November Update

I see myself as a transmitter of enlightened philosophy in this project: with philosophies as inputs and digestible advice, presentations, and a website as my output. The goal of my work at this stage is to broaden my knowledge on various perspectives of philosophy and to collect sagacious quotes representative of various philosophies.

To broadly explore philosophies of the world (western and eastern, ancient and modern), I am reading this funky yet encompassing book. My friend gifted this to me as my birthday present. It amounts to an encyclopedia that introduces me to various philosophies. I have found this informative and interesting to read.

At the same time, I have been reading about Epicureanism and Stoicism to root myself into more specific sects, works, and arguments of philosophy. The Epicurean work I have been reading is The Nature of Things by Lucretius, written in the first century BC. Epicureanism emphasizes moderate hedonism, equivalent to a “middle way” between hedonism and stoicism. I was particularly drawn to this philosophy as it was founded during another pandemic--the Athenian Plague.

The Athenian Plague (430 BC-426 BC)

I am continuing to read this work with Ivyann and discuss our thoughts on the book and beyond biweekly. Book III of The Nature of Things provides us with a view of death. It argues that the mind and body are two separates. When dead, the atoms that compose the body would simply rearrange themselves to form new life or matter, while only our mind is permanently erased from existence, in a void. To me, death is terrifying because of the eternal inactivity it brings. However, thinking that my body would go on to exist and live for eternity gives me some solace. I further realized that, if I believe in Lucretius’s argument, I am myself composed of the atoms of the dead--the deceased live on in the form of me.

Lucretius also argued that the attempt to avoid death is pointless and that death must be accepted. This belief is shared in stoicism and Marcus Aurelius’s Meditation, another book I have just finished reading. The Latin phrase “Memento Mori” translates to “remember that you must die”.

Still-Life with a Skull by Philippe de Champagne (c. 1671)

The lily is beautiful, but once cut from the root, it does not survive long. Eventually, the pulchritude will be reduced to a wilted heap. The head skull can be seen as death and decay itself. The hourglass signals that time is passing rapidly and that we are a second closer to death. I struggled to accept this fate. Yet, even when I recognize this, I feel so much calmer and peaceful when examining the concept of my death already. As a solace on death, Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditation,

For the present is equal for all, and what is passing is therefore equal… For a man could lose neither past nor future, how can one rob him of what he has not got?... The longest-lived and the soonest to die have an equal loss; for it is the present alone of which either will be deprived since this is all he has and a man does not lose what he has not got.

He argues that we only have the present and that the future is never rightfully granted to us. This view, to me, was unheard of and sharply contradicts what people in modern society are used to think. Indeed, when our very economy can be measured in opportunity costs, we are so drawn into the meticulous calculations of time and experience we could have had and spent. It, therefore, helped me to find calm and focus on the experience I am leading now.

The next steps of my projects are

• To craft a survey available to Emma communities (students, faculties, and staff) to identify the pandemic-related challenges folks have been facing. It will allow me to target my efforts and organize my outputs in the most helpful fashion.

• To help promote my survey, I wish to give a Signature Spotlight or an Inspiration Speech during Morning Reports. I will share the origin of my project, what I hope to achieve, and how people can help me help them.

Image Citation

“The Plague of Athens. Line Engraving by J. Fittler after M. Sweerts.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_plague_of_Athens._Line_engraving_by_J._Fittler_after_M._Wellcome_L0004078.jpg. Accessed 29 Nov. 2020. ‌

Champaigne, Philippe de. “English: Still-Life with a Skull, Vanitas Painting.” Wikimedia Commons, 1671. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StillLifeWithASkull.jpg.