The reasons and remedies for anger
It is hard to find a person who never becomes angry. And it’s common for us to experience its pitfalls, even if we hold it to be a valid feeling to have at times. One person who thought that we should never become angry was the Roman philosopher Seneca whose book On Anger offers many insights into this all-too-human emotion. To understand why Seneca holds anger to be a useless emotion, we need to understand his and indeed the Stoic view of the ideal life which is constituted by joy and tranquility. Seneca said: “To rejoice and be glad is the proper and natural function of virtue: it is as much beneath her dignity to be angry, as to mourn:” Furthermore, “a lofty mind, always placid and dwelling in a serene atmosphere, restraining within itself all the impulses from which anger springs, is modest, commands respect, and remains calm and collected.” From this point of view, our aim in life is to attain tranquility and peace of mind and to remain in that state always. Anger by its very na