1. Submitted by: Cherry Jane Reotan Submitted to: Mrs. Rizza Santos
Project in Philosophy
Submitted by: Cherry Jane Reotan
Submitted to: Mrs. Rizza Santos
RN,MAN,USRN

2. Marcus Aurelius Roman Emperor & Stoic Philosopher Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.)

3. Introduction
Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor was also a true 'philosopher king'. His Meditations express a profound understanding that All is One, Interconnected and governed by absolute laws, as he writes;
For there is one Universe out of all, one God through all, one substance and one law, one common Reason of all intelligent creatures and one Truth.
From these absolute laws humans derive their reason and morality of which we are to live by. The practical ethics of the Stoics emphasises self control, contentment and living simply in harmony with nature.
Everything harmonises with me which is harmonious to thee, O Universe .. Frequently consider the connection of all things in the universe. (Aurelius, Meditations)
While Marcus Aurelius was a profound and beautiful philosopher, he did not understand how all things were interconnected in the Universe. The Stoic's mystical realisation that All is One and Interconnected (which is the foundation of all philosophy and metaphysics) can now be explained from a logical / scientific foundation of Space and its properties as a Wave Medium. The error has been the conception of matter as discrete particles - which obviously does not explain matter's activity / flux nor its interconnection to all other matter in the universe.

4. In His Meditation
Constantly regard the as one living being, having one substancuniverse and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web.

5. An epidemic of plague followed Cassius's army from the East
An epidemic of plague followed Cassius's army from the East. Aurelius tried to push barbarians back but witnessed the gradual crumbling of the Roman frontiers. In these times of disasters, he turned more and more to the study of Stoic philosophy. The Latin writings of Marcus Aurelius, letters to a teacher, Fronto, are not interesting, but the "Writings to Himself", called Meditations, are remarkable. They are personal reflections and aphorisms, written for his own edification during a long career of public service, after marching or battle in the remote Danube.
Meditations are valuable primarily as a personal document, what it is to be a Stoic. His opinions in central philosophical questions are very much similar to those of Epictetus (c AD), a freed slave. He was regarded as the Stoic philosopher, admired by a number of intellectuals. Epictetus's two basic principles were: Endure and Abstain. He stressed that inner freedom is to be attained through submission to providence, and rigorous detachment from everything not in our power.

6. His Famous Lines:
Do wrong to thyself, do wrong to thyself, my soul; but thou wilt no longer have the opportunity of honoring thyself. Every man's life is sufficient. But thine is nearly finished, though thy soul reverences not itself but places thy felicity in the souls of others.
That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee.
A man should be upright, not be kept upright

7. Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.
Everything that happens happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so.
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

8. Philosophy of man according to Him
Physical death is relatively meaningless, because it is an act of nature. Because of this, humans should not fear death, because if they can escape this fear, their lives will be lived without fear of other things.
Marcus Aurelius' book Meditations gives a clear and concise view of what death is and how man should cope with it. There are many factors that Marcus must take into account when he is pondering about death. There is death on a physical plane of existence and there is death on a supernatural plane of existence. How man is related to both of these concepts can differ drastically but both are equally important concepts in man's view of death. The way that man approaches death and how he should view it in life are other factors that also play an important role in Marcus' philosophy of death.
On the physical plane, Marcus is straightforward in the way that he speaks of death. He does not try to soften the image of death with flowery imagery or try to hide what actually occurs.

9. Concept of Philosophy
All things are woven together and the common bond is sacred, and scarcely one thing is foreign to another, for they have been arranged together in their places and together make the same ordered Universe. For there is one Universe out of all, one God through all, one substance and one law, one common Reason of all intelligent creatures and one Truth. Frequently consider the connection of all things in the universe. We should not say ‘I am an Athenian’ or ‘I am a Roman’ but ‘I am a citizen of the Universe.

10. General Overview
Marcus Aurelius wrote his Meditations in Greek as a source for his own guidance and self- improvement.
He had a logical mind and his notes were representative of Stoic philosophy and spirituality.
He is the most important stoic philosoper.
Marcus Aurelius covers topics as diverse as the question of virtue, human rationality, the nature of the gods, and his own emotions, spanning from doubt and despair to conviction and exaltation.

11. Includes an introduction, chronology, explanatory notes, general index, index of quotations, and index of names