Philodemus on anger

The study analyzes the work “On Anger” written by Philodemus, the head of the Roman Garden. The author demonstrates the relationship between this treatise and the previous tradition of the philosophical diatribe on overcoming anger, examines the Philodemus’ criticism of the views of the Peripatetics and the Stoics on anger, presents and comments on the classification of the types of anger proposed by Philodemus. In this work, Philodemus determines the place of the Epicureans in a dispute between the Peripatetics and Stoics about the nature of anger and human emotions in general. For the Stoics, all emotions, including anger, are irrational impulses that should be suppressed. Unlike the Stoics, the Peripatetics believe that the sage cannot completely avoid any emotions, including anger, therefore, in their opinion, there is no need to abandon them. The Epicureans occupy the middle ground recognizing the negative impact of anger on the serene state of the sage. They note that although anger should be avoided, it is impossible to be done since anger is common to human nature.