Personal Reflection Essay: The Principles Of Stoicism

All in all, Aristotle’s philosophy made an astounding influence. In fact, it is in Aristotle’s Philosophy that Alexander the Great, which the former tutored in 347 BCE, laid down the foundations of the latter’s empire. Throughout Alexander’s rule, the influence of Aristotle, his mentor, can be seen in the former’s skillful and diplomatic handling of difficult problems throughout his career. When Alexander became a king, he had set forth on a Persian expedition to expand his empire. Perhaps, it is the experience of the encounter between people’s that played a huge role in the development of the idea of cosmopolitanism, the idea that a man is a citizen of the world.

Epictetus’s handbook describes in detail what it means to be a Stoic, we find that it means to be detached from the things that one cannot change, and although it may seem contradictory, this very detachment is what allows or them to be such great members or society. I believe that a good member of society is one that can keep the peace and also can be able to get important things done and decisions made.

My personal odyssey into the realm of counselling has been quite the reluctant adventure. The perilous journey from childhood to adulthood was difficult to navigate given the cognitive map that had been handed down. My father was a functioning alcoholic who was both physically and verbally abusive. My mother was a martyr prone to mood swings and suicidal thoughts. I was the only girl and the eldest of 3. Any bid for attention was usurped by my middle brother who had to be the centre of attention, no matter what the cost. Knowledge became my currency. At the age of 4 my favourite word was obstreperous and I would happily inform people in supermarkets that ‘my brother was very obstreperous and he had my mammy’s heart broken.’ In turn I would get a smile and if lucky a lollipop. My love of learning gave me brief respite until the age 12 when a teacher humiliated me in front of a class for only getting 17 out of 20 in a spelling test. This cemented feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. It was also the point that I switched off emotionally to survive the barrage of

Epictetus I really feel that quote is deep I will explain on that topic later on in the paper. He was really ahead of his time. I chose Epictetus because he stated facts in my opinion, also he was a slave, and he stands on what he believes. I feel like as a result of his stoic philosophy teaching that his thoughts live on even in today era. Let me elaborate with the slave accusations. He’s been through the struggle probably most things he didn’t want to do he had to do which was out of his control. I’m sure just like in the earlier days of civilization slave didn’t have rights. Eventually Epictetus bought out his own freedom I can respect that in all aspects. He didn’t run and he didn’t hide just accepted what it is and what it was going to

In the words of M Scott Peck, “By far the most important form of attention we can give our loved ones is listening… True listening is love in action.” The importance of listening to what others have to say is great deal, it is one of the most common ways humans interact with one another. It is also one of the many skills that is considered to be necessary in life, especially when it comes to communicating with someone important such as your loved ones. Listening isn’t utterly about being there, but it is also about support and showing how much you care. This is how the narrator abandoned Doodle in James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” leaving Doodle to die. As Doodle’s brother repeatedly neglects and tortures Doodle throughout the story, readers realize the theme of the story, which is people should always listen to what

“ Stoicism’s primary tenets state that we should not wish for things to be other than they are. Acceptance of fate and the realization of providence lead to complete freedom from the passions.” (qtd Gann) Brutus does not submit to the natural world, instead, he makes choices to change certain outcomes in his life. To answer to the reason for Brutus’ downfall, which was ‘his own doing’, the term is specific to the actions of Brutus himself, thus Brutus experienced downfall due to his attempts to change fate, ultimately due to his failure as a Stoic. This leads him to join the conspiracy of assassinating Caesar, which opposes the nature that Caesar was to

In Rome, personal virtues contributed towards each individual’s dedication towards their empire. They directly gave the Roman republic the moral strength and ideology to conquer the world. In some ways, the Romans assimilated their beliefs from the Greeks, which they had conquered. In fact they had created such a lasting impression with successful ideology, that George Washington wore a toga, to demonstrate how the old Roman values still had an affect on what was then modern day America. Nearly all of George Washington's actions while leading America took into account the history of Rome. As well as how certain things took place while shaping the future of America.

The Aeneid, an epic written by Virgil, thousands of years old and yet still read today by many. It tells the story of the Trojan hero, Aeneas, and his efforts to establish order and defend his homeland. Throughout the 9,896 lines of the poem, he lives according to the Ancient Roman ideals of the Stoic. He is the paragon of a Trojan hero who places duty above pleasure, controls his passions and appetites through the power of reason, does not let the storms and stress of life disturb his self-possession and composure, and practices the virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Aeneas exemplifies the ideal of Stoicism by practicing the cardinal virtues in his daily life.

When reading A River Runs through It, written by Norman Maclean, we uncover a number of wise statements. Not only does the narrator provide the reader with wise statements, but he also gives examples and shows us real situations throughout the novel. With each predicament or situation, we can learn important lessons. A few of these wise statements particularly stand out to me.

According to Carlina Rinaldi (2006), to listen is to be open to others and to what they have to say, is to consider others as subjects that contribute to shared research that each person develops about the meaning of everyday experiences. Listening requires an in-depth understanding of events, situations, ideas, and is free of judgment and prejudices. Listening is a reciprocal process that involves the listener and the one that communicates, recognizes the right to participation of children, teachers and parents, legitimizing their theories and interpretations of the surrounding world (Lino,

In this assignment the author is going to be speaking about active listening and the components of active listening. Active listening is a skill that is very important when it comes to communication and the author will discuss its importance and also how it can be achieved. The author will talk about the differences between listening and active listening and why it is important to take on an active listening role. The author will lastly look at how active listening is vital for any health care professionals but yet how it is seen as not being that important of a skill to have.

Effective relationships should be a common goal for all to strive for. The learner believes that there are four major signs that make us human; the need to love, the need to be loved, the need to be accepted and the need to be respected as an individual. None of these things can be accomplished alone, therefore, a relationship needs to be formed. The more effective the relationship the more these needs are able to be met. In the study of marriage and family we look into the areas that can either make or break relationships. We look at the different ways to communicate effectively, the power and conflicts that occur within relationships, and the personal responsibility role we each take on in a relationship.

Core values of a person are characteristics that define that person. Everyone should know obviously what are our core values and why they have it. The values of a person are shaped throughout his life and suffer external influences from family, friends, instructors and the society in which that individual grow. As Gandhi once stated: “Your beliefs become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.”

1. A language is a group of symbols with rules which carry messages between people.

Though Francis Bacon did not make a mention of the importance of the art of listening, it is still the primary soft skill without which the other communication skills, namely, speaking, reading and writing, may not be effective and successful. Undoubtedly, listening occupies most of our time. However, listening is not the end of communication. Mere listening to the words of wisdom is of no use unless the listener is guided and benefited by them. Failure to communicate the message properly or effectively or failure to receive the message well may result in a communication gap. Obviously lack of attention or interest for one reason or another is not listening which is a positive quality, but hearing which is a casual thing without