21 sats \ 5 replies \ @Roll 13 Feb \ on: Stoic Book Club: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius #1 - Debts and Lessons BooksAndArticles
Just some thoughts :
When you mention:
"I it's not ok for a corrupt politician to lie, steal and take advantage of others because the cosmic order has granted them that position. It's also not ok for the USA as a "world leader" to war, meddle and violate the sovereignty of other countries because of it's position. "
What is ok and not ok ?
if you create a division , this could be an issue... Cause may be we are a whole...
And may be it s has to be that way and no
other way in order to transcent or i do not know...?
When you mention:
"because the cosmic order has granted them that position"
How can you be so sure ?
I'm saying those things to serve as examples of people or organizations using their "place" in society to justify treating others around them negatively. Here is a quote from the introduction of the book:
Our duty to act justly does not mean that we must treat others as our equals; it means that we must treat them as they deserve. And their deserts are determined in part by their position in the hierarchy.
What I'm saying is that this view is easy and possibly dangerous to misinterpret. You could see it used for people to justify slavery or racism not so long ago. And... the Greeks had slaves and the treatment of them is mentioned in the text. If one uses the existing social or cultural hierarchy to justify evil actions, I believe that is a violation of natural law, the real logos, and they are headed for a fall.
This sort of thinking is probably subconsciously driving a lot of the abuses of power we see all around us. But I think working through this stuff is something humanity is working on collectively over a long period of time and with a lot of suffering in the lesson.
Hope this helps clarify my position! Thanks for contributing.
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Some thoughts:
"If one uses the existing social or cultural hierarchy to justify evil actions, I believe that is a violation of natural law, the real logos, and they are headed for a fall."
What is good or bad ? What is angel or devil ?
May be, if we divide things, we miss something ? we close doors?
"Natural law"
What is the natural law ?
"But I think working through this stuff is something humanity is working on collectively over a long period of time and with a lot of suffering in the lesson."
What is suffering ? What is good things ?
May be, we have to go through though moments to enable, transform, transcent, to improve our being.... ?
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Those are the tough questions the philosophers were wrestling with :)
Will you be reading the text with us in order to explore them further? There is a free copy online here:
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i will do my best :) but i m not sur i m the appropriate person (cause of the language and not sur i ve the ability to talk about it...)
Also if, i need to look for a copy in my own language to limit misunderstanding and to limit misunderstanding between your intepretation and the book ;)
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I live in a country where I'm not very good with the language yet, so I understand the difficulty. You're of course welcome, and encouraged, to participate however feels good for you.
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