Stoic philosophers, who include Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Zeno of Citium (the founder of stoicism philosophy) among others, strongly emphasize that a good life is brought about by living with virtue, self-control, and tolerance by serving other people, and by bringing inner calmness to our lives. They taught that, if only we are able to overcome the thirst for things we don’t have, we would be on the path leading to a good life.
In his essay on happiness, Seneca explains that true happiness occurs when one enjoys the present without thinking or depending too much upon the future, and always rest satisfied with what one has. He also argues that, in order to have a good life, we should boldly resist any temptation to go with a common opinion since it is often not well thought out.
According to these philosophers, we will have a good life if only we give up what other people think of us. A wise person will have his happiness growing out of his own free facts and if evil is spoken of him and it appears to be true, he will correct himself and move on. They also argue that happiness of our lives depends on the quality of our thoughts hence we should be careful and entertain no ideas unsuitable to virtue (Mw, Martin 11-35)
Stoic philosophers also see a good life as a result of living a simple life. If one has too little, it does not mean that he or she is poor. Instead, the one who hankers after more is considered poor. Moreover, a good life is achieved if one strives to be the best person he or she can be thus, one should not waste time arguing about what a good man should act.
A good life is also achieved if a person learns to work with and control his or her emotions. One should avoid the things that may cause harm to him by not specifically being in a different place but by being a different person.
They also see a good life as the one whereby one’s perception is everything. A person has the power to revoke anything causing distress to him or her. One should be very careful when reacting to the thing distressing him and also the interpretation of its significance. Estimation of what causing pain should also be taken care of in order to avoid more pain (Dalal et al., 41-77)
Finally, these great philosophers see a good life as the one whereby a person concentrate more on doing what is in front of him with genuine seriousness and justice, not allowing emotions override what his mind tells him and by stopping being hypocritical, self-centered or even irritable.
In conclusion, stoic philosophers have great and helpful pieces that we should apply in our pursuit of the happy life. We should, therefore, hunt such pieces of teachings about a good life and their noble-minded sayings and practically apply them in our day to day lives.
Works Cited
Mw, Martin-Lexington books (2016). 11-35
Rs, Dalal., Rd, Meyer, and Rp, Brandshaw -journal of (2015). 41-77
Journals.sagepub.com
