Anyone who has ever tried to give me something as a gift probably hates me, because I am extraordinarily hard to shop for. Whenever Christmas or my birthday rolls around and my mom asks what I want I just tend to give her the old "I Dunno." This is because when i think about it, there is alot of stuff I really do not need. This also makes me a nightmare to shop with because whenever I go to large stores or malls, all that is going through my head is "Who needs all this stuff?" I am sure Socrates and all the cynics and I would have totally understood each other in this respect. If there is something I really need then I will go out and buy it for myself (Something that I need could be something that I use everyday, as opposed to just random stuff that I will not use) which leaves no room for anyone else. The Cynics believed the same thing: materials are just materials.
When I do receive random stuff that gets no use I feel bad because it is really a waste of money but I know that I truthfully never wanted it. I feel that the less stuff you have the better. When everything in your life gets to cluttered then it can clutter your head and you get in a bad place, physically and mentally. If you can just keep everything simple then it will keep you simple. So for all you gift givers: Sorry... but the best gift is nothing
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Dont Worry, Be Happy (Reflection 1)
One of the most important questions asked by the newest set of interduced philosophers (The Stoics, Cynics, Epicureans and Neoplatonists) dates back to Democritus: What should we do about our life? The problem is that life is extremely long, and many things happen. To sum it up, the stoics believe we have no choice, so dont worry because we wont change anything when it comes to hard choices. The cynics believe that materials are just things you don't need, the neoplatists believe that we need to find our own soul to be happy, and the Epicureans beleive that we just need to be happy.
My personal favorite is the Epicureans, because of their idea that "Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here and when it does come we are already dead." This statement is so simple yet complex it feels like cheating logic. It made me realize that it is actually silly to fear death, or anything for that matter. Like the stoics they believed that things happen, but unlike them they believed that we have control over them, so you might as well do what makes you happy. This doesn't mean you should go out and have some "orgies" as some text suggested, but you should be happy. The key, like Hippocrates thought, is moderation. Live your life in moderation, without worrying and you will be a happy person. All other schools of thought suggested extremes (extreme lack of control, use of materials, or soul) yet Epicureous suggested doing everything right.
My personal favorite is the Epicureans, because of their idea that "Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here and when it does come we are already dead." This statement is so simple yet complex it feels like cheating logic. It made me realize that it is actually silly to fear death, or anything for that matter. Like the stoics they believed that things happen, but unlike them they believed that we have control over them, so you might as well do what makes you happy. This doesn't mean you should go out and have some "orgies" as some text suggested, but you should be happy. The key, like Hippocrates thought, is moderation. Live your life in moderation, without worrying and you will be a happy person. All other schools of thought suggested extremes (extreme lack of control, use of materials, or soul) yet Epicureous suggested doing everything right.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)