The Modern Epictetus's Philosophy - Essay Example

What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgments about the things. For example, death is nothing dreadful (or else it would have appeared dreadful to Socrates), but instead the judgment about death that it is dreadful – that is what is dreadful. So when we are thwarted or upset or distressed, let us never blame someone (or something) else but rather ourselves, that is, our own judgment.’ (Epictetus, Encheiridion, section 5). Epicetetus’s philosophy has deep rooted wisdom that is as relevant today as it has been in the past. The central idea of the philosophy is that man is prone to accept the things at face value and based upon that, he often pronounces his judgment or impression of the person or things or event which may have considerable influence in his perception towards those things. Indeed, it is a human failing that governs their outlook in general and is one of the main reason that fosters conflicts in interpersonal relationship. The passage is quite explicit in explaining that when we interpret an event or action by associating it with well defined adjectives, it expresses certain inhibiting or exhibiting features which provoke a reaction that defines our attitude and perception towards it. According to the passage, death is dreadful. In truth, it is we, who have associated death with being ‘dreadful’ and therefore, whenever we come across death, we react accordingly. That is why the philosopher says that we must understand the more complex nature of conscious and subconscious mind that forms impression which influence our actions and therefore, instead of blaming others, we must try to change our attitude and perception. Various philosophers like Aristotle, Pluto, Hume etc. have espoused philosophies regarding different aspect of our life’s ideologies and concept of living a moral and ethical life. The philosophy is part and parcel of every human being and he or she exhibit it through the wisdom and individual perspectives towards the various aspect of their daily life. The philosophers through the ages have attempted to explain the sequence of events or happenings around us that directly or indirectly influence our actions and reactions in our daily life. It tries to interpret everything and anything in the wider empirical consideration of our experiences of conscious and unconscious manifestations of our being. It therefore, can be said that each of us, follow a definite philosophy which guides our actions and our efforts to gain knowledge and accordingly base our judgments of the people or event. Hence it becomes a crucial aspect of our thought processes that links the person or things with the represented verdict that has been pronounced by our mental imagery and once declared as such, we often refuse to change that impression. It therefore, becomes important to know and understand that our impression of the things or person can have alternative perceived impression. In other words, the actions of man may not always give an accurate account of the character of a person. His actions may display total disregard for basic human values, but it would be unwise to hate the person because of his actions. One can convincingly argue that the person may have undergone certain thought processes in situations that may have dictated his actions. Therefore, if one can motivate and change the perception of that person towards issues that determine his actions, there is high probability that his actions would also undergo drastic transformation and change according to his new insight. One should therefore form opinions and feeling for the actions of the man and not the man himself. Another very important fact is that modern philosophical thinking tries to explain the theory of cognition thereby trying to explain why and how the events take place and subsequent pattern of behaviour of man under certain condition involving emotional and metaphysical reaction. We do not often try to rationalize the events or actions and therefore miss the very crucial aspect of the character of the person. The background issues that determine the actions of the person or events, are important ingredients that must be understood before declaring any verdict on the person or events. It is equally pertinent to understand the wider implications of our quick judgments that give rise to moral and ethical issues which follow as a result of our judgment. We are social animals who live in a society that has social and moral obligations towards each other and in order to coexist in harmony, each of us conform to certain unsaid social norms and value system that is based on mutual respect and love. Hence, when we pass on a judgement, it not only affects one or two individuals but percolates down to the whole society, which may have degenerating outcomes and may also result in conflicting situations and acrimony. It is therefore important that our judgment be more rationalized so that the superficiality f the situations have least influence on our decision powers that would determine our actions subsequently. As I have said earlier in my essay that this philosophy is still very relevant and we must make efforts to consciously avoid making flash judgments that would have cascading repercussions. In the present time, the fast globalization and advancing technology has changed the global dynamics of the socio political environment of the world and has created paradoxical situations where it has become difficult to differentiate between the good and the bad. Terrorism has emerged as one of the biggest challenges for the countries that have necessitated a global effort to counter its menace. In such a situation, it often becomes easy for people to start hating the persons who perpetuate the terrorism, resulting in compounding the wrong of one person with that of others, who follow the act of violence with violence. It is at this juncture that one must realize the deeper meaning and instead of hating the person, act of terrorism must be hated. This would facilitate a better understanding of the cause and consequences which lead to the act. This way, it would be easier to eliminate the fundamental reason for the act and hence an amicable and peaceful end of the problem can be reached which has taken such a gigantic shape. Read More