anonymous66

I watched a program about Koko on PBS recently, and in it, she frequently asked for visitors (among other things). I don't think it would be all that ...

Chimps and apes. Don't forget Koko. What I see is disagreements about whether or not they have anything to say. But, nothing conclusive. One group say...

This article suggests that Orangutans can make judgments about whether or not they will like the taste of a new drink. Orangutan able to guess a taste...

I see this thread as acknowledging that we are all free agents, and that we are free to choose from among a wide variety of ways to look at the world....

By the same vein, though, one could ask, why would one wish to avoid suffering? Aren't you claiming that suffering (or even more generally, life?)is b...

You're defining life as a negative thing "it's suffering", and then asking, "why subject other beings to this terrible thing?" You're saying life = su...

I think this thread can be reduced to the idea that less humans (anti-natalism) = less suffering... Therefore Pessimism is the best philosophy because...

I'm not sure what you mean here. Isn't it obvious that suffering does exist? Anything we do in regards to suffering is "after the fact", isn't it? How...

I think I see some claims here. 1. There is a proper way to deal with suffering; 2. The pessimist knows the proper way to deal with suffering 3. The p...

I want to understand the point of the thread. It's comparing Stoicism to Philosophical Pessimism and making the claim that Philosophical Pessimism is ...

I believe I did cover it very well. All of philosophy exists as a therapeutic solution to suffering.

Are you also promoting the idea that less humans = a better world because it would mean less suffering? What I hear people saying in this thread is th...

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This thread is a proposing, "let's compare Pessimism and Stoicism", and suggesting that Pessimism is the better choice It's suggested that Stoicism ca...

Okay. I hear you saying that you believe that Stoicism doesn't answer the problem of suffering, so you're proposing that Philosophical Pessimism is a ...

You want to know if Stoicism prevents suffering... Hmm. Good question. Are you proposing that there is some way to prevent suffering, but Stoicism isn...

See my previous post

I think I see this thread as the assertion that "while Stoicism does promise a path to Eudaimonia, many of you are doubtful that Stoicism will actuall...

There's not much to elaborate on. My premises are 1. the ancient philosophies promised a path to Eudaimonia and 2. Eudaimonia is not compatible with s...

Is Eudaimonia compatible with suffering? I don't know that I agree that suffering is out of one's control. Every heard of negative visualization? Here...

If you're a Stoic and you're in denial... then you're doing it wrong. I think it could be argued that Stoicism, like all the ancient philosophies, was...

Here's my response to the question, "is Stoicism fatalistic?"..

I wasn't aware that there were others besides myself who have an interest in Stoicism. The Stoics believed that the world was created by a Benevolent ...

I don't doubt that people have opinions about what caused its decline. You don't have to look very hard to find people critical of Stoicism. Of course...

I don't share your conviction. I think we just disagree about what is good in and of itself.

It is a historical fact that it did die out, and that Christianity became popular. Is anyone in a position to say they know for a fact why that happen...

@Wayfarer The Stoics may not have had the name of a sage in mind (some suggest that perhaps Socrates or Diogenes were examples), but they did know wha...

The quickest way to dispel incorrect beliefs about Stoicism is to acknowledge what beliefs one currently has about the philosophy, and then check to s...

How about, all of mankind are brothers, and it is to our advantage to work together and to look out for each other?

That Stoics deny suffering and/or problems in general, seems to be a common misconception. From what I can tell, Stoics acknowledge there is a problem...

If I could be convinced there was a benevolent Creator who was telling me about certain things I could do to improve myself and/or live an objectively...

I do see a lot to admire in the people and in the teachings. To me it's basically about believing the world is a certain way, and believing that if on...

I did get into a debate with some other modern day Stoicism enthusiasts who pointed out that Sellars in his book Stoicism, said quote "they denied fre...

Thanks Wayfarer, I'm not sure if my friends/family/enemies see any changes, but I feel like I'm on a path to freedom (from the passions, at least). It...

Birds show some fairly complex thinking skills. If they can truly understand the concept of 0, I think that is evidence of an intellect that would sat...

I guess I hear you saying you know that the statement "there is likely a correlation between bigger brains and higher intelligence" is false. I'm not ...

Stoicism is about pursuing Eudaimonia (flourishing as a human). So in that way it's anti-fatalistic. Unless one considers the pursuit of Eudaimonia it...

I don't believe it can be said that Adler is making a religious argument in his book (at least not in the first 4 chapters). As far as I can tell from...

What about evidence that they can understand, judge and reason? What about evidence they understand they have and that there are other minds?

No one is arguing that animals aren't capable of cognition. Adler is saying that there are 2 distinct kinds of cognitive powers. Sensible and intellec...

Perhaps this is could be considered to be evidence... "When sorting photos of humans and apes, he placed his own photo among the humans." "he" refers ...

Thanks for the replies. I'd like to refute Adler's claims with some evidence. But, as of now, I'm not sure there is any. It is my intuition that anima...

Thinking about the existence of a deity seems pointless, unless I also know what this deity might want from us, if anything. I think it might make mor...

@the OP Are judgments about right and wrong really all that different than the fields of medicine or mathematics? Just as we don't just say, "it's all...

I think the 2 can be compatible, in that pleasure is important. And reason and virtue are important. Seneca actually praises some things that the Epic...

But, honestly, they were opposing schools of thought, in that the Stoics believed that there is reason permeating the universe in the form of a benevo...

"I propose that a person can be a Stoic Epicurean." pshhh. I had that thought way before you. 8-)

Kinda like the opinion about whether or not 2+2=4? When someone says, "it's my opinion that 2+2=5... " It doesn't change my mind. I just look at them ...

I think it all depends on if you think some ways of living our lives are better than others. Is there such a thing as living a life of excellence?