Analysis of Seneca's Letter "on Anger"

Seneca is a major philosophical figure of the Roman Imperial Period. He was a Stoic who adopted and argued largely from within the framework which he inherited from his predecessors. Among his legacy, the Letters to Lucilius are Seneca’s most widely read and influential texts. “On Anger” was written in three books before 52 and addressed to Seneca’s brother Novatus. In his writing Seneca claimed that anger is wrong and therefore not necessary. This was based on the Stoics’ view of emotions as irrational movements of the mind and should be eradicate. However, I believe anger as well as emotions are important and inseparable parts of us. This essay will explain Seneca’s point of view, the lack of persuasive in his method of controlling anger and the important of emotions or anger in particularly.

As a Stoic, Seneca’s ideal agent has no emotions. Stoic theory of emotions does not at moderation emotional responses but rather it aims at a life without emotions. Thus Seneca also sees emotions as non-rational parts of the mind that have to be eradicated in order to achieve a good life. Furthermore, he named anger as “the most hideous and frenzied of all emotions” (Seneca, On Anger ex.1.1). Seneca also showed that anger is voluntary despite the fact that one cannot entirely control the way thing appear. Seneca explained anger in three main points. First, he spoke of the destruction of anger and while it is an emotion that should be avoided the most while rejecting ideas that support the use of anger. Next, he moved to involuntary case when the mind articulates some state of affairs like “the way that we shiver when cold water is sprinkled on us, or recoil at the touch of some things” (Seneca, On Anger ex.2.2). Seneca claimed that this initial experience which is beyond one’s immediate control, however, is not anger. To be angry, one must accept to throw away his sanity. In separating involuntary movement of anger from anger itself, Seneca proved that the wise man, who might flinch at a sudden incident, will never lose his temper. Last, Seneca explain the buildup of anger and the way to get rid of anger by train to suppress symptoms of anger.

Seneca’s letter might seem reasonable at first but if we take a closer look at it Seneca can only point out the bad side of anger while objectively taking into account that anger or any other emotions are just hindrance to achieve a good life. Moreover, his method of controlling anger is simply unacceptable. Seneca suggest to “fight with yourself … suppress its symptoms and keep it, so far as possible, hidden and secret” (Seneca, On Anger ex.3.13). However, anger, like any other emotions, is not something that can be simply restrained. In addition to that, anger is a “brief insanity” (Seneca, On Anger ex.1.1), it happened mostly due to unexpected outcome and it escalates in an instant into an unstoppable raging state of emotion. Therefore, even someone with a really calm nature can became angry if he went through an emotional shock like in Seneca’s example “he sees his father slain and his mother ravished” (Seneca, On Anger ex.1.12). Seneca provided us with some example about people managed