/lit/ - Literature

>>11028654
Remember it's his diary and that it was never meant to be published for anyone else to read

>>11028654
it was a different world, where the state and the community had priority over the individual, even in the individual's mind. he's not making a philosophical argument because it was obvious to him and to everybody else, and because it's literally a reminder to himself in his private diary desu

>>11028654
>Any action not directed towards a social end is a disturbance to your life, an obstacle to your wholeness, a source of dissension.
>Writes a diary

Was Aurelius the original my diary desu?

>>11028812
Stoics BTFO. Looks like he fell for the my diary desu meme.

Lil Marco always gets upset and tries to keep his head cool. Not much of a philosopher, but he will always be our special little guy.

Stoicism was heavily influenced by Socrates/Plato which emphasised society above all else, in the The Republic Plato considered democracy the second worse type of because its emphasis was personal freedom instead of enabling a well ordered society. Stoic politics was just towing the Platoist line for the most part.

Individualism ruined society desu

Since it’s basically him journaling there’s definitely some random rambling or repetition in there. Also some funny shit like this
>Don’t be overheard complaining about life at court. Not even to yourself.
I can just imagine Marcus mumbling to himself about how shit everything is and then making eye contact with some politician who heard him before running away and scribbling this down in his diary. Also some of it is just him trying to reconcile and accept his life for what it is. For example there’s some anti-book/reading stuff in there even though that’s retarded. It’s just that he didn’t have time to read so he wrote stuff about not needing to read.
>>11028870
D-don’t bully him. He actually was a pretty fallible dude though. There’s a couple lines in there about him trying to accept that he isn’t a great thinker or philosopher. This one comes to mind
>You can’t claim to have lived your life as a philosopher-not even your whole adulthood. You can see for yourself how far you are from philosophy. And so can many others. You’re tainted.
>tfw you’ll never assure Marcus of his philosophical prowess and protect his gentle stoic soul

>democracy... freedom... 'murica
It emphasizes mob rule, populism, and whimsy. Propaganda in green is why populism is treacherous in the first place.

>>11028895
Ironic because the growth of individualism was mostly thanks to Socrates (and Euripides)

>>11028923
How did Socrates promote individualism?

>>11028949
By being an individual par excellence.

>>11028949
This >>11028973

He insisted without modification or compromise that a man must order his life by the guidance of his own intellect without regard to any external authority.

Before him obedience to religious authority or loyalty to your city state was seen as the highest virtue.

Marcus was an imperfect man who didn't always live up to his own morals, and that hurt him, and that is why I find him so compelling

A just ruler should direct all his actions to the public good though

Because we as individuals are crafted by society. No one is an island that came into being purely through their own will, no matter how much the try. We're basically entirely shaped by either agreeing with or disagreeing with society and aspects of it. Thinking that you can just sit in a vacuum and "come up with yourself" is not just stupid but impossible for most people.

The Romans were just more brutally aware of this, especially because literally EVERYTHING in their day required face to face communication to do absolutely anything and everything.

>>11028895
Sparta was the closest we've come to the ideal state

>>11028654
Using this thread to ask:
I'm taking a Philosophy course in the fall and have never really studied philosophy except for reading Plato. Where do I start to not look like a pleb?

>>11029319
What class is it? I'm not a Philosophy major but I've taken some Philosophy classes. If it's a 100 level course then you shouldn't really have any trouble and they don't really expect you to know anything at all since it's for beginners.

>>11029299
>poligamy and interbreeding due to genetic pool with little variation
no thanks

>>11029329
It's just an intro course. I am planning to minor in philosophy so any suggestions for reading would be nice

>>11029341
Couldn’t find my old syllabus but you might find this helpful.

http://www.apus.edu/z/course-syllabus/PHIL101.pdf

>>11029448
Thanks anon