ataraxia (from Gr. a (not) and taraktos (disturbed) refers to unperturbedness, freedom from emotional and intellectual disturbance, tranquility of soul. Sextus Empiricus writes: “Scepticism has its arche, its inception and cause in the hope of attaining ataraxia, mental tranquillity.” The goal is not truth, but eudaimonia (contentment). The central means to ataraxia is the suspension (epoche) of beliefs. Not all beliefs, but only those that give rise to contention and strife.
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We've learned lots of terms from the Gita: dharma, action/non-action, action as yajna, discipline, bhakti, infinite spirit. Then, from Stoic philosophy, ataraxia, aretê, etc. What are your thougts?
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Ataraxia. This term, like many other terms presented thus far, seems to tie in with something more to the meaning of our lives, or at least, presents an ideal way just to simply live for the sake of living. Ataraxia. To be “free” from all of life’s conflicts, which stem from within ourselves, leaves me skeptic to believe one can be detached, balanced and tranquil for a prolonged state of time if one knows all the intricacies the world has to offer. The world is full of ongoing conflict as is the human mind. And even though I can visualize such a being, as I learned from PHI2010, being conceivable doesn’t equal to being possible. Yet even though I see ataraxia as impossible, something close to such a state is of course possible and certainly worth attaining - it just can’t last without pause.
As I keep reading the Gita I found out about the different kinds of meditations, how in order to renounce to everything you cant just stop doing them. You have to be disciplined. And it could be in anything; breathing, eating, knowledge, posture, just about anything your interested in and how you want to approach that renunciation in order to find yourself. It also said that everything we do should be done as it was a sacred ritual to the divine and as we explored this further in class the divine ultimately is yourself. So it makes perfect sense. Everything you do give it your best, because at the end you’re the only one benefiting from it. But don’t do as a selfish act either.
Adam, saying that ataraxia is impossible may be a bit pessimistic. In fact it happens all the time. Take the drug user who is constantly fighting his addiction. One day he finally finds a volition to end his habit. What’s that if not a thought process where one finally comes to terms with his own untrained –or ill trained- desires? I surmise that after that moment, the addict will have to find a way to conquer his “old” desire in a way that it doesn’t perturb his inner peace no more. Then, he has achieved some kind of ataraxia.
Ataraxia. Mental tranquility. Peace of mind. Whatever we may call it, it's out there, or inside of us. I feel that the important thing, however, is that we could truly live in a state of ataraxia. In writing this post, I'm trying to avoid making what may be taken to be a pompous statement, but yet I can't seem to escape its truth.
Well…. I feel like I've found ataraxia. By no means am I trying to say that I've got it all figured out. To the contrary, questions and doubts seem to be an inescapable reality in my mind. But yet I find peace. This peace has something, or maybe it has everything to do with Jesus Christ.
(Please don’t take this to be the comment of a religious fanatic taking advantage of this post to further his ideas. Rather it is the honest truth that is in my heart.)
-daniel
What can I say about the term of Ataraxia. It is said to be a liberation or freedom of all that is around us. This detachment from my point of view seems very interesting because it's something that everyone in the world is looking for. In everyone's life there seems to be a point in which we simply want to detach ourselves from the world an simply be at inner peace within ourselves. We want to not worry about all the troubles in the world. Whats funny is that when we feel this point, we only desire it for that moment, but we don't acknowledge the fact that we can have this state of being for the rest of our lives. Thats was Ataraxia is all about. Its that feeling of seperateness of all things for the rest of your life. To me this seems very persuasive but at the same time I know its something that is very difficult to attain. I believe this because in the west people are so much into their own things and are always trying to stay ahead of the game that they have no time to really grasp thier inner selfs. Also its hard for a lot of people because we are so interested with material things and what the world thinks that we forget about ourselves and bringing peace in our own lives.
I found the idea of nondetachment interesting as I agree with the discussion that it is extremely difficult to do and so this is what I believe ultimately leads to ataraxia, or tranquility. In class I enjoyed the discussion on illusion and how sometimes we are blinded by "too much" happiness. It is true that this can in turn detroy you as you become blinded to the realities of life, but most don't tend to believe that. To conclude, I agree that the most important part of the Gita is the idea of action and inaction which ultimately guide us to that which we aim to achieve at the end and is also the hardest to do.
We live in a world in which our children grow up with relatively congruent beliefs to those of their parents and/or society. As it can be seen as almost unavoidable, the young grow into the old with countless beliefs such as social classes, religious elitism, prejudice, materialism, and self-interest; which certainly go against any concept of Ataraxia or contentment with suspension of these beliefs. What is needed in our contemporary society is the avoidance of letting our future generations adopt these beliefs which merge together into a world of conflict and incompatibility. Only then will we be able to attain such tranquility on the societal level. In regards to the self, one must truly find a way to see themselves as a being that lacks all of these beliefs and attitudes.
I have been searching for what is known as Ataraxia for most of my life. Obtaining inner peace and tranquility is the state of mind of many. My question is can a person actually reach the state of Ataraxia? Can we find inner peace in the materialistic world we live in? I feel that Ataraxia is a process in which we work on everyday of our lives. I am still in search of what seems unreachable……..
In my view of reality actions are the most important thing. Expiriencing different emotions and reacting to them is a key part of my happiness. I need contention and strife for me to be content. I use the stress to help motivate myself. Conflict helps me grow and change into something better than I was before. For me the common definition of contentment it would mean that I am not in a state of ataraxia. I have read the Art of Living and I found that, while I agreed with parts of it, there were some parts that I couldn't agree with. For instance, the fact that it states that this world is the best possible of all worlds doesn't synch up with my beliefs. The way I see things is that we each have the possibility to be in the best possible world, but we have to "cultivate our garden" to attain it.
I found the philosophy of dharma to be intriguing. The idea that one is almost predetermined in life. Almost. Dharma does not take away one’s free will and the responsibility and consequence of choice. One still has to do what they consider to be necessary, but can not blame the infinite spirit for the outcome because they made that choice with their own free will. This concept ultimately takes away the idea of good/bad, right/wrong, dead/alive. Everything just continues to cycle according to cause and effect. This philosophy to me seems very modern for it’s time and still more modern and liberal than most new religious thinking.
Since we are moving towards Gandhi’s teachings, I looked up the Satyagraha. I wanted to share with you one of his thoughts that grabbed my attention:
“I have been even seriously told that I am distorting the meaning of the Gita, when I ascribe to that great poem the teaching of unadulterated nonviolence. Some of my Hindu friends tell me that killing is a duty enjoined by the Gita under certain circumstances. A very learned shastri only the other day scornfully rejected my interpretation of the Gita and said that there was no warrant for the opinion held by some commentators that the Gita represented the eternal duel between forces of evil and good, and inculcated the duty of eradicating evil within us without hesitation, without tenderness. I must be dismissed out of considerations. My religion is a matter solely between my Maker and myself. If I am a Hindu, I cannot cease to be one even though I may be disowned by the whole of the Hindu population. I do however suggest that nonviolence is the end of all religions.” (I posted this comment on the other page last Monday, Jan. 22, 07)
“How ridiculous and how strange to be surprised at anything which happens in life!” - Marcus Aurelius
Life is unpredictable, transient, ever changing. Tomorrow your best friend could die, a pigeon could shit on your head, or you could have a wonderful day full of smiles and laughter. In this context the idea of ataraxia is very attractive. In the framework of ataraxia one is unperturbed by the external forces around them. This is not to say that there is no feeling or emotion, but rather that one should not let those emotions guide their behavior. Many find this idea to be an impossible ideal. I do not think it is impossible, nor do I really desire the ultimate detachment of the ancient Stoics, but I think that ataraxia is an idea, a vehicle, by which we can reconcile our own feelings and behaviors to lead more gratifying lives.
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