Struggling With Anger? Useful Stoic Perspectives and Practices - A Workshop at Stoicon 2016

[@ShotTehTrick]

Really appreciate that you post these lectures, I have watched a lot of your lectures on Kierkegaard and from what I have seen, it is quality work and I am joyful you post all that you do, keep it up!

[@GregoryBSadler]

I certainly will!

[@1DangerMouse1]

And thanks for posting this! Your lectures are always helpful and insightful.

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're welcome

[@jeffsullivan4182]

This is one of my favorites of your talks. Since most emotions fall under the category of pathos (for the Stoics), the advice here can be applied against many other emotions too. Thanks as always!

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're very welcome!

[@destroydate7887]

Thank you for the post. I've watched several of your videos, Witty and wise, kept me engaged.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Glad you enjoyed it. There's about 1400 or so more videos in my channel

[@thedidaskalon3523]

Thank you again! ὦ φίλε. I am admired by your work and dedication to these subjects. We all could learn and benefit from your teachings.

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're very welcome. Not sure I actually have my own teachings, though

[@spamhands]

really enjoyed listening to your workshop. Personally I learnt a while back that when I blow up at someone, it always leads to a rebound feeling for me of personal regret and negativity towards myself for getting angry. I use this knowledge to curb or (hopefully) prevent this phenomenon. That is in essence a stoic methodology that I'm employing, to defuse my outward angry outburst? internally though, I'm still sometimes left with it? Do the stoics cover this and if so where should I go to read up on it?

[@GregoryBSadler]

Do the Stoics discuss that particular dynamic you're articulating? No, I don't think so. They do provide a lot of useful resources for making sense out of it though. Glad you enjoyed the workshop video

[@spamhands]

Gregory B. Sadler thanks and thanks again

[@ssevkin]

I would love to see more videos pertaining to philosophy as an intervention. As a therapist, this is a big motivation for me to learn philosophy (doing the basics this year).

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, perhaps down the line, when I can clear the time. I actually do some of my paid work with several psychotherapists and one center, helping them adopt philosophical concepts into psychotherapeutic constructs.

[@ssevkin]

Great! After I do some more of this basic learning, I hope to contact you for some supervision via your Reason IO consulting platform. I've been looking into the various philosophical counseling associations for this for future membership. I am using what I know (Tao, Frankl, Existentialism, etc.) for the time being. Thanks!

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, I can recommend the APPA

[@lisadioguardi5742]

I believe the movie mentioned at 1:23 where making a stutterer angry cures his stuttering is a John Wayne movie, The Cowboys (1972).

[@GregoryBSadler]

Could be - thanks!

[@YorkyPoo_UAV]

I tried looking up this term he kept saying but I dont think I am spelling it right. "Proyrasism?" Can anyone help me out? @ [33:45]

[@GregoryBSadler]

Prohairesis - basic term in Stoic moral theory. Here's another video specifically on that - kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4i2ZYSIZrWAa5o

[@JocelynAlsdorf]

Excellent and useful

[@GregoryBSadler]

Good to read!

[@PraetorClaudius]

I just keep wondering how I would have handled myself at this presentation. The very discussion of anger seems to give rise to something if you aren't prepared for it.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Yes, that's quite true. Sometimes people get angry at discussions of anger. Another thing that happens occasionally as well is people realizing that they have been repressing anger, which they then begin to feel

[@PraetorClaudius]

Do you have any videos or reading you'd recommend that discuss the difference between "anxiety" and anger? I feel that anxiety is a biological response, that can get reinforced and worse as time goes on, if not attended to. Anxiety feels like it belongs less to the Will than Anger does, but anxiety certainly causes people to become angry. I find myself saying "how dare that person make me feel that way, they should know I am extra-sensitive with anxiety," which my rational mind knows is ridiculous, but if not checked this can lead to anger. It is my responsibility to not become hangry, to smoke a cigarette if I need to, or to take a walk to blow off steam, but is there a good resource on how to identify that reaction and take ownership of it, rather than blaming an outside influence? BTW: on goodreads, my question about Dianoētikē has been answered, thanks!

[@GregoryBSadler]

I have an entire playlist with around 95 videos at present on Stoic philosophy, so you could look in those. There's also a playlist devoted specifically to anger, drawing on a number of different approaches There's quite a few good philosophical sources on Anger - the Stoics are quite helpful, as is Aristotle, and, I'd say, Thomas Aquinas. . . . I also offer tutorial sessions, where I can work through those sorts of sets of broad questions in depth. If you're interested in that, here's the site - reasonio.wordpress.com/tutorials/

[@PraetorClaudius]

You give so much of value away for free. I can only imagine how valuable a custom session would be to the willing mind. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Dr. Sadler!

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're very welcome

[@hatekast]

If the amount ads spread throughout this video were placed to test my anger, then I have failed.

[@GregoryBSadler]

I think KZbin is more impersonal than that. Tell you what, though - I'm looking forward to removing ads from all my videos once I hit a higher level of support on Patreon. Here's the page, if you'd like to become a supporter - www.patreon.com/sadler

[@arturkvieira]

@@GregoryBSadler Ads are indeed a bitch. But hey, If I were you I wouldnt take them out since It does support your work

[@anthonypeltier4039]

I agree with the stoics. Anger demands reason without listening to it. Therefore it is always bad. Im naturally not a neurotic person at all anyway so it is easy for me to control my anger.

[@forjazznjava]

Maybe the struggle with anger is struggling against anger. If it a part of nature and nature is not against us. Then anger too should be seen as part of our character development.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, that's certainly not how the Stoics view it in their well-worked out, coherent perspective

[@matthiaswayne9214]

Good stuff

[@GregoryBSadler]

Thanks!

[@tagaway6173]

I'm doing so well, amazing at work. Even at high preasure, I just laugh it off. ♡♡ Now, at home, Is a different story. I'm watching different videos on anger (stoic based) because I'm trying to avoid a crisis. I can't deal with this feeling the right way because I live with this people. Is nothing I could escape.

[@1DangerMouse1]

If one gets angry when impatient, wouldn't that not be considered anger by Stoics, but instead it would be called "lamenting"? If that is the case, then wouldn't love of Fate be the answer for that?

[@GregoryBSadler]

"If one gets angry when impatient, wouldn't that not be considered anger by Stoics". I can't recall seeing a Stoic author say that. In the general classification of the emotions by the Stoics, types of anger fall under desire (epithumia), not under pain/grief (lupe)

[@1DangerMouse1]

Dr. Sadler, I guess I meant this: someone in your workshop above asked something along the lines of "what about impatience that leads to anger?" What I meant was that maybe it isn't anger in such a case, but instead it would be considered "lamenting"? I thought Epictetus talking about lamenting (at least in some translations of Discourses) and how it is important to accept and embrace what comes your way. I would only get impatient if I am wishing for things to occur differently than they do. Right?

[@GregoryBSadler]

If it's merely impatience, without any sort of irritation or frustration that bleeds over into anger, then it's just impatience. Lamenting strikes me as something different affectively. In order to see precisely what Epictetus means in those passages, I'd have to take a look at the Greek

[@forjazznjava]

Public person who stayed cool no matter what. Managed their anger President Barak Obama. Hands down. Saint like when it came to maintaining his cool.

[@Daneiladams555]

please do another rilke lecture!

[@GregoryBSadler]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJy7fKeuocp6d5o

[@maxg2335]

I get irritated and frustrated pretty easily so this has been the hardest part of getting into stoicism. The amount of times I think “oh for f sake!” per day I don’t think I can get behind the anger control part of stoicism. It’s helped me in other ways though.

[@GregoryBSadler]

You want Stoicism, not stoicism

[@kevinseraphimday6373]

Today is the first I heard that "stoic" was more than an alternate adjective for real effin miserable lol

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, you see, you learn something new every day

[@bi0lizard1]

I struggle with anxiety more than anger. Stoicism is helpful for anxiety as well. But nothing beats a nice glass of Crown Royal to soothe me down!

[@GregoryBSadler]

That can be a nice adjunct

[@Micro-Digressions]

I am trying not to be wrathful against the down voter.

[@GregoryBSadler]

There's always someone who doesn't like something, I think

[@jeffsmith673]

This video has too many ads and that makes me ANGRY!

[@GregoryBSadler]

I'm sure you'll get past it

[@jeffsmith673]

:) Yes, it's an opportunity to put in to practice the Stoic principals!