ASF 3 Unit II: Lesson 6 on Stoic Apatheia PDF

ASF 3 Unit II: Lesson 6 Stoic Apatheia Learning Outcomes By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to: Identify the Stoic Apatheia from the Greek Philosopher Epictetus and to the Latin Philosopher Seneca. Relate Stoic Apatheia to the present and cultural senses and note whether the...

ASF 3 Unit II: Lesson 6 Stoic Apatheia Learning Outcomes By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to: Identify the Stoic Apatheia from the Greek Philosopher Epictetus and to the Latin Philosopher Seneca. Relate Stoic Apatheia to the present and cultural senses and note whether these apply to themselves as well. Compose a prayer to God that seeks the meaning and true purpose of their lives. Graded Sharing Activity: Song Analysis: “Where is the Love” by Black Eyed Peas Sharing by Group Guide Questions: 1. What is the song about? 2. What struck you from the lyrics of the song? 3. How significant is the song in our Christian life? Qs: (1) What is the song about? (2) What strikes you in the lyrics? (3) How significant is the song to our Christian life? Source: Alcain and Navares (2022-2023) Module 4 Activity 2A The Role of Grace in Augustinian Ethics How do we exercise freedom while surrendering to God? For Augustinian Ethics, Grace is a key concept. Grace heals our wills so that we learn to love the good. Grace also gives us the power to do the good. “The therapeutic nature of grace heals the will through the Holy Spirit by illuminating the soul with the love of God” (Holzen 2000). Epictetus on Apatheia Source: Academy of Ideas, “Introduction to Stoicism,” https://youtu.be/o0MzQZ_eFEY. Whenever you see someone holding political power, set against it the fact that you yourself have no need of political power. Whenever you see someone wealthy, observe what you have instead of that. For if you have nothing in its place, you are in a miserable state; but if you have the absence of the need to have wealth, realize that you have something greater and much more valuable. One man has a beautiful wife, you have the absence of longing for a beautiful wife. Do you think these are little things? How much would these very people—the wealthy, the powerful, the ones who live with beautiful women—pay for the ability to look down on wealth and power and those very women whom they adore and get? On Apatheia Source: Academy of Ideas, “Introduction to Stoicism,” https://youtu.be/o0MzQZ_eFEY. Source: Everyday Stoic, “Strengthen your Mind like a Stoic – Apatheia,” https://youtu.be/f6Pn3gEf0fs. The stoics enjoyed health, wealth, fame, good food, and sexual gratification when these could be found. However, the stoics’ happiness did not depend on having these things. Having this attitude meant that Stoics could enjoy these things without worrying about losing them. Seneca: “It is not within man’s power to have what he wants. But he does have the power to enjoy the good things that do come his way.” Apatheia is when a person is free in terms of the negative passions. Stoics cultivated apatheia in order to obtain a sense of tranquility towards the caprices of living. Augustine focused on the intention rather than the individual’s attitude towards life. The intention, for Augustine, is what he called “the character of a man’s will”: “If the will is wrongly directed, the emotions will be wrong; if the will is right, the emotions will be not only blameless but praiseworthy. The will is engaged in all of them; in fact, they are all essentially acts of will” (The City of God 14.6). “[T]he citizens of the Holy City of God as they live by God’s standards in the pilgrimage of this present life, feel fear and desire, pain and gladness in conformity with the Holy Scriptures and sound doctrine; and because their love is right, all these feelings are right in them” (The City of God 14.9). For a Christian, the aim is not Eudaemonia. Our aim is to love and serve God. From the 2nd Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy: “So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.” Painting by Rambrandt, “St. Paul in Prison,”(1627), Useum. Retrieved from: https://useum.org/artwork/St-Paul-in-Prison- Rembrandt-1627. The Intention of the Will matters to Augustine Because we BECOME whatever is the OBJECT of our love. Cf. ASF 3 Module 4 Activity 2A.2 Art by: Yongsung Kim, “Calming Embrace.” Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/Yongsung-Kim- Painting-Embracing- HavenLight/dp/B07L3N5H1B?th=1. Go and Sin no More The woman caught in adultery receives the mercy of Christ and the grace to live a pure life. Source: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Go and Sin no More,” (August 31, 2012). Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/w5GXnM_TxSQ. By My Side From the musical, Godspell. MV by John Rand. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/3UW 6Yc6iTKQ. Module 4