Stoics, What's the point of living if you don't feel anything?

There's no use changing the definition. I was using the definition from the dictionary I used.

Regardless of the word, I'm still addressing it to people who claim to not feel emotion...

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme
If you can't feel the happiness of your success, why bother?
If you can't feel the empathy of your own family members or friends or anyone else, why bother?
If you can't feel excitement about the new stuff in life, why bother?
If you can't feel pain and suffering why do you care about your body at all?

I'm not understanding Stoicism

You described my life in under five minutes, well done OP. I have the inability to feel.

What caused you to respond to this thread?

It has been the way I've been feeling for months, I thought it was apathy then again I've felt this way all of my life.

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme
If you can't feel the happiness of your success, why bother?
If you can't feel the empathy of your own family members or friends or anyone else, why bother?
If you can't feel excitement about the new stuff in life, why bother?
If you can't feel pain and suffering why do you care about your body at all?

I'm not understanding Stoicism

You described my life in under five minutes, well done OP. I have the inability to feel.

What caused you to respond to this thread?

It has been the way I've been feeling for months, I thought it was apathy then again I've felt this way all of my life.

Now, What caused you to look at this thread?

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme
If you can't feel the happiness of your success, why bother?
If you can't feel the empathy of your own family members or friends or anyone else, why bother?
If you can't feel excitement about the new stuff in life, why bother?
If you can't feel pain and suffering why do you care about your body at all?

I'm not understanding Stoicism

You described my life in under five minutes, well done OP. I have the inability to feel.

What caused you to respond to this thread?

It has been the way I've been feeling for months, I thought it was apathy then again I've felt this way all of my life.

Now, What caused you to look at this thread?

It was there, and I analysed the title quickly. It seemed to fit me, I just came to speak my bloody opinion. It's simple.

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme
If you can't feel the happiness of your success, why bother?
If you can't feel the empathy of your own family members or friends or anyone else, why bother?
If you can't feel excitement about the new stuff in life, why bother?
If you can't feel pain and suffering why do you care about your body at all?

I'm not understanding Stoicism

You described my life in under five minutes, well done OP. I have the inability to feel.

What caused you to respond to this thread?

It has been the way I've been feeling for months, I thought it was apathy then again I've felt this way all of my life.

Now, What caused you to look at this thread?

It was there, and I analysed the title quickly. It seemed to fit me, I just came to speak my bloody opinion. It's simple.

Why speak your opinion? Why even come to ATS?

Why speak your opinion? Why even come to ATS?

Are you on something? Everyone has the right to voice their opinion, no matter how old, young or how stupid people are. Just because I'm apathetic doesn't mean I don't have an opinion.
I came to ATS to find the truth, find part of the understanding of life.

Whoever said this site is going down the loo is right, I can hear the flush all the way over here.

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Why speak your opinion? Why even come to ATS?

Are you on something? Everyone has the right to voice their opinion, no matter how old, young or how stupid people are. Just because I'm apathetic doesn't mean I don't have an opinion.
I came to ATS to find the truth, find part of the understanding of life.

Whoever said this site is going down the loo is right, I can hear the flush all the way over here.

edit on 7-10-2011 by Heartisblack because: (no reason given)

Yes, I know you have an opinion and you have a right to voice it, but WHY do it? And why find the truth? Why understand anything?

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Why speak your opinion? Why even come to ATS?

Are you on something? Everyone has the right to voice their opinion, no matter how old, young or how stupid people are. Just because I'm apathetic doesn't mean I don't have an opinion.
I came to ATS to find the truth, find part of the understanding of life.

Whoever said this site is going down the loo is right, I can hear the flush all the way over here.

edit on 7-10-2011 by Heartisblack because: (no reason given)

Yes, I know you have an opinion and you have a right to voice it, but WHY do it? And why find the truth? Why understand anything?

This is the way you're starting to sound to me, people voice their opinion as a matter of freedom. It doesn't matter and the point behind my liberation was to find Truth

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Why speak your opinion? Why even come to ATS?

Are you on something? Everyone has the right to voice their opinion, no matter how old, young or how stupid people are. Just because I'm apathetic doesn't mean I don't have an opinion.
I came to ATS to find the truth, find part of the understanding of life.

Whoever said this site is going down the loo is right, I can hear the flush all the way over here.

edit on 7-10-2011 by Heartisblack because: (no reason given)

Yes, I know you have an opinion and you have a right to voice it, but WHY do it? And why find the truth? Why understand anything?

This is the way you're starting to sound to me, people voice their opinion as a matter of freedom. It doesn't matter and the point behind my liberation was to find Truth

I know they have the freedom to voice opinions, but I'm asking, what is the purpose of voicing opinions? And why find truth and understanding?

reply to post by arpgme


The point of finding truth and a small sliver of understanding is the point of how you find your way to the surface, keep your sanity and find the truth.

Originally posted by Heartisblack
reply to post by arpgme

 

The point of finding truth and a small sliver of understanding is the point of how you find your way to the surface, keep your sanity and find the truth.

But, why find your way up to the surface?

[Mods, before you get angry at me, there IS a reason I'm asking this and it DOES relate to the original post. Just wait for it...]

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack
reply to post by arpgme

 

The point of finding truth and a small sliver of understanding is the point of how you find your way to the surface, keep your sanity and find the truth.

But, why find your way up to the surface?

[Mods, before you get angry at me, there IS a reason I'm asking this and it DOES relate to the original post. Just wait for it...]

edit on 7-10-2011 by arpgme because: (no reason given)

So you won't completely lose it and so you can carry on with life, without truth people start losing it after a while. What don't you understand!?

If you lose it, you're just either going to jump. Find a happy medium in your life so you won't go crazy and kill yourself. If you get tired of being empty, emotionally drained and at your wits end, for somebody that would be their next step. Sad to say and nobody wants to go like that.

Originally posted by Heartisblack

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack
reply to post by arpgme

 

The point of finding truth and a small sliver of understanding is the point of how you find your way to the surface, keep your sanity and find the truth.

But, why find your way up to the surface?

[Mods, before you get angry at me, there IS a reason I'm asking this and it DOES relate to the original post. Just wait for it...]

edit on 7-10-2011 by arpgme because: (no reason given)

So you won't completely lose it and so you can carry on with life, without truth people start losing it after a while. What don't you understand!?

I guess I'm trying to get down to the very core of it all. Why carry on with life? Why keep your sanity?

Wait. Just becase you're stoic/unemotional on one thing doesn't mean you're completly stoic. I'm stoict to the economy. I don't have any emotions or real feeling about it but I do care when my favorite football team doesn't win or when I meet a pretty girl who likes me. People can have conflicting emotions. Their moods change depending on time and situation.

Originally posted by Reptius
Wait. Just becase you're stoic/unemotional on one thing doesn't mean you're completly stoic. I'm stoict to the economy. I don't have any emotions or real feeling about it but I do care when my favorite football team doesn't win or when I meet a pretty girl who likes me. People can have conflicting emotions. Their moods change depending on time and situation.

I'm talking about true stoics. Not people who sometimes feel stoic/unemotional about one situation...

I think i understand what you mean OP, let me try.

Stoicim is not about not feeling, it's about not showing the feeling. Historically, it came out of early Greece, which was a leader in the civilisation game at the time, and a lot of new ideas were finding fertile ground amongst people who were more secure and more wealthy than before.

So it's an IDEA, first and foremost, not in itself an emotion.

A lot of what they were thinking about at the time was their society, and how it should be. You ask about children, it was with children in mind that they behaved that way. When comparing our civilised life with "barbarism", and unfettered emotion, well lots of bad things happen. When you control your emotion, you are better able to make decisions, and preserve the "status quo".

Much better in stoic thought to be an immovable rock, utterly unflappable, than to be a weak, emotive person. It becomes a sense of putting the entire society and it's well being in front of your own petty emotions. It is a sort of shield against our daily ups and downs, and as evidenced here is still used by people to avoid too much trauma.

It's not about not feeling, it's about supremely controlling that emotion, and intellectually suppressing urges and impulses which could negatively affect your children or peers. I also think it's the origion of the british "stiff upper lip" ... same thing.

Originally posted by arpgme

Originally posted by Heartisblack
reply to post by arpgme

 

The point of finding truth and a small sliver of understanding is the point of how you find your way to the surface, keep your sanity and find the truth.

But, why find your way up to the surface?

[Mods, before you get angry at me, there IS a reason I'm asking this and it DOES relate to the original post. Just wait for it...]

edit on 7-10-2011 by arpgme because: (no reason given)

You fathom the point of living if you no longer feel? You are pointing out that Heartisblack still feels and doesn't fit your mold. No kidding, fill us in on who does? The kind of people you are thinking of... you don't know them. If they aren't deaf, dumb & blind and currently comatose, then who are these humans that share your description of which you don't get? You can't deduct why they would do things in the first place because they would no longer adhere to your definition.
With this logic and scenario...these people wouldn't care to kill themselves and wouldn't care to live.
Obviously no one here feels that way because they took the effort to log into a website on the internet to see what other people are thinking and proposing.
Maybe try hitting up the zombie forums, but I hear they are selfish & passionate about brains...

reply to post by MasterGemini


Ummmmm.......is this for real?....and is that a male of female? creeeeepy!

Originally posted by arpgme
If you can't feel the happiness of your success, why bother?
If you can't feel the empathy of your own family members or friends or anyone else, why bother?
If you can't feel excitement about the new stuff in life, why bother?
If you can't feel pain and suffering why do you care about your body at all?

It has already been shown that Stoicism doesn't mean that people don't feel. It means they don't express or show their DESTRUCTIVE emotions. Happiness, empathy and excitement are not considered destructive. They FEEL pain and suffering, they just don't SHOW it.

I'm not understanding Stoicism

It's not for lack of information. little reading would clear up your misunderstanding. It's possible you don't WANT to understand it - as you have changed the definition somewhat to suit your confusion.

Stoicism

The Stoics believed that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.
...
Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason (logos).

Maybe I shouldn't have used the word stoic, it's distracting from the question...


Let me rephrase: "What is the point of living if you have absolutely no emotions and thus can't care for anything or have empathy?"