Socratic Philosophy Vs. Stoic Philosophy

Submitted By sbsojka
Words: 1654
Pages: 7
Open Document
Socratic Philosophy vs. Stoic Philosophy In conclusion to this Philosophy course, I have to say that I have developed a new perspective in life and gained great knowledge about many interesting philosophies. My favorite philosophy had to be the Socratic philosophy, however Epictetus’ cosmology and the stoic philosophy also caught my attention. I believe that we are constantly searching for ourselves and trying to find out who we really are. I believe the study of philosophy can definitely benefit anyone and everyone, and it can truly lead every individual to happiness. I will focus on differentiating and comparing the Socratic philosophy and the Stoic philosophy while discussing aspects of each philosophy as I have read and learned about them in this course.
Plato writes in dialogue form in which at least two people are engaging in a conversation, and we are introduced into a discussion which is already taking place in Plato’s Phaedo. There is no definitive arguments, however arguments lead us into further questioning. We are soon introduced to the role of pleasure and pain and what the good life is in this book. In Plato’s Phaedo it is stated that pleasure is often accompanied by pain. Pleasure is short lasting or short lived. It includes things such as food, violence, sex, intellect, beauty, drugs, and accomplishments. Too much pleasure, such as massive consumption of alcohol or massive consumption of chocolate cake, will cause us pain, such as a hangover or a stomachache. Not everything that gives us satisfaction is a good thing. Pleasure is a temporary feeling which is considered as an “in the moment” type of deal. If we were to only experience pleasure without any pain our lives would not be a cohesive whole, but just a series of events punctured by moments of pleasure and temporality. Pleasure affects only one part of the body and is regulated only to certain aspects of our body, therefore pleasure is associated with locality and is short term allowing us to experience which part of our body it is satisfying. For example, drugs are associated with short term intellectual pleasures. Therefore, in order to live a whole or good life (happiness) we must live in totality, which is different from mediocre pleasure.
Similarly, Epictetus is basically an advice giving handbook on how to live life in a practical manner. The stoic philosophy is the Epictetus philosophy (50-130 C.E.) and it focuses on ideas such as: thinking not the way we wish it would be but the way it is, aligning our thinking with nature, no dissatisfaction will result in one living the best possible life, our desires are unlimited/limitless and we do not have the ability to satisfy all of our desires because we have a short lifespan, and not to alter the external world to fit our lifestyle but to align our desires to work with the external world. Determinism is the idea that nature is a patterned organic whole where things are set in a way that they could not have occurred in any other way. If we can accept determinism it will lead us to the ideal life. For example, if you feel pain you are supposed to adapt to it because that is the pattern of the world and it could not have happened any other way, therefore one should not be dissatisfied. Stoicism can be related to the quote, “It is what it is.” Determinism leads us to the ideal life because we act in the condition we find ourselves in actually. This philosophy is also applicable to every human whether an emperor or a slave because it will lead any individual to the ideal life. This philosophy brings about a universal ethic on how to live an ideal life because it focuses on not how we wish the world to be, but how the world is and how to shape our lives in order to adapt to it. Ethics is a strategy for avoiding disturbances, in other words ataraxia or peace of mind. The highest good for stoics is ataraxia or peace of mind. In avoiding disturbances we come to see/recognize that nature is a patterned
Show More

Related Documents: Socratic Philosophy Vs. Stoic Philosophy

Philosophy Paper

Educational Philosophy Mary Bowser I believe there are things that need to be learned year after year, BUT I love seeing student growth and have learning be fun. I imagine that the purpose of school/education is to train the mind to think in a natural, logical way. The environment of education should always be positive. Education is should be developing the students intellectual potential and preparing them for the future. I believe the students should be task oriented, and fully understand the…

Words 681 - Pages 3

Philosophy Paper

series that leads to the development of selves. It seems as though Dennett is using a Cartesian Circle with this argument. He is assuming selves exist when he attempts to prove his conclusion that selves exist. He does mention that his overall paper is an attempt to tell the story of how the self came to exist, but this argument is a bit weak on its own. Yes, it sets the reader up to hear a story how it came to exist, but there are no premises that provide proof of today’s existence of selves…

Words 1893 - Pages 8

Philosophy Paper

Everyone has that feeling that originally hits them when someone says or does something but after thinking about it sometimes that gut feeling isn’t exactly how we really feel. Today whether we are willing to admit it or not society and social media has a massive impact on the way we think or feel. The news we watch every day might as well be putting their own opinions in our head because they are how we get our information and how are we supposed to know anything otherwise. Also for teenagers peer…

Words 841 - Pages 4

Philosophy of Education Paper

Education Philosophy Position Final Paper Michele A. Williams 2012 Educ. 305-D04 LUO As postmodern educators feel their way through an ever changing multicultural classroom environment, it is imperative that each hold firmly to their philosophical positions and do not let society influence them in a negative way. At the same time all teachers should be continually reflecting inwardly to make oneself accountable to their profession. Teachers have a great responsibility to see that every child…

Words 2360 - Pages 10

Jazz Philosophy Paper

Jacob Hartvigsen Dr. Dave Camwell MUS 382: Jazz Methods Jazz Philosophy Paper My Jazz Philosophy A jazz program should have its main focus on a singular jazz band. If there are enough students that want to be in jazz band, form a second jazz band and have tryouts to see who needs to be in the top band and who needs to be in the lower band. A jazz program should also include a jazz combo if there are enough students interested. The combo could be used as a means to introduce students to jazz…

Words 1318 - Pages 6

Curriculum Philosophy Paper

Curriculum Philosophy Paper Patrice Bax HRWD 6713: Curriculum Design Submitted: October 6, 2012 In mathematics, there is a rule called the order of operations which instructs a student to solve certain steps first, before calculating others steps to arrive at an accurate solution to a mathematical expression. Similarly, society teaches an order of operations to life in that students are to first, matriculate through secondary education to attain…

Words 1989 - Pages 8

Philosophy Ethics Paper

Introduction I was recently employed at Baxter Brooks Real Estate and transferred to Coldwell Banker Pacesetter Steel as a customer relations manager or better known as a real estate assistant. I used to be a REALTOR® over six years ago and lived and breathed by a Code of Ethics. Ethics are based on cultural and business practices of the day and as such are always evolving over time (Miller, 1999). Since ethics are always evolving over time, what are the ethical issues or dilemmas common to the…

Words 791 - Pages 4

Educational Philosophy Paper

physics, and writing beyond narration just to name a few. How educational philosophies relate to classroom practice Morrison (2008) states that self-organization is a feature of all systems while using examples like amebic colonies, sand castles, and sea shores. After much research I have come to the conclusion that there are lots of different educational philosophies. Although there are many different philosophies, not all of them are centered the same. Some are teacher-centered and some are…

Words 845 - Pages 4

Philosophy paper for internet

My Educational Philosophy “Education is growth and the focal point for the individual as well as society; it is a never-ending process of life and the more refined the guiding philosophy the better the quality of educational process (Ornstein, Pajak, & Ornstein, 2011).” This statement was made evident during my 12th grade language arts class. During this course, we were given a research project where we had to create a business, tell what product or service we would providing to the community,…

Words 799 - Pages 4

Personal Nursing Philosophy Paper

family members, and healthcare professionals at my clinical sites, I have formulated a personal nursing philosophy. In addition I have integrated my own personal core values and beliefs. The following paper will discusses my personal nursing philosophy into further detail and as I continue to advance in my future nursing career and progress and grow as a person I plan on carrying this philosophy with me and put it into practice. My personal beliefs and core values are compassion, authenticity, honesty…

Words 654 - Pages 3