These songs illustrated Stoic principles through musical “ text painting,” in which specific words, actions or concepts were musically conveyed through sound – and, sometimes, visuals – in the score. They developed a vocal music repertoire to teach the principles of the system, guiding singers and listeners to “rehearse” Stoic techniques of emotional regulation through informal musical gatherings in people’s homes. Wikimedia CommonsĮmerging in the wake of the violent French Wars of Religion, Neostoics looked to Stoicism as a remedy for social and political instability. Painter Carstian Luyckx depicts Neostoic reminders of the shortness of life: a skull, dying flowers and an hourglass. This strategy of putting things in perspective may seem familiar the founders of cognitive behavioral therapy, one of the most popular forms of psychotherapy today, directly borrowed from Stoicism.
Importantly, the Stoic approach does not seek to directly suppress bad emotions but focuses instead on reshaping a person’s worldview, so that when they encounter difficulty or trauma, they will be prepared to experience emotions less destructively. The Stoics taught that it is only by recognizing and accepting what is beyond a person’s control that a person can exert maximal control over what is within their power. The question of control forms the core of this method. Control what you canįounded in ancient Athens and peaking in popularity in first century Rome, Stoicism was developed by philosophers like Seneca, Epictetus and the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius to manage destructive emotions such as anxiety, anger and grief through exercises that shift perspective. This casts their connection to music in a different light, and it helps explain how Stoicism positively shaped the course of intellectual and music history. Given that the word “ stoic” is mostly used to describe a rigid, emotionless person, Stoic musical practices would seem doomed to the boring or bizarre.īut Stoicism – the capital “S” kind – is a school of thought that’s really more about managing turbulent emotions in everyday life.
0 kommentar(er)
