What's the difference between stoicism and numbness?

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Stoic
sto·ic noun \ˈstō-ik\
: a person who accepts what happens without complaining or showing emotion

Full Definition of STOIC

1
capitalized : a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 b.c. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law
2
: one apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain
See stoic defined for English-language learners »
See stoic defined for kids »

numb
nəm/Submit
adjective
1.
deprived of the power of sensation.
"my feet were numb with cold"
synonyms: without sensation, without feeling, numbed, benumbed, desensitized, insensible, senseless, unfeeling; More
antonyms: sensitive
unable to think, feel, or respond normally.
"the tragic events left us shocked and numb"
verb
verb: numb; 3rd person present: numbs; past tense: numbed; past participle: numbed; gerund or present participle: numbing
1.
deprive of feeling or responsiveness.
"the cold had numbed her senses"
synonyms: desensitizing, deadening, benumbing, anesthetic, anesthetizing; paralyzing
 
The modern usage of the word stoic has almost nothing to do with the actual meaning or philosophy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism#Quotations

"If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you were bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, but satisfied to live now according to nature, speaking heroic truth in every word that you utter, you will live happy. And there is no man able to prevent this."

The rough idea is that rational thought produces virtue and virtue produces happiness.

I like to think of Stoicism and Mindfulness as long-lost cousins because a primary practice of both is to be aware of and acknowledge one's emotional state at all times.
 
Stoic is ur kinda in control. Numb is when lots of bad stuff happened to u and now u can no longer feel. You can come across as stoic as a result of being numb but being numb wouldn't be the consequence solely from being stoic.

aaaand this is why kids should read more nowadays!
 
niffer said:
Stoic is ur kinda in control. Numb is when lots of bad stuff happened to u and now u can no longer feel. You can come across as stoic as a result of being numb but being numb wouldn't be the consequence solely from being stoic.

aaaand this is why kids should read more nowadays!
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Well yeah. And actually you can't be stoic if you're numb because stoicism implies feeling.

Like I said earlier: how many shots do you need at the dentist? You'll find out the difference real quick if you don't get any.
 
sprinkles said:
Well yeah. And actually you can't be stoic if you're numb because stoicism implies feeling.

Like I said earlier: how many shots do you need at the dentist? You'll find out the difference real quick if you don't get any.
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Stoicism implies feeling? What feeling? The feeling of trying not to show feeling?
 
niffer said:
Stoicism implies feeling? What feeling? The feeling of trying not to show feeling?
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Trying to not show feeling implies that you feel it.

It's like if you ignore a mosquito. You have to be aware of it to ignore it. To tolerate it buzzing in your ear you have to actually experience the buzzing but if you're numb i.e. you can't sense the mosquito, then you can't ignore it. Just like a deaf person isn't ignoring you when they can't hear you talk.
 
sprinkles said:
Trying to not show feeling implies that you feel it.

It's like if you ignore a mosquito. You have to be aware of it to ignore it. To tolerate it buzzing in your ear you have to actually experience the buzzing but if you're numb i.e. you can't sense the mosquito, then you can't ignore it. Just like a deaf person isn't ignoring you when they can't hear you talk.
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something something autistic introverts
 
sprinkles said:
You must have read my mind because I was just thinking about how there's a parallel to that topic.
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something something infj psychics
 
sprinkles said:
Trying to not show feeling implies that you feel it.

It's like if you ignore a mosquito. You have to be aware of it to ignore it. To tolerate it buzzing in your ear you have to actually experience the buzzing but if you're numb i.e. you can't sense the mosquito, then you can't ignore it. Just like a deaf person isn't ignoring you when they can't hear you talk.
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I feel like it's more an ability to feel it rather than feeling it necessarily but maybe that could encompass it anyway
 
Stoicism is a conscious choice, numbness isn't.
 
niffer said:
I feel like it's more an ability to feel it rather than feeling it necessarily but maybe that could encompass it anyway
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It's about managing your response to feelings so actually having the feelings is an integral part of it.

Otherwise it's like saying you can juggle just because you have hands that work.
 
There are people defined as being emotionally autisic. Its a real diagnosis.
 
When people say stoic this is the definition I think of.
sto·icˈstōik/noun1.a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining
 
sprinkles said:
It's about managing your response to feelings so actually having the feelings is an integral part of it.

Otherwise it's like saying you can juggle just because you have hands that work.
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Okay. That's a better description of the actual state of being stoic and what it's about. I was looking at it from more of the idea of stoic as people use it to describe people from their surface level impression of them.
 
When I think of numbness, two things come to mind. One is being numb as a result of psychiatric or illegal meds. The other is being numb as a result of being emotionally burnt out from depression.

Stoicism, or stoic philosophy, is geared entirely toward not letting what happens to you bother you no matter how terrible it is. Their end result may seem the same, but with stoic philosophy, you're supposed to achieve a sage-like state called apatheia. So in theory, stoicism requires you to put forth effort to build up your own mental fortitude whereas you will still be disturbed if you go off of the psychiatric meds or regain emotional energy after a depressive bout.

I don't think that the stoic ideal of apatheia is really possible. There is a reason they were subsumed and then shelved away by Christianity. The two most prominent stoic philosophers had difficult lives. One was a roman general and emperor who had to fight barbarians all the time, and the other was a slave who was tortured by his master and then later banished once he gained his freedom. John McCain said stoicism helped him to get through his torture ordeal in vietnam. So maybe stoicism can be helpful if your life is totally miserable, but otherwise I don't see much use in it.
 
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