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Aurelius On Reason And Free Will Analysis

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Aurelius on Reason & Free Will
The great Roman Emperor and Stoic Philosopher Marcus Aurelius when discussing the complexities of navigating life once said, “The universe is change: life is judgement” (Meditations, 38). I think what Aurelius was trying to convey in saying this, is that we all grapple with a change in our lives. It is because change is so constant and often ambiguous, we must be able to use reason to keep perspective in our lives. In short Aurelius is telling us, that when navigating life one must apply reason to their situation otherwise they make themselves victim to emotion and circumstance.
No one knows what is coming next and even the most carefully laid plans are often not enough to stave off the constant flux of life; …show more content…
We must try to keep such events in perspective and not allow our emotions to become the sole navigator of our lives. Opinion is subject to the sway of emotions, which means that those who allow themselves to be purely ruled by emotion can often times have views and perspectives that are out of touch with reality. Those who do not try to remain objective shut their eyes to reality and will remain powerless to ever change their circumstances. As Marcus tells us, “One who does not recognize the contents of the universe is a stranger in it, no less a stranger is the one who fails to recognize what happens in it… blind if he shuts the eye of his mind” (Meditations, …show more content…
It is the one who shuts their eyes to reason that believes that change in the universe is arbitrary and we are victims to it.
Are you angry with the man who smells like a goat, or the one with foul breath? What will you have him do? That’s the way his mouth is, that’s the way his armpits are, so it is inevitable that he should give out odor to match. ‘But the man is endowed with reason’, you say, ‘and if he puts his mind to it he can work out why he causes offence.’ Well, good for you! So you too are no less endowed with reason: bring your rationality, then to bear on his rationality show him, tell him. If he listens, you will cure him, and no need for anger (Meditations, 51).
Through Aurelius’ anecdote we can gain insight to what is inherent to all of us. Though we are subject to causal forces and the constant change of the world around us, we too are a causal force that can reason and make changes upon our world through its

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