Outrage produces an emotion which releases endorphins to create a sort of high. It can be addictive.

News organizations use it to get you hooked. Bad news gets ratings. Good news is boring.

Fox gets you jazzed up and then runs commercials that create a link to the emotion. It works. Advertising on Fox News has shown to be more effective.

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Posted by Violent Hip Swivel

Member since Aug 2023

9342 posts

Posted on 12/18/23 at 4:58 pm to Indefatigable

quote:
However, a result of those decisions is that we have ceded the political landscape to single and emotionless losers who have been taught to believe that deconstructivism is the defining principle of reality.

That's a great point, but how to manifest that emotion is the tricky and complicated part. It's still possible to work for social and political change in an "emotionless" way. Volunteer for a candidate you like. Donate to a PAC that you like. Always remember to vote on voting day. Call or email your Congress critter or state rep when something's on your mind. Always be on the lookout for demagogues and be cautious of demagogues. Practical and boring stuff.

Basically, don't find identity in politics and don't find religiosity in politics. Way easier said than done in the era of declining church attendance and social interaction and the era of the internet and social media and everyone having their own loudspeaker, however.

This post was edited on 12/18/23 at 5:00 pm

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Posted by epbart

new york city

Member since Mar 2005

3321 posts

Posted on 12/18/23 at 6:18 pm to Violent Hip Swivel

quote:
Really epic post. I thought about becoming a stoic one time and read a few Epicetus books. But then I forgot about it and moved on to the thing that I wanted to do in life. The stoics were on to something, especially the part about sizing people up during conversations in real time and understanding why certain people say certain things at certain times. The only part about stoicism that freaked me out was only getting laid in order to procreate. That's just bizarre.

Thank you, and while it sounds like you've read more of the stoics than I have, I've read enough and some of the surrounding thought around it to feel comfortable framing it as I originally did. In a related way, Aristotle, while not a stoic, captures the idea of stoicism well (imho) in the following quote:

quote:
Anybody can become angry-that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way-that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.

This quote connect well to stoicism in describing accurate and efficient use of energy / being perfectly natural and appropriate to the situation.

You can see this in literature, like in Herman Hesse's Siddhartha. If I remember correctly, when the titular character sees Buddha for the first time, he recognizes him despite his plain appearance by the peace he radiates, and also in how natural everything about him is, even down to the way his arm drapes and fingers curl at the end.

This idea of maintaining poise and inner peace while responding to any situation is the antithesis of what we see in gross displays of outrage. It also speaks to your comment about stoics talking about "only getting laid in order to procreate." Don't consider that an ultimatum that must be fulfilled in order to be stoic. It just speaks to harmony and perfect use of energy / a perfect act. Even the best stoics would likely admit they often fall short of the ideal... very analogous to how Christians admit to falling short of the example of Christ. I mention this only to say that if you found value in stoicism, you shouldn't dismiss it for one or two weird ideas. A few years ago, Tim Ferriss had Ryan Holiday on his podcast, and I think Ryan was interesting for how he described his love of stoicism and how he used its principles to help his career. I haven't checked out Ryan's own podcast or his own books on stoicism, but if you do still feel an appreciation for the topic, then his work might be a good way to approach the topic from a modern point of view.