De Ira
Seneca’s Lesson of Life
The dominant philosophy of the Hellenistic period was Stoicism, influenced by Epicureanism. As one might remember, these two philosophical doctrines have similarities, however, three fundamental differences emerge. Epicureanism says that the world has origin from the chance, while Stoicism believes that the world is driven by a logos, divine reason that acts providentially on the world and not by chance. The Epicurean makes happiness coincide with secluded life, while the Stoic must engage in political life and in history until self-sacrifice; Epicureans deny the existence of an immaterial and immortal soul, conversely Stoics believe that all men have a logos, called soul. A lot of philosophers took part of …show more content…
He divides the dialogue De Ira in three parts, in which he discusses the argument of anger on different levels: in the first part, he discusses the symptoms of anger, then the definition of it, and, in the final part, he focuses on the therapy: since Seneca sees anger as social evil, he indicates the remedies to prevent and placate it. According to Seneca, anger is different from other passions: he says that the consequence of anger is madness and this is the reason why he wants us to destroy it. Indeed, in the first book he defines anger as a strong passion that is more difficult to hide than others. Seneca states:
I know well that the other passions, can hardly be concealed, and that lust, fear, and boldness give signs of their presence and may be discovered beforehand, for there is no one stronger passion that does not affect the countenance: what then is the difference between them and anger? Why, that the other passions are visible, but that this is …show more content…
I believe anger is an emotion that charges us of aggression and tension; I think that expressing it, other than acting it out, can cause immediate relief and resulting in physical and emotional wellbeing. If someone is feeling angry, the heat makes us boiling and anger will rise from the center of the body and reddens our face. We perceive anger on our shoulders and chest. Among the remedies for anger, the most effective is the introspective activities, through which we can reflect on our condition as mortal beings. In order to placate the anger, we should follow some andviceces from Seneca: first of all, the mind should be subjected to an examination every day. This is what Sestio was used to do, says Seneca: at the end of the day he wondered what evils he had healed and what he had improved. After a careful examination of ourselves, we will sleep peacefully and free. Nothing of the day should be left to the
Seneca’s Lesson of Life
The dominant philosophy of the Hellenistic period was Stoicism, influenced by Epicureanism. As one might remember, these two philosophical doctrines have similarities, however, three fundamental differences emerge. Epicureanism says that the world has origin from the chance, while Stoicism believes that the world is driven by a logos, divine reason that acts providentially on the world and not by chance. The Epicurean makes happiness coincide with secluded life, while the Stoic must engage in political life and in history until self-sacrifice; Epicureans deny the existence of an immaterial and immortal soul, conversely Stoics believe that all men have a logos, called soul. A lot of philosophers took part of …show more content…
He divides the dialogue De Ira in three parts, in which he discusses the argument of anger on different levels: in the first part, he discusses the symptoms of anger, then the definition of it, and, in the final part, he focuses on the therapy: since Seneca sees anger as social evil, he indicates the remedies to prevent and placate it. According to Seneca, anger is different from other passions: he says that the consequence of anger is madness and this is the reason why he wants us to destroy it. Indeed, in the first book he defines anger as a strong passion that is more difficult to hide than others. Seneca states:
I know well that the other passions, can hardly be concealed, and that lust, fear, and boldness give signs of their presence and may be discovered beforehand, for there is no one stronger passion that does not affect the countenance: what then is the difference between them and anger? Why, that the other passions are visible, but that this is …show more content…
I believe anger is an emotion that charges us of aggression and tension; I think that expressing it, other than acting it out, can cause immediate relief and resulting in physical and emotional wellbeing. If someone is feeling angry, the heat makes us boiling and anger will rise from the center of the body and reddens our face. We perceive anger on our shoulders and chest. Among the remedies for anger, the most effective is the introspective activities, through which we can reflect on our condition as mortal beings. In order to placate the anger, we should follow some andviceces from Seneca: first of all, the mind should be subjected to an examination every day. This is what Sestio was used to do, says Seneca: at the end of the day he wondered what evils he had healed and what he had improved. After a careful examination of ourselves, we will sleep peacefully and free. Nothing of the day should be left to the