Blog Post Three: The Optimist VS The Pessimist

Do you agree with James that healthy-minded people (who he claims lack empathy and tend to believe, rather childishly, that nothing in the world is ever as bad as it seems) are at a disadvantage in the world as compared to pessimists? To answer this question we must know what James considered to be healthy-minded people. According to James, healthy-minded people are the optimists of the world. He described such people as “vital, enthusiastic, and exuberant” (Section 15-4a). But is it right to assume that just because someone has this type of personality that they are naive about the world and unable to empathize with others in difficult situations.  In my opinion, these people have the advantage in that they actually have a great understanding of what is important in life and are the people you would want around in a difficult situation.

For example, say a family has been the victims of a house fire. Everything they own is now gone and they have nowhere to live. A pessimistic person would approach this as if the world was now over. They would focus on the negative aspects of the situation and of all that was lost. However, a healthy-minded person would help this family to focus on all the positives of the situation, not because they are naive about the world, but because they understand what is important in the world. They are able to empathize with the loss that this family has suffered but are also able to recognize that the fact that the family made it out unharmed is far more important than the materialistic things that were lost. They can help the family focus on this fact and help them to have a positive thought to give them some hope in what a pessimistic person would consider a hopeless situation.

I feel that this example is an easy way to see how the optimist actually holds the advantage over the pessimist in dealing with the problems of the world. It is far better to be able to focus on the positives in a negative situation than it is to focus on how horrible something is. In every situation, no matter how dire, there is always some small positive thing to focus on. Having the knowledge of what is truly important in life is what makes it so easy for the optimist to find these positives. The last thing this family needs at a time like this is someone who will only remind them of all that was lost. Instead they would be better off with someone who will help them to focus on the importance of the fact that the family made it out alive. Having a positive spin on the situation does not mean that this person is unsympathetic to the family’s loss, it just means they recognize that the safety of the family is more important than material objects. So, in the end I wouldn’t say an optimist is at a disadvantage compared to the pessimist or that they are naive about the world and therefore unable to empathize with others. The way I see it, a healthy-minded person always has hope and therefore, always holds the vantage point. 

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Blog Post Two: The Skeptics to the Utilitarian and Your Life

Are we as human beings always driven by psychological egoism? In order to answer this question we must first understand what psychological egoism is. Psychological egoism is a term used to describe the idea that people are only interested in what benefits them as an individual (Section 12-3b). This idea was brought forth by Jeremy Bentham, who thought this was the natural way for human beings to behave (Section 12-3b). Bentham thought that if a person’s selfishness was used as a positive force for the betterment of a society, a truly better world would be produced.

 I feel Bentham was a bit quick in assuming that people are always out to benefit themselves. I believe that there is more that goes in to a person’s decision making process than simply if it benefits them or not. I do not believe that people are so primal that we innately seek out only the things that please us and refrain from those things that cause us pain. In a general sense, we do consider our own happiness an ultimate goal in life; however, that is not to say that we consider nothing else but achieving our own happiness.

As human beings we are faced daily with decisions that affect our own welfare and often weigh the pros and cons of each answer to the situation before making the decision. For example, the following photo went viral during the debates of whether or not to raise the minimum wage to fifteen dollars per hour.

Assuming we were to take this photo at face value, if the minimum wage were raised to fifteen dollars per hour and assuming no raise occurred for people working as EMT’s, why would anyone want to work as an EMT? What benefit would it give them? Why work long, physically demanding hours for fifteen dollars an hour in an extremely risky job environment when you can make the same working in a fast food restaurant? If we are to believe that human beings are always out to benefit only themselves, in this scenario we would be left with no EMT’s. Thankfully however, people do not always consider only their own personal welfare but also the welfare of others, which is why we have people willing to risk their own safety and well-being in order to help others.

In this example, we can clearly see that people are not always driven by psychological egoism, as Bentham believed. Instead there is something else inside of most of us that drives us to take into consideration the needs of other people as well as our own. Without this additional driving force, we would live in a very different world. A world where everyone was only interested in doing whatever was most beneficial to them, no matter what the cost to others. Thankfully, this alternative driving force to psychological egoism balances us and prevents us from slipping into what would otherwise be a potentially cruel and dark world rather than the ideal world Bentham hoped to create. 

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Blog Post One: The Philosopher King to the Rationalist, and Your Life

In today’s day and age, is it possible to lead a productive life guided by the principles of Stoicism? “Faith in a rationally ordered universe and our intimate relation to the Logos are central aspects of Stoicism. If the universe is divinely ordered, then there is a plan. Things happen to us for a reason—a divinely ordained reason.” (Section 7-7). The idea of Stoicism is, in its simplest form, the idea that while we may not be able to control what happens, we do have some type of influence in the path our life takes. As Epictetus so eloquently said, “Henceforth, my mind is the material I have to work on, as the carpenter has his timber and the shoemaker his leather: my business is to deal with my impressions aright. My wretched body is nothing to me, its parts are nothing to me.” (Section 7-8). What I took him to mean here is that we can only control and have influence over the subjective world around us, not the objective.

With this basic explanation, one could reason that living a life according to the philosophy of Stoicism would be fairly easy for most. The textbook gives some really great examples on how Stoicism relates to our everyday lives. Another example of how Stoicism applies to everyday life can be found in the following scenario:

A patient is hospitalized with a serious infection during the time frame of his family reunion. The patient has no choice in whether or not he came down with the infection. The fact of the matter is he got it. He does however have influence on how he perceives his hospital stay and how he treats the people around him. This patient, in line with the Stoicism philosophy, believes that there is a reason behind him coming down with this infection, even though he may not understand what that reasoning is. He would also choose to have a positive outlook on his hospital stay in order to make his stay as pleasant as possible and reduce feelings of anxiety, stress or frustration over his situation.

 In this example it is easy to see how the Stoic approach can be applied to everyday life. The patient realizes he has no control over his situation, believing that he was meant to be in the hospital rather than at his family reunion. After relinquishing control, the patient realizes he has the power to make his situation a pleasant one or an unhappy one by simply controlling his outlook and feelings about the situation. By choosing to have a positive outlook about getting better, the patient was able to reduce the stress, anxiety and fear that are commonly associated with hospital stays, thereby making his experience pleasurable.

In the end, I feel it is possible to approach life with the mindset of a Stoic. This approach at life would help us to live happier lives without as much stress and resentment over things that are out of our control. In the words of Epictetus, “Remember that thou art an actor in a play, of such a kind as the author may choose: if short, a short one; if long, a long one: if he wishes you to act the part of a poor man, see that you act the part naturally: if the part of a lame man, of a magistrate, of a private person (do the same). For this is your duty, to act well the part that was given to you; but to select the part belongs to another.” (Section 7-7).

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