Thesis advisor: Sarah Byers / In this thesis, I argue that the Stoic value theory and understanding of emotion is a theoretical abstraction of human agency over values and emotions that has limited pertinence to empirical human life. Towards this effort, I discuss the Stoic ethical naturalism that relies on oikeiôsis to illustrate their notion of eudaimonia. Moreover, I discuss Stoic epistemology and action theory to illustrate how the Stoics can place well-being completely within human agency. Drawing on their understanding of both human nature and agency, the Stoics derive a value framework and corresponding understanding of emotions that proposes a radical detachment and devaluation from all that lies beyond the moral character. However, I show through empirical evidence and logical reasoning how human agency is restricted and therein, disallows for the proposed radical detachment. Nonetheless, their philosophy on ethics can still be applied in a limited capacity to achieve therapeutic benefit and value. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Morrissey School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy. / Discipline: Departmental Honors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_110010 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Heller, Sean |
| Publisher | Boston College |
| Source Sets | Boston College |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, thesis |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. |
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