Secrets of Concepts — Sense and Essence of Life and Looking for the Ways of its Optimization

Book review: Lucius Annaeus Seneca about life philosophy: thoughts, aphorisms / Lucius Annaeus Seneca: introductory article. Compilation of the text: N. V. Diachenko. — Kharkiv: Publisher — Aleksandr Savchuk, 2021. — 176 pp.

Survive, Revive, Thrive: Chapter 8: Trade Winds

Aging is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength. - Betty Friedan, American feminist, 1921-2006 (Cofounder of the National Organization for Women) Where Are We Going? If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Roman statesman, 4 BC-65 AD The most challenging aspect of creating a monthly column is to try to balance mission (i.e., long-term strategy), contemporary events (i.e., things happening now), and the urgent (i.e., news you need to know). This column will have a bit of all three. I chose “trade winds” as the theme for this article. As every sailor knows, you must tack to where the wind is, not where you want it to be. I know that every student and Young Professional is waiting for the wind to align with their path. Frankly, I cannot promise that will happen anytime soon, but I can promise it will happen. To borrow a phrase, “patience or pivot” is on everyone’s mind right now. What I would point out is that we have already done both; we have been patient and we have pivoted. I believe that our pivot has been to see the strength and missions of our industry as never before. This is not just in terms of the financial recovery that will significantly enhance activity across all sectors of our industry, but also the impact of having secure and cost-effective energy to power that economy and to provide so many direct benefits to society. My goal as SPE President is to ensure that every initiative that can be considered is considered, that every member feels valued, that their voice is heard, and most of all, that we collectively and proactively work to build the future of our industry. As an adolescent, a family member once told me that “sentimentality is the worst investment advisor.” Obviously, this advice was given as I was about to invest in something stupid and my family member used it as a moment to educate me. I confess it took a while to sink in, but it is true. We must be realistic about the value generated by our investments in life (e.g., time, education, personal relationships, and of course, money). SPE must make investments to remain relevant, and frankly, I need your support to ensure those investments are both wise and appropriate.

El influjo de Séneca en el estilo de escritura de Montaigne

This work presents a comparison between the writing styles of Lucius Annaeus Seneca and Michel de Montaigne. Montaigne is influenced by the writing style of the Moral Epistles, which will be a fundamental source for the development of his Essays. From Seneca, Montaigne carries out a poetics based on the honesty; this is related with a textual construction of the subject. Following Foucault, the development of the subject by this narrative style is analyzed. This explains the origin of a contemporary genre such as the Literature of the Self. In this line, one ends up analyzing the influence of senecan style, through Montaigne, in some of the most relevant authors of the autobiographical genres.

The Death Penalty, the “Marriage Penalty” and Some Remarks on the Utility of Senecan Research in the Study of Roman Law

The problem in the 5th controversia from the work of Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Elder, entitled Oratorum et rhetorum sententiae divisiones colores, is presented as follows: one man seduced two women during the same night. According to the law, which in the literature is referred to as lex raptarum, a woman who was kidnapped may choose between the death penalty for the ravisher or marrying him, but without giving him a dowry. Here, two women were granted the right of option and one of them demanded the death of the man, but the other wanted to marry him. The declaimers were trying to find an answer to the question: which solution is worthier to prevail? Since, in fact, the main problem raised in the controversia is the interpretation of law, it constituted quite a significant intellectual challenge. The declaimers employed very impressive legal reasoning techniques. This controversia constitutes then not only an interesting starting point to conduct the research on the borderline of law and declamation, but also might be a strong argument that the law and rhetoric, at least in some aspects, could have been complementary to each other.

Kebahagiaan dan Kebaikan-Kebaikan Eksternal: Sebuah Perbandingan antara Stoa dan Kristen

Di dalam artikel ini, penulis akan berargumentasi bahwa pandangan Kristen dan Stoa tentang kebahagiaan memiliki kesamaan signifikan yang membedakannya dengan pandangan popular modern tentang kebahagiaan Sejalan dengan Stoisisme, kekristenan lebih menekankan sisi obyektif dari kebahagiaan sebagai sesuatu yang jauh dari sekadar feeling good namun lebih terkait dengan karakter manusia. Bagi keduanya, kebahagiaan lebih merupakan kondisi etis daripada psikologis manusia. Hal ini secara jelas bertentangan dengan konotasi modern dari kata kebahagiaan yang menekankan sisi subyektif psikologis seperti perasaan senang atau puas dari manusia. Di sisi lain, penulis akan berargumentasi bahwa prasuposisi utama yang menopang konsep kebahagiaan Stoisisme bertentangan dengan wawasan dunia Kristen. Sebagai akibatnya, perilaku dan emosi yang diidolakan oleh Stoisisme menjadi bertentangan dengan Alkitab, secara khusus sebagaimana diajarkan dan dihidupi oleh Tuhan Yesus saat di bumi. Artikel ini akan dimulai dengan deskripsi pandangan Stoa tentang kebahagiaan dan peran dari kebaikan-kebaikan eksternal di dalamnya. Tanpa meninggalkan yang lain, maka tokoh Stoa yang lebih banyak dirujuk dalam tulisan ini adalah Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD) yang hidup sezaman dengan Yesus. Ajaran Seneca sendiri telah dihargai oleh tokoh-tokoh Kristen mula-mula seperti Tertulianus, Jerome dan Agustinus. Selanjutnya, perspektif Stoisisme tersebut akan dibandingkan dengan kekristenan, terutama Sabda Bahagia Yesus dalam Kotbah di Bukit (Matius 5) yang memuat konsep kebahagiaan (makarisme) Kristen. Akhirnya, penulis akan memberikan sebuah analisa persamaan dan perbedaan dari kedua pandangan di atas sambil menunjukkan implikasinya bagi spiritualitas Kristen. Mari kita mulai dengan pandangan Stoisisme tentang kebahagiaan.

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus (4/1 BC–AD 65)

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Roman statesman and Stoic philosopher, is the earliest Stoic of whose writings any have survived intact. Seneca wrote, in Latin, tragedies and a wide range of philosophical works. His philosophical and literary work was carried out in the intervals of an active political career. He is most important for his ethics and psychology, although natural philosophy was not neglected. Unlike many Stoics he showed little interest in logic or dialectic. His most influential work was on the psychology of the passions, the nature of the human will and techniques of moral education; he also wrote extensively on social and political issues from a distinctively Stoic perspective.