After reading the assigned chapters in the book and learning about the different people and their views on life, I have come to a conclusion as to which ideas/theories most grabbed my attention. Stoicism Stoicism was founded by Zeno of Citium. A well known teacher of Stoicism was Epictetus. The main principle of Stoicism is to always have be self-disciplined no matter what the situation is. Stoics never let their emotions get the best of them. Stoics lead a very simple life. They also speak as minimal as possible. The followers of stoicism can nourish themselves, however, they do no eat because they believe that by starving, they prepare themselves for situations of famine if it were to ever come. Preparing to be poor is also a key element …show more content…
A known teacher of Hedonism was Epicurus. According to the book, Epicurus was a student of Socrates. His teachings are based off of the Cyrenaic belief. Epicurus supported the principle that “pleasure is the supreme good.” Both Hedonists and Cyrenaics believe that humans, naturally seek what will bring them pleasure and avoid what will bring them pain. One major point that Epicurus(Hedonism) makes is that the the extent of the pleasure is more important than the magnitude of the pleasure. In other words, quantity is greater than quality, in Epicurus eyes. I particularly like the point the book made the pain to obtain the intense pleasures such as wealth and fame is much worse that than pain to have other, more minor pleasures…which you can have more of. It’s what makes fame and fortune more of a dream than a …show more content…
Christians study the bible and believe in the son of god. They also believe that if you are a good person while you live you will be accepted into heaven but if you are not then you go to hell. The reading states that humans have a hard time avoiding evil and straying away from it and they seek the good instead. Saint Augustine takes a person’s moral responsibility and the presence of evil in the world around them and creates a philosophical idea. This idea is that on Judgement day, if you are good then you are to become a citizen of the City of God, while those who choose evil are citizens of the City of Man. I believe that these names where chosen because God is know as a symbol or greatness and good, while man is not perfect and does its best to do good but on occasion, does some evil. The book says that to live in the City of God you must follow the spirit as well as the letter of the teacher of Jesus (perhaps the Bible). To end up in the City of Man, you are one who pursues pleasures of the body or accept heretical beliefs. On earth, it is an unfortunate truth that those who strive to do good may end up getting punished and live dreadfully, while those who are evil sometimes get rewarded for being