Renounce the flesh. Temper your desire. Do this and you will know peace

He was the opposite of depressed. He was the most contented and joyful leader to have ever lived.

All things in moderation, OP. There's nothing wrong with seeking out women or good food or drink--it's when those begin to dominate your life that you've taken a wrong turn.

Aristotle made a point in the Nicomachean Ethics that virtue is the middle way between two extremes, and in order to truly possess virtue, one must chose it for themselves. This kind of logic would imply that, in order to make a true and conscious decision, we would have to be tempted by the extremes on either side of the virtuous choice.

So, if we take the pleasures of the flesh, one extreme would be unbound hedonism and lust, and the other extreme would be ascetic and cold, devoid of human touch and contact.

Don't let the fear of your desires control you any more than the desire itself. Seek the middle way and find true virtue the best you can.

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Middle ground fallacy.

I disagree. Moderation and a middle way approach is key to Stoic philosophy, Aristotelian Ethics, and it's the foundation of Buddhism, which has influenced not only large sects of Eastern doctrine, but also philosophy here in the West.

Maybe it won't work for everyone, and that's fine, people can find their own way. But to label it a fallacy without any actual argument to back it up is lazy as hell, user.

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Fair enough. I'd never try to demand perfection, but I guess that's a good point--it'd be like asking a recovering alcoholic to continue drinking, but only in moderation, which wouldn't be ethical when total abstinence would be much more suited to their needs.

I usually also try to keep this Kierkegaard quote in mind. I know it's his most famous one, but it helps, you know? Kind of nice to know people acknowledge that choosing anything inherently sucks, and all we can do is live with our choices, whether it's abstinence or moderation or something else entirely.

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You probably replied to the wrong post, right?

Either you havent read the meditations or you're being ironic
Aurelius was very lonely and had to repeat mantras to himself in his diary to stick to his principles
The whole book is essentially him saying 2 or 3 things over and over

exactly what is taught to protective brahmacharin

Indeed.

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You sound depressed and ignorant of said depression, if you can so easily confuse such technique of purification as depressing. It is precisely the beginning effort necessary to an active (not passive and hypnotized) mind in keen pursuit of knowledge.

>Buddhism has similar techniques:
"eflects on just this body hemmed by the skin and full of manifold impurity from the soles up, and from the top of the hair down, thinking thus: 'There are in this body hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, fibrous threads (veins, nerves, sinews, tendons), bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, contents of stomach, intestines, mesentery, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, solid fat, tars, fat dissolved, saliva, mucus, synovic fluid, urine.'

"Just as if, O bhikkhus, there were a bag having two openings, full of grain differing in kind, namely, hill-paddy, paddy, green-gram, cow-pea, sesamum, rice; and a man with seeing eyes, having loosened it, should reflect thinking thus: 'This is hill paddy; this is paddy, this is green-gram; this is cow-pea; this is sesamum; this is rice.' In the same way, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu reflects on just this body hemmed in by the skin and full of manifold impurity from the soles up, and from the top of the hair down, thinking thus: 'There are in this body: hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, fibrous threads (veins, nerves, sinews, tendons), bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, contents of the stomach, intestines, mesentery, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, solid fat, tears, fat dissolved, saliva, mucus, synovic fluid, urine.'

"Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body, internally... and clings to naught in the world."

based

this. but of course the incels here will disagree.

Renounce the flush. Temper your sphincter. Do this and you will know no poop.

Semen isn't a waste product. It's recycled internally faster than it is produced and can be retained indefinitely without detriment.

How can I heed to the words of Aurelius knowing that he allowed his wife to sleep around. Roman emperor, but still a cuckold. How can such man be respected?

It's nice to read a sensible post on this hellhole every once in a while.

Sauce on his cuckoldry?

I used to do that since 5th grade, was a really repressed person...

Doesn't help, trust me

By the mere fact that you seek them out, no matter in what amount, you reveal your attachment to those things. Take alcohol for example - you have perfect knowledge of the fact that not only it does nothing good to you, but it also takes away from your lucidity short-term and affects cognition both short-term and long-term, and yet you still consciously choose to drink it.
With your ''hedonism bad', 'asceticism' bad, therefore middle ground good' type of logic, one could make the an argument for anything. Rape in moderation, lie in moderation, kill in moderation, etc.
In this regard, 'middle ground' people such as yourself always seem somewhat comical to me. It's as if you do indeed know that moderation is not the key, but somehow you manage to lie to yourself because of your affects.
Pleasure of the flesh in all ways and quantities remains just that - pleasure of the flesh.
While I do consider monogamous relationships to be better than what you name 'hedonism', they're still essentially worthless and have no intrinsic/metaphysical value. Also, funny that you said 'nothing wrong with seeking out women' (note the plural). Were you trying to argue for the virtuosity of degeneracy right there?

The Buddhist 'Middle Way' that you reference has nothing to do with your petty pleasure activities such as having sex with beautiful women, eating expensive and ludicrous dishes (often containing animal flesh) and drinking 'fine wine'. What are you actually on about ?

I lost my virginity the other night and that quote was all I could think about

Seeing how i'm not an emperor nor rich. Instead i'm a poorfag, living in a 25 sqm apartment and I crave nothing and so here I am.

Now what? Is stoicism just a philosophy for richfags trying to feel better about their wealth and prosperity?

we need more pics like this

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Epictitus was a slave

my fedora tipped itself

Retarded reductionism tbqhdf

I just masturbated two times in the span of 2 hours

My god. I have not laughed at a meme in quite a long time. Not just a smile or a thought of 'that is funny' but an uncontrolled and convulsive laughter.

Thank you user. Noticed you senpai.

these posts are just pixels on a screen

This is the literature board

He had 11 kids. He transcended sex.

Stoicism is a philosophy that says nothing is good or bad except your will, and that you should be totally indifferent to externals. It is actually easier for poorfags to practice than richfags.

Your loss.

kek

Do it too much and you'll get a bad headache.

>push her down some stairs

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Not funny.

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pseud

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, 'Abba as far as I can I say
my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as
far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?' then the old man
stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten
lamps of fire and he said to him, 'If you will, you can become all flame.'

(Abba James) said, 'Just as a lamp lights up a dark room, so the fear of God
when it penetrates the heart of a man illuminates him, teaching him all the
virtues and commandments of God.'

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>vtmb

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Based and redpilled.

Abstinence is a superpower for productivity and helps avoid many problems.

If you gain power, people can't threaten to harm your wife and children because you have none.

People can't try to sway your actions with the allure of women.

People will misjudge your motives and will find it difficult to stop you.

Abstinence is power.

This.

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Dude had to live through the Antonine Plague which killed about 5 million people and up to a third in some areas and he had 11 kids with all of them dying except one who grew up to be the worse emperor Rome ever had. You should look up this dude's life it's just one big shitstorm of trying to pick the less worse option.

I know plenty of catholics monks who never masturbate or do anything filthy if you cath my drill

Meditations wasn't even meant to be a book it was basically a diary he read to himself every night reminding himself not to get his hopes up.

Nonsense I used to tug it up to 8 times a day.

This

true virtue is not the middle way by necessity, when it is, it is only by accident.

also
>take heroin in moderation, it's ok my dude

Are there any philosophers/books that deal with how to combat envy/ressentment specifically?

>except one who grew up to be the worse emperor Rome ever had
Proof that his opinions are retarded.

It's more of a philosophy for poorfags, prisioners and slaves actually

based argument

hiro feallaaawwsss hahah i love Neechee he is so kawaii!!!! (**)
ugguuuu in my panties!!!! THE PISS FLOOD COMMENCES
action ×woosh×××××××

my itty bitty sLave men drown in a puddle of my pussy piss and all the itty bitty tiny mean gurggle and gag my iggy gooey fluids and gulp and gulp in my big girl puddle.

Yeah, Nietzsche really does get me going.
He predicted complete change when society collapsed into a of nihilism by the death of God.

always a pleasure

t. cumbrain.

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lmao now that you said it, it really resonates

You should read epictetus then

The amount of autism that slut has inflicted on this board is staggering

Hide butterfly poster threads
Ignore butterfly poster posts
Add butterfly symbol to your post filter

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He sounds like the ultimate fedora fag. Anyway, I bet you one milk ton that this guy did not practice what he preached. After reading on important figures like napoleon, I feel like these kinds of people who set these dumb standards are generally hypocrites.

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The best words to live by are that you should try to be as happy as possible while still thinking about the future. be as hedonistic as possible without damaging your life, like getting aids or becoming a drug addict.

It is interesting to read about, and god to remember during parts of your long life, but it is ultimately a cope, and is was for the writers themselves, who were living in a time of decline.
>rape in moderation
Yes
> lie in moderation
Yes
>Take alcohol for example - you have perfect knowledge of the fact that not only it does nothing good to you
Willfully false.
>monogamous relationships .... essentially worthless and have no intrinsic/metaphysical value.
Retarded. Tell me they have no value when you wake up with back pain when you are 50 and can’t put on underwear without help for 3 months, let alone the moral and psychological support.

I have. Peace is inaccurate. If you have only Peace then life will be dull and empty.
Controlling oneself like this will make one reach the state of calmness and focus that is not normally possible. It will allow for the possibility to open ones mind. What one does with that power can be anything from peace to absolute chaos.

... is that a lit meetup or something?

Are you faceblind? Sign of autism you know
>Ian McKellen Posts on lit, goes to lit met up
>Frodo goes to lit metup

No I just didn’t know who Ian McKellen was
...so yeah I guess I am autistic

One day you'll manage to quote correctly.
I don't understand what argument you're trying to make in regards to the 'rape' argument.
Now, to answer your question about monogamous relationships, it's the same with all sexual relationships (to which I'll simply refer as 'relationships'). The base for the search of relationships and sexual acts lies only in the biological instinct, it is not metaphysical in any way. However, people still act as if relationships and sexuality are not inferior things and try to give additional meaning - and thus they 'become' more than something physical, they become archetypes (in the Jungian sense) which are elevated from the immediate world to a higher position; but they are still inferior in-themselves to the pure forms, which govern over both 'archetypes' and the physical acts. That is the reason why things such as marriage, children, feminine beauty, etc. carry symbolism within the mind of the human, but compared to the higher plane, they are still no more than a superficial veil. The archetypes (and implicitly the archetypal archetypical life, 'the hero's journey' for example), although not physically graspable, are still very much close to this world and humans choose them because it keeps then busy, it's a very active form of life. Compare that to a life which could be called Platonic or Stoic - people would appear as stone statues.
Regarding your practical example with the 50 year old who can't put on underwear, that is a simple inconvenience of life which does not justify relationships - you would need no more than a caretaker, not a wife. 'Moral and psychological support' are entirely useless for the philosopher.

This is why the Jewish spiritual dimension appeals to me. In that tradition, the trouble with which life is beset, is fully acknowledged, and it isn't seen as a personal shortcoming for which asceticism is prescribed as a cure. Marriage isn't merely tolerated like in (fundamental) Christianity; people's innate desire for a life partner is acknowledged, and not to marry is a rare exception. It's also not necessary to reach an alternative state of consciousness where the existence of a material realm or free will are seen as illusions (like in Eastern religions); one can work with their natural state of mind, and Judaism builds a framework of meaning on top of that. One can feel understood when reading the Old Testament because it faces life's suffering head-on. A nuance must be added, namely that self-sacrifice is seen as absolutely necessary, like in any other tradition. But it feels much more natural, much less dry than in Stoicism for example.

Christianity is more ascetic than Judaism. Orthodoxy and Catholicism both have celibate elements to them.

Not the person you replied to, but I disagree on some points.

You constantly mention relationships and sexuality together, as if sexuality is the essence of a relationship. I'd like to challenge that view. There are various aspects to being in a relationship. One of them is indeed sexuality. Another one is the sense that there is someone you can call at any time of the day, and they will give you the kind of attention you need, because they care about you. There's also often the guarantee that there will be someone present to greet you when you come home from a long day at work, for example. These guarantees tend to impact one not just while one is calling their SO or coming home, but at all times of the day; they improve mental health. That constant influence on someone's psyche, that is precisely not a physical thing. A relationship leads to alleviation of loneliness, a sense of fulfilment, an extension of one's social network (which brings a safety net with it), and more life experiences, among other things. I would say that it is these things why most people seek out relationships, and that sexual intercourse is simply an implicit part of it in most cases.

You make these assumptions that, because the longing for sexual intercourse is a biological impulse, it is somehow more real than the social and psychological motivations for seeking out a relationship. This is not only dehumanising (i.e. discrediting things essential to regular human life); it is also not clear why it would be the case. When we refer to people in every day life, we refer to their conscious part. If a man plays chess, it may be that one day he will impress a woman by that, and that they will become partners, and one can say that that was his true motivation, but generally speaking, we say that that person enjoys playing chess, because that's what he'll say when you ask him why he does it. Likewise, when it comes to seeking out a relationship, we have every reason to see the more conscious reasons as true ones, as we do for the less conscious ones.

When it comes to a practical example: with a professional caretaker, there will never be the same sense that that person cares about you, and therefore there will be physical ease but still no alleviation of loneliness. And that is not just something in the mind, but a true intuition about the reality. The caretaker really does not care about the man in a significant way. If she stops getting paid (either by the government due to cuts or by the man because he runs out of money), she will stop changing his underwear and the man will smell. He may focus his mind on ideal forms, but he will still be sitting in his own feces. He may even have trained his mind enough to not be bothered by his situation, but most people aren't fit for that degree of asceticism. That's why I think longings like that for a partner should be seen as intuitions which are one's best attempt at finding a comfortable life.

That's exactly what I'm saying. "People's innate desire ... a rare exception" was about Judaism.

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>Thou hath
"Hath" is third person. Second person is "thou." It should say "Thou hast."
>Thine body
When it means "your" and not "yours," "thine" can only come before a word beginning with a vowel sound, e.g. "thine eyes." It should say, "Thy body."

Didn't make the meme.

>Is stoicism just a philosophy for richfags trying to feel better about their wealth and prosperity?
Not really, no. It's a philosophy to harden yourself against the shit life throws at you. Most people only concern themselves with the stoa once their life goes to shit.
"A Guide to the Good Life" is a good introduction to the philosophy if you want to get into it.

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based desert fathers

Indeed
Ever read any Evagrius Ponticus?

In my opinion, she looked much better before the boob job.

Now this is based.

yeah who ever stitched them back up did a terrible job

s0j

should have been a chink

I perfectly understand what you mean, but my disagreement stems from the idea that although 'human nature' deals with both the physical and the metaphysical, only the latter is of importance and the former not so much.
Also, you mention traits or feelings that have nothing to do with the philosopher:
>loneliness
one does not long for anything
>a sense of fulfillment
fulfillment regarding what? the world of the forms is governed only by balance/beauty/virtue/etc.
>extension of one's social network
completely irrelevant for the philosopher, and also sounds like something from 12 Rules for Life
I think that as a human, one first has to realize he perfection of the ideal plane and the inferior nature of our own. From that point, he must also realize that our physical world is merely an act of shadows, in which he must act only in accordance with the pure forms (i.e. act ethically).
As a personal remark, I will agree that on a good day, our world IS beautiful. It's beautiful to see fair couples with young children, adolescents going on dates, marriages of honest people. But on a worse day, you'll find no shortage of robbery, murder, rape, disease and so on.
Personally, I consider my life as already finished, although I'm quite young. I'll patiently wait for the end which will surely come in one form or another. After that, I'm sure that other needed steps will follow. If I had only one person to thank for dispersing the 'loneliness' you refer to, it would have to be Bach (one of my favorite pieces/interpretations: youtube.com/watch?v=GeQslrgraSY&t=53s )