http://puffin.creighton.edu/phil/stephens/rebirth_of_stoicism.htm
Therefore, Far Eastern thought and predestination-oriented faiths, such as Islam, have seemingly absorbed or created certain tenants of stoicism--as had Christianity up-until the ages of the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Enlightenment in Europe.
On the other hand, "The Stoics believed that rational choices should always lead us to behave virtuously, and thus wisely, courageously, justly and temperately. These choices -- along with our attitudes, emotional responses and mental outlook -- are up to us to control. We cannot be forced to have beliefs, form judgments or attempt actions without consciously, voluntarily choosing to do so. In short, these mental activities are up to us."
These beliefs have in some ways still deeper roots in the Eastern Asian world than in the Western world. The Chinese, for example, have mixed faiths for generations, i.e. Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism,--all in which there is belief that people have choice but within the aforementioned limits of greater forces, including events in our world. Within this group of events are also included all the beliefs and actions of other peoples [and social systems or planning networks which created by others].
All of these things are essentially not in our control: (1) the weather, (2) many facets of nature, (3) the stock market, (4) bureaucratic traditions, (5) the behavior of dogs, (6) behaviors of other drivers or (7) "dot-com companies are ultimately not up to us."
Even Islam, which is pre-deterministic but in no-way simply a faith based on stoicism, adheres to this recognition of the larger forces (e.g. family, tribe, nation, and God), controlling our destiny, especially as and whenever the concept and phrase of "Inshallah" is used. In summary, functionally speaking both "Inshallah" and "Shoganai" reflect similar world views, i.e. a reference point where the world of Islam and Eastern faiths (and Asian world views) have adopted or embraced facets of stoicism.
AMERICA IS CHANGING
Originally, the United States was founded by optimists and deists who believed that man had a choice and deserved the freedom to pursue his destiny. This has been taught in our constitution and in our schools for generations. Recently, though, there has been a rise in belief systems in America more closely akin to the Stoics and more closely akin to the pre-enlightened world of American forefathers. Moreover since the U.S.A. has become more like its enemy in it wars on terror in the last few decades, Americans are taking on more and more stoic or even Islamic world views of our future and our destiny. Here is one example of the change in linguistic discourse since the U.S.A. invaded Iraq in 2003.
A few years ago, Cullen Murphy published an article entitled, "Inshallah: The war in Iraq might leave us a new word to match a new sense of our own limitations." The focus of the article was first on traditional usage of the word "Inshallah" in the Middle East. Murphy wrote: "W hen worlds collide, the sparks are sometimes linguistic. Not long ago, in a Q and A on the Web site of The New York Times , an Iraqi translator was asked to explain the points of difference he saw between his own people and the Americans he encountered in Iraq. He brought up the Arabic phrase " inshallah ." "The Americans, he [the translator] said, "have respect for time"; Iraqis, in contrast, "use the word inshallah , which means "if God wishes,' to postpone things."Murphy continued, "It may be that this point of difference won't be a distinction much longer. An American colonel in Iraq, writing to The Washington Post 's Thomas E. Ricks, recently observed: "The phrase " inshallah ,' or "God willing,' has permeated all ranks of the Army. When you talk to U.S. soldiers about the possible success of "the surge,' you'd be surprised how many responded with " inshallah. '' The phrase seems to have permeated all ranks of the diplomatic corps, too: Zalmay Khalilzad, when he was the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, once stated at a press conference, " Inshallah , Iraq will succeed.'"
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/inshallah/
Murphy appropriately stated the so-called truism " that words migrate because the concepts they connote have also migrated." Americans, who had once as-a-whole, believed the future to be "malleable, and it lies in our human hands to shape. Options are always on the table."
Moreover, Murphy noted, "At the end of his adventures, Huck Finn says "no thanks' to "sivilizin' and decides to "light out for the territory' to the west. Baseball, the national sport, has no fixed time limit; a game could theoretically continue in extra innings forever. We nurture venture capitalists, but also a breed of "venture philanthropists' bent on bringing forth the novus ordo seclorum --a "new order of the ages'--proclaimed on our dollar bills."
Murphy explained that historically the idea of a "typical America" had hardly --if ever-- included "up to now, "the inshallah type."
Has America now been changed by its endless wars--many lost ones or losing ones? Is this a good thing?
What world view is this stoic generation of soldiers, mercenaries and military contractors bringing home to America? Is it a recognition of our limits on the global stage militarily and our need to work within the real limits of war and growth-- or will this generation bring the old attitude of blaming the government and the bigwigs for shooting us in the back, i.e. like the German troops did after WWI?
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