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https://doi.org/10.22364/ilt.24.12 | 158-170 | PDF

Gita Leitlande
Ph. D., Latvijas Nacionālās aizsardzības akadēmijas Drošības un stratēģiskās pētniecības centra pētniece
 

Stoiķu mācība par emocijām: vai to var interpretēt šodien konceptuāli pieņemami?

Atslēgvārdi: stoicisms, mūsdienu stoicisms, emocijas, ideāls stoiķis, emociju klasifikācija
 

The Stoic Teaching on Emotions: Can It Be Interpreted in a Way That Is Conceptually Acceptable Today?

Keywords: Stoicism, contemporary Stoicism, emotions, the ideal Stoic, the classification of emotions.

The Stoic teaching on emotions is seemingly one of the best-known aspects of Stoicism to the general public. At the same time, it is one of Stoicism’s most significant obstacles to being seen as a relevant and applicable philosophy for life in the 21^st century. This is because the popular view of the Stoic teaching on emotions holds that a Stoic is an emotionless and indifferent person who successfully represses her emotions. Moreover, whatever happens, a Stoic is as unfeeling as a statue. This view of emotions in Stoicism is, of course, unattractive and inconsistent with modern psychology. However, both the heritage of the ancient Stoics and the later scholars of Stoicism can substantiate that these beliefs, although derived from Stoicism, are only a superficial and one might even say ‒ caricatured ‒ reading of the teaching. The question raised in this article is whether Stoic teaching on emotions can be interpreted in a way that is acceptable today. This question involves a linkage with the applicability of Stoicism today: is Stoicism as a philosophy for life still relevant and usable, or has it inevitably lost its relevance and viability, at least in this respect? In order to arrive at the answers to these questions, the author analyses the most critical tenets of Stoic philosophy’s teaching on emotions: how emotions are formed, the classification of emotions, and the role of emotions in the life of a Stoic, as well as the Stoic ideal regarding emotions. The author concludes that Stoic teaching on emotions, when delved into, is valid and defensible even today, which is confirmed by the current research in psychology (as far as psychology is concerned). This also permits to retain the broader relevance of Stoic philosophy, which is not discredited by a fundamentally mistaken understanding of human emotions.

Uz zināmā un nezināmā robežas. Sast., zin. red. I. Kivle, R. Bičevskis. Rīga: LU Akadēmiskais apgāds, 2024. 184. lpp.