Stoic Disciplines

Dreyfus and Kelly recognize that during an ecstatic event, there occurs an uncontrollable sacrifice of reflective, critical thought. Hence, they argue that our response to shining moments should, in a sense, be trained or tempered. They call this meta—poesis: the cultivation of a skill that discerns the appropriate response to an extraordinary event. The leap towards both the good and the dark side must be courageously made, but what we must learn is to determine when it is appropriate to be swept up by an event that approximates the sacred if it is noble, but be able to resist its attraction and abandon it when need be if it leads to destruction. Meta-poesis stands for the idea that “living well in our secular, nihilistic age, therefore, requires the higher—order skill of recognizing when to rise up as one with the ecstatic crowd and when to turn heel and walk rapidly away.” This allows us to be open to experience greatness and awe, but without risking the loss of the stance of an enlightened maturity.