take us far, but where it takes us is a worthwhile destination.  In the end, however, Augustine is right<\/a>: it is no final solution.  Wretchedness partially and temporarily alleviated, and by some only, is no satisfactory answer to the wretchedness inscribed in our nature.  Of course, it doesn't follow from this that there is a satisfactory answer.
<\/span><\/p>\n

Mutatis mutandis<\/em>,  the above applies to Buddhist self-therapeutics as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nRelated articles<\/legend>\n
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\"\"<\/a>Happiness Maxims (2013 Version)<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>Augustine Against the Stoics<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>Man's Greatness Deducible From his Wretchedness<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>Try being a Stoic for a week?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/fieldset>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Within limits we have the power to control our minds, our moods, our responses to people and things, and in consequence our happiness.  Happiness is in some measure made or unmade in the mind.  We all know people who make themselves miserable by their refusal to practice very elementary mental hygiene.  Just as I can … Continue reading “The Stoic Insight and Its Limits”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,72,174],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-happiness","category-sage-advice","category-stoicism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8385\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}