I have decided that I will become a stoic. I have reviewed many texts regarding the two schools I was deciding between, and I have come to the conclusion that between the stoic and epicurean philosophical schools, that the stoics make more sense in providing a realistic and consistent philosophy to live by. I choose the stoic life over the epicurean because epicurean philosophy falls short in giving satisfactory answers in their discussions of how to handle death, what the goal of life is, and how to live life.
One of the biggest fears for many people to overcome is the fear of death. Epicureans overcome this fear by stipulating that since there will be no sense experience, there is nothing to worry about. This is because there is no consciousness with which to ruminate on the state of being dead, and presumably also
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Even before the war, he “thought he ought to take a course directly opposed to the life and practices of the time, feeling that these were bad and in need of great change.” (Plutarch, Life of Cato the Younger) This quote shows the unaffected nature of a stoic doing what he knows to be right, in spite of public thought or criticism. Often, one must work hard to be able to make the right decision or do the right thing in the face of opposition, because it will not be easy, and stoicism can help with this. From what Plutarch says, we can see that Cato was undoubtedly a good man, but with the way his life ended, I cannot say that he was a happy man. However, a life does not need to be happy to have value (though it surely is much more painful if it is not happy). Whether he was given to stoicism because of his character or his character was a result of his stoicism, his life was commendable. As a representative of stoicism, he is a shining