Greek Philosophers were so full of it
I'm re-reading a couple books I bought a few years ago when I was having a tough time and was trying to convince myself to keep a stiff upper lip. They are Epictetus' Four Discourses. He was a stoic who said the only thing we truly have control of is our moral purpose. Not coincidentally, Mr. Epictetus valued the correct application of said moral purpose above all else. What is correct application of one's moral purpose? As far as I can tell, it means you act like a complete lunatic. For example, let's say someone wanted to imprison and torture Epictetus unless he performed in some play that he considered demeaning. Well Epictetus would say something ridiculous like,
"Imprison my paltry body if you must, but you'll never chain my moral purpose!"
Well how about I cut your head off then?
"When did I ever claim mine was the only head that couldn't be sliced off?"
Oh God.....spare me. Your inflexibility is admirable in a weird way, but you're not much of a pragmatist are you? **CHOP**
Basically he comes across as a non-violent fundamentalist madman. Nothing material has any value, including his own life. It's interesting to read the guy's thoughts and see how he builds up his ideas around totally false premises (for example, how God created everything in the natural world - like body parts - to perfectly fit some preordained purpose). Of course he didn't know about evolution at the time, and he didn't know that the neurons that were the source of his moral purpose would get lopped off with his neck, so we can't really blame him. But imagine if this kind of philosophy ever took hold? Imagine the horrors you could justify if you dismissed real, physical suffering and the only thing you valued was something as abstract and nebulous asyour victim's moral purpose? Of course, we don't really have to imagine it at all since there are already too many people who'd rather save a soul than save a life, but the scary thing is that at one point in my life this heap of crap actually made a lot of sense.
"Imprison my paltry body if you must, but you'll never chain my moral purpose!"
Well how about I cut your head off then?
"When did I ever claim mine was the only head that couldn't be sliced off?"
Oh God.....spare me. Your inflexibility is admirable in a weird way, but you're not much of a pragmatist are you? **CHOP**
Basically he comes across as a non-violent fundamentalist madman. Nothing material has any value, including his own life. It's interesting to read the guy's thoughts and see how he builds up his ideas around totally false premises (for example, how God created everything in the natural world - like body parts - to perfectly fit some preordained purpose). Of course he didn't know about evolution at the time, and he didn't know that the neurons that were the source of his moral purpose would get lopped off with his neck, so we can't really blame him. But imagine if this kind of philosophy ever took hold? Imagine the horrors you could justify if you dismissed real, physical suffering and the only thing you valued was something as abstract and nebulous asyour victim's moral purpose? Of course, we don't really have to imagine it at all since there are already too many people who'd rather save a soul than save a life, but the scary thing is that at one point in my life this heap of crap actually made a lot of sense.
Labels: A taste of Mr. Apple
posted by Mr. Apple at 12:39 AM
3 Comments:
For a modern take on Epictetus, try Tom Wolfe's "A Man in Full".
Oh, and if you're still wondering, only assholes smoke pipes.
Cousin Chris
Chris,
That's why I bought the damn Discourses to begin with - I loved "A Man in Full" (until the end, anyway). I am the type of guy who looks to a jerkoff dandy like Tom Wolfe for life lessons.... Also, after I finish up a bit of work I will probably duck outside to smoke my pipe. I never thought when I was young that I'd turn out to be such an asshole.
Yes, Tom Wolfe struggles with endings.
If you must smoke a pipe, don't go to the limits of a guy I went to grad school with, who, in a desperate bid to appear eccentric, started smoking a corncob pipe.
Hey, if you're looking for a new look why don't you ditch the pipe and go with the "Tom Wolfe" - white suit; white homburg; high collars?
cjb
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