Epictetus, Discourses | Solitude or Forlornness | Philosophy Core Concepts

[@pakistanzucks]

Life is much pain and little joy , so be it death will be my liberation

[@bi0lizard1]

Another home run. You're a truly remarkable teacher. Ty. 😎

[@GregoryBSadler]

+bi0lizard1 Haha! Thanks - very kind of you to say! But, you know, a home run is really only truly valuable if you've got the bases loaded. . .

[@tsumyworld]

Great video looking forward to watch the video about the purpose of friendship. Keep up the good work with your channel.

[@GregoryBSadler]

+Anastasis Freddys Thanks! I certainly will

[@SusobhonSamuelMorrison]

i really love the stoic view of solitude but i also want to know the existential view of solitude or loneliness

[@GregoryBSadler]

There are multiple existentialist views on that matter.

[@rightousmotherfupperblasph3849]

very interesting channel video. clear and to the point. if you had any advice on further reading regarding this. being happy with oneself is truly the goal of humanity

[@GregoryBSadler]

Advice about further reading? Sure - go straight to the Epictetus, and read around in his Discourses. That's where I'd start

[@fergal2424]

Thanks Gregory. This is great.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Glad it's helpful for you

[@kahstorm]

awesome video about an awesome topic. thanks!

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're welcome

[@nicknorizadeh4336]

Hi Prof, what do you think about the case where you're fine being alone and have been for years, but you don't feel like you have a community. The pain you feel is not so much due to not cultivating yourself as it is due to lacking a sense of belonging. You know what I mean? The pain of not belonging to a community. What would the Stoics prescribe as a good reaction to that?

[@GregoryBSadler]

They wouldn't prescribe a reaction, since they're not about simply reacting. They'd suggest you think through the matter. If you're really "fine being alone" then you won't have " pain of not belonging to a community". Start by figuring out which of those is really the case for you

[@nicknorizadeh4336]

@@GregoryBSadler Thanks for the reply! How is it possible to be "fine alone" if you don't have a sense of belongingness? I mean it's part of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. As humans we have a need to feel connected to a group even if we're spending time alone.

[@GregoryBSadler]

@@nicknorizadeh4336 Who says that Maslow's hierarchy of needs is right? Again, you're going to want to read the text, think about your own question, and think it through

[@Kwintessential2]

Good afternoon. Great video.

[@GregoryBSadler]

+Kwintessential2 Thanks!

[@benmijuskovic8427]

You have a good point about friendship. Books VIII and IX of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics are dedicated to discussing friendship and the Epicureans valued friendship above all other human virtues. The opposite of loneliness is intimacy, which is basically grounded in empathy toward the favored friend and reciprocated. Friendship is constituted by mutual trust; mutual age appropriate respect; and mutual affection. All three conditions are required. One of the best remedies for loneliness is to help others because it gets you "out of yourself." Loneliness is a powerful feeling of withdrawing with yourself. It is often "masked" as depression. C consciousness has two aspects: (1) reflexive self-consciousness (Kant; and (2) transcendent intentionality (Husserl). So whenever you feel you are sinking into forlornness, try to force yourself "outwardly and seek to help someone or an animal. Dogs seem to be favorite benefactors of lonely people.

[@richardsrensen4219]

hi is that tekst updated to modern English or in other word is it easy to read ?

[@GregoryBSadler]

Easy enough for me. There's plenty of translations of Epictetus out there, so you'd have to be the judge of how easy you find them to read

[@vintagewatchguy]

Thanks so much for providing us with these great resources!

[@GregoryBSadler]

+vintagewatchguy You're welcome