Katharsisdrill the stoic?
Busy Sunday, so no Morning pages. Instead I will show you a book I bought yesterday. The three texts, On anger (part 2), On Clemency, and On tranquillity of mind, by Seneca the Younger.
On Easter Sunday I was at a family lunch, as is the custom in Denmark on holidays (we have several lavish Christmas lunches). I talked for some time with my cousins and some old "68-generation" friends of the family on philosophy - Kant, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, but the discussion kept returning to the classical writers mainly because one of the old geezers had been enamoured in the idea of stoicism... life philosophy instead of scepticism and meta-ethics and such things. According to him there where symposiums in England where Stoics meet and discussed stoicism in a stoic way... we all saw manor houses, romantic gardens with white marble copies of classic sculptures, and men and women in tweed walking in the evening sun discussing moderation. As we went from Solon to Schopenhauer and back again, I suddenly realised that I might have seen myself quite wrongly for many years. I tend to see myself as a sceptic, an anarchist with a conservative inclination, a nihilist rationalist and much more that never really made sense, but as we talked I realised that I all along have lived by principles that could look a lot like stoicism.
So I went and bought the book.
Despite such behavior, somehow you Danes are known as the happiest people on earth ;-)
We finally lost that annoying label to the Norwegians last year. Now people can bug them instead. About time the world got their eye up for those stupidly happy nutters. As for philosophy I find no better pastime than casual discussions about das ding an sich, and if Kant was a masturbator. Contrary to our Nordic brethren Danes discuss politics all the time. Even at the dinner parties of my great grandparents people was shouting and arguing. So discussing the concept of angst or retelling the anecdote of the slave of Solon is very relaxing and blissful.
I guess you probably know from movies or TV that the American Thanksgiving Holiday dinner is notorious heated arguments about politics. Lots of people dread it. Despite my MBA, after living so long in Europe I was always the furthest to the left in my family.
Here in Germany I came to realize that a socialize market economy can actually function quite well; however, in 2015 it became obvious to me that open borders and a generous welfare system are a recipe for disaster. Oh man, things have changed...
I think that what social democracy really is is a moderation between the three ideologies of the late nineteenth and twentieth century, socialism, Libertarianism and conservatism. I also think that empirically we can see it is what works best. Libertarians today reminds me of the Stalinists and Maoists of the seventies and conservatism is actually only really represented by the social democrats after the people who called themselves conservatives became libertarianists.
Migration always was a problem... Wanted to write some more, but then i got tired.
I think that is a spot on analysis, especially if you change one word "really is" to "really was." The SD of Helmut Schmidt was exactly that.
Yes, same in Denmark. I can't vote for the current social democrats - it is all about principles matters like Muslims and Muslims. I want a practical approach, mediation.
It is the same in America too. Cultural "wedge" issues and identity politics have replaced true progressive ideals. Instead of focusing on improving living, working, and educational conditions, the struggle is about non-binary genders, micro aggressions, etc.
For me "free speech" is sacrosanct, and now, especially here in Europe, it is in danger.
If you have a couple of minutes, there is a gay journalist who put together a terrific video "Why I left the left." It's got over 6 million views. Worth watching and sharing.
watch
I am your echo chamber :)
"mainly because one of the old geezers had been enamoured in the idea of stoicism......"
Man I am not sure if you intended it but the sarcasm and humor in just this one sentence is epic. Kept reading it and the sentences after it just for the enjoyment value.
I am a notorious ironic, people are never sure if I intended to mean what I said.
Makes it even better ;-)
I think every one of us enjoys life in our own way and style, so there's nothing wrong, as long as it's still good in ethics and morality,
I just congratulate you, congratulations on reading your new book, if there is anything you can share from that book I always wait ,,
As for good in ethics and morality I am sure Seneca is your man. I will see if I can form some opinion when I have read it.
ok, i will wait for news from you next
I do not understand what book you buy, but I'm sure it's an interesting book, so you buy it, if you want to share it with us, I'm very happy ,,
thanks in advance and best regards
a simple question, but it takes honesty to answer it,
I say it's just my instinct, because personally I'm just going to buy something when it appeals to me, so other people think it's not much different,
because it is impossible for someone to buy an item if it does not have any appeal ,,
best regards @katharsisdrill
I wonder how you can be sure of that?