With the recent political unrest in the Middle East and with the media’s attempts to demonise supposed tyrannical leaders in the shape of Hosni Mubarak (Egypt), Muammar Gaddafi (Libya) and Bashar al-Assad (Syria), one cannot fail to notice that the general populace seems to be constantly bombarded with propaganda, as American, British, French and Israeli air power continue to drop their murderous payloads on innocent human beings of Arabic descent.

However, this media attention (euphemism for propaganda) that is presently focused on Arabic countries can be said to serve a purpose of giving consent for Western Governments (mainly US, UK, France) to satisfy their pretext to go to war so to save the people from these most terrible of men.

Could it be true that we are being told lies by a media which are complicit with government foreign policy of securing precious and profitable resources (obviously oil) at the expense of the very people they swear to protect?

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“Socrates spent a lifetime analyzing ethical issues, and the “Euthyphro” finds him outside the court-house, still debating the nature of piety with an arrogant acquaintance. “The Apology” is both a robust rebuttal to the charges of impiety and corrupting young minds and a definitive defence of the philosopher’s life. Later, condemned and imprisoned in the “Crito”, Socrates counters the arguments of friends urging him to escape. And finally, in the “Phaedo”, Plato shows him calmly confident in the face of death, skilfully arguing the case for the immortality of the soul.”

~ Amazon.com

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Are we all too quick to worship and follow men who we have labeled as great?

Why is it such a big surprise to us when men, who are widely regarded as great, turn out to be a hypocrite, charlatan, or have so many skeletons in the closet you can hear them rattling a mile away? Why are we so shocked? Aren’t they human too despite the flattering opinions we wish to lavish on these godlike figures?

Admittedly, we can all sometimes become mesmerised and then attached to these shining examples of humanity, which can inadvertently make us forget about our own important role to play in life.

These legendary men, who in most cases take the moral high ground, can sometimes be found guilty of not practicing what they preach.

In a series of six posts, I will try to pull down the veil of perfection that protects 6 great thinkers in history, as I reveal their own, and perhaps unflattering, mortal afflictions.
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The Thinker contemplates life's pertinent questions

Let me now introduce you to the first of six posts featuring a series of documentaries written and presented by popular British philosopher Alain de Botton.

This 6 part series is an entertaining, practical and psychobabble-free self-help course for the philosophically minded.

Here, de Botton, brings us six thinkers who have influenced history, and their ideas about the pursuit of the happy life.  Here we have then:

• Socrates
• Epicurus
• Seneca
• Michel de Montaigne
• Arthur Schopenhauer
• Friedrich Nietzsche

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A seated Socrates converses his philosophy to a Muse

In the post ‘Radical Thinking: What You Can Learn From the Timeless Philosophy of Socrates’ written by Tejvan Pettinger, we are provided with some wise advice on how we can use the most important components of the philosophy of Socrates, and apply his principles to positive affect in our daily lives.

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The Battle between Reason and Passion

The Rafael painting (on the left) of Greek philosophers Plato (pointing up towards the sky) and his pupil, Aristotle (palm facing down towards the ground) seemingly depicts them debating what should govern Man’s affairs: either Plato’s heavenly passion of the Gods, or Aristotle’s earthly reason of science.

This battle of wise minds serves as an example that begins this post with an apparent conflict between reason and passion, as I ask the question to myself as to which of the two should be used towards benefiting us personally and society as a whole?

Philosophy, and Stoicism in particular, can be accused of being, at most part, emotionally cold and distant because of it’s aim for us to invoke the use of reason to override all human emotions.  The elements of passion and reason have been opposing forces ever since the very beginnings of philosophy.

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