general

definition of ataraxia

Peace of mind due to the absence of pain and fear

In the field of Philosophy, in which it is mostly used, it is said that ataraxia is the tranquility of mind, or failing that, the imperturbability of spirit of someone as a result of the absence of pain and fear.

Epicureanism, Stoicism and Skepticism, main philosophical doctrines that spread it

We must say that this unique philosophical concept is the result of the philosophical activity of organizations such as Epicureanism and of movements and philosophical currents such as Stoicism and Skepticism, respectively.

And especially the organization of Epicureanism, whose purpose was precisely the achievement of a happy existence through the intelligent consequence of pleasures, is one of those that made the most effort in the development and expansion of the concept at hand.

According to the Epicureans, so called because they are the ones who faithfully follow the proposals of the renowned Athenian philosopher Epicurus of Samos, founder of Epicureanism , and also for the followers of other philosophical currents such as the stoics and the skeptics, ataraxia is that disposition of the mind thanks to which people achieve the emotional balance so longed for, in as much, it supposes a general state of global well-being, that is, not only that tranquility and imperturbability will reach the spirit, but also the soul, the feelings right now.

As it reads, it sounds attractive and surely almost all of us want to achieve this well-being that ataraxia provides us, but how to do it not? ...

How to achieve ataraxia according to each school?

Decreased intensity of passions and desires to strengthen the soul, for Epicureans

According to what these Greek philosophers considered, ataraxia consists in the decrease in the intensity of passions and desires while the one who gains ground will be the strength of the soul over adversity, situation that will finally culminate in happiness, which according to the three philosophical currents mentioned above, is the most precious end to be achievedHowever, we must emphasize that each one has its own different proposal to achieve it, that is, for the three “schools” ataraxia is the state that any individual must try to achieve, however, each one has their own proposal.

According to the teachings left by Epicurus, there are two kinds of desires, the natural and necessary, which are mostly related to survival, and on the other hand, the unnecessary natural ones, which come from culture and politics, that is, of the social life that a person carries out. According to Epicurus firmly maintained the satisfaction of all desires is what will finally bring happiness to the person, however, this philosopher of important presence during the fourth century BC. He believed that there are some desires that are unfortunately vain and that, on the contrary, will cause great pain that will overshadow that initial pleasure and will obviously take us away from ataraxia. So and taking this question into account, Epicurus maintained and promoted that Philosophy was the only way and the only way to achieve ataraxia.

The path proposed by the Stoics

While the Stoics propose another path, which is that of virtue. According to these, it consists of adapting one's desires to the rationality of nature, learning to discern what things depend on us and which ones do not, and move away from the latter, which are ultimately the ones that unsettle the soul and therefore divert us from the ataraxia.

The skeptical proposal

And on the side of skeptical, whose main guiding idea is that there is no absolute truth, but rather everything depends on man and his senses and that it will be starting from doubt, doubting everything, that you will reach authentic happiness and a state of ataraxia.

Three different ways of accessing the same state, however, the most sensible and logical thing is that each one tries with which alternative feels better or which one considers more appropriate according to their way of being.

The gaze of Buddhism

Meanwhile, the most famous oriental philosophy, Buddhism, also has a look at ataraxia. For this millenary doctrine created by Buddha back in the 6th century BC. He also believes that desires are responsible for the pain of the soul and then his proposal is to redeem the pain by extinguishing any disturbing desire or emotion. Thus we will arrive at nirvana, which is the total liberation and the state of maximum well-being that the human being can achieve in his life.

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