Very little philosophy in Meditations if you ask me. It's a self help book written by a Roman emperor.
He included much of the wisdom of his time, but its also just what he told himself to rationalize his own experience.
And the problem is that the author just vaguely appeals to "lessons" or "teachings," but then just poorly paraphrases them into modern language that suits him. It's very similar to how we hear appeals to the founding fathers, the same two hundred years old quotes that get dragged up in objection. They imply us to ignore the contradictions, accept the appeal to authority, and insist that it should only applies to this one topic.
But armed with a few quotes from the ancients and from the founding fathers, the twenty something political science major can now weather any criticism, because he is simply acting upon his stoic reflection. If his critics were less emotional, if they were more stoic, if they understood Meditations, they they would agree.
What right wingers often do when they appeal to Aurelius, is they purify their own intentions, elevating their political opinions to the status of revealed truth after they proclaim to have done the same hard work that Aurelius did.
The result is someone who thinks their own thoughts are pure, and everyone else's are hindered and impaired by emotion. And this can permit them to maintain indefensible ideals through any criticism.
Meditations is less philosophy, more self help/religion.
TheHorrorHorror t1_jcffdw0 wrote
Reply to Exploring “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius and Its Impact on the Modern United States by jessehagyfl
Very little philosophy in Meditations if you ask me. It's a self help book written by a Roman emperor.
He included much of the wisdom of his time, but its also just what he told himself to rationalize his own experience.
And the problem is that the author just vaguely appeals to "lessons" or "teachings," but then just poorly paraphrases them into modern language that suits him. It's very similar to how we hear appeals to the founding fathers, the same two hundred years old quotes that get dragged up in objection. They imply us to ignore the contradictions, accept the appeal to authority, and insist that it should only applies to this one topic.
But armed with a few quotes from the ancients and from the founding fathers, the twenty something political science major can now weather any criticism, because he is simply acting upon his stoic reflection. If his critics were less emotional, if they were more stoic, if they understood Meditations, they they would agree.
What right wingers often do when they appeal to Aurelius, is they purify their own intentions, elevating their political opinions to the status of revealed truth after they proclaim to have done the same hard work that Aurelius did.
The result is someone who thinks their own thoughts are pure, and everyone else's are hindered and impaired by emotion. And this can permit them to maintain indefensible ideals through any criticism.
Meditations is less philosophy, more self help/religion.