Philosophical+Solutions+to+Stressors

Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances. //Mahatma Gandhi //

In the survey given in class of what issues are most stressful, the most cited were depression, violence, anger, and the lack of money or power.

After each of these issues below, a philosophical approach is suggested based on the philosophies we studied in the course. Note that these are thumbnail responses and not detailed ones.

//One’s own sadness or despondency: //  Buddha and others said, "know yourself." There is a part of you that is always even-tempered. Find it, shift to it when you get upset. Spinoza emphasized that one’s own personal problems are not important. They are only there to show you what you need to resolve so that you can turn your attention to other issues.

//Other people’s sadness or despondency: // <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Compassion heals all (Christianity & Buddhism). <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Put yourself in their shoes, to increase your own understanding.

//<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Disturbed by violence: // <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Take a stand (Sartre, Camus, Dr. King, Desmond Tutu). <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Work against violence. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Let the reduction of violence begin with you. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Start with forgiveness, which allows you to understand <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">why someone may be acting out through violence. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Then you can figure out how to change the attitudes and conditions <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">that produced their violence.

//<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Anger management: // <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Socrates: anger is a poison that harms the person holding it <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">more than the person it’s directed at.

//<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Money issues: // <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Voltaire: provide benefits to the people and you’ll always have plenty.

//<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Powerlessness: // <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Buddha: eliminate cravings, and stick only to desires that support <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">your enlightenment.

//<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">All causes of stress: applying the Philosophy of Caring // <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Perhaps the best overall philosophy to become free of stress is the Philosophy of Caring as expressed by Nel Noddings and Carol Gilligan <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">(see Feminist Thought tab, the PowerPoints on feminist thought, and pages 431-432 in the textbook). <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">When you care about others, you have to start by caring about yourself, <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">and this double arrow of awareness -- one inward, one outward -- <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">leaves little room for worry and anger. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">This philosophy emphasizes forgiveness, and therefore eliminates <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Vengeance, or "getting back at people" as motivations.

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">By taking baby steps, one comes to see that all bad behavior, <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">including one's own, can be understood, if not justified, <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">and that nothing is unforgivable, because vengeance harms <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">the seeker of revenge much more than its target. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Harboring resentments causes severe stress, anger, <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">worry, powerlessness, despondence and even money issues. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Whole nations have fallen prey to corruption through <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">seeking vengeance on other nations. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Let it end with you!