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Stoicism is an action-oriented philosophy for living that’s as relevant in today’s modern life as it was two thousand years ago. This article provides an overview of Stoic philosophy and its fundamental principles.
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This article is based on the books listed in the Recommended Reading section at the bottom of this article, particularly Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
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What is Philosophy
Philosophy (from Greek Philosophia, literally “love of wisdom”) is defined as:
- the study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.
- the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.
- a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour.
Socrates, the great Athenian thinker, reimagined philosophy from being a preoccupation with the physical world, to focus on the role of man in society and the nature of human morality or ethics.
Socrates is generally regarded as the ‘Father of Philosophy’ or more accurately ‘Father of Western Philosophy.’
Surprisingly, Socrates himself wrote nothing.
All his teachings were written up and elaborated on in the philosophical dialogues of his student, Plato.
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Essence of Philosophy is Action
Philosophy in the modern era is considered a purely intellectual pursuit.
Philosophy is interpreted as something people talk or think about, rather than something that people do. Philosophy is assumed to be of little relevance to the daily life and challenges faced by a vast majority of humans.
This assumption is incorrect.
The essence of philosophy is action.
Whether you read western philosophy, expounded by Greeks and Romans, or the eastern philosophy of Buddha, Mahavira, and Confucius, the repeating theme is of philosophy providing a set of principles to deal with the problems and stresses of daily living.
To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school.
It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.
Henry David Thoreau
Philosophy is a guide for living your life.
Philosophy is not just a set of beliefs or ethical claims; it is a way of life involving constant practice and training. Philosophy is not a theory taught in the confines of a classroom. It is a set of practical lessons from the battlefield of life.
Philosophy is for living, not just learning.
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What is Stoicism?
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy which was founded by Zeno of Citium, in Athens, in the early 3rd century BC.
Stoicism is a philosophy of personal ethics and behaviour.
The Stoics are primarily known for teaching that –
“virtue is the only good” for human beings, and that external things – such as health, wealth, and pleasure – are not good or bad in themselves but have value as “material for virtue to act upon.”
According to its teachings, the key to happiness (eudaimonia as the Greeks called it) for humans is in:
- Accepting the moment as it presents itself, by not allowing oneself to be controlled by the desire for pleasure or fear of pain,
- Using one’s mind to understand the world, and
- Doing one’s part in nature’s plan, and
- Working together and treating others fairly and justly.
Read more on Wikipedia.
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Stoicism: A Philosophy for Living
The stoic philosophy can be summarized with a single quote by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in his treatise Meditations:
Objective judgment, now at this very moment.
Unselfish action, now at this very moment.
Willing acceptance—now at this very moment—of all external events.
That’s all you need.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Stoicism has three interdependent and interconnected disciplines: Perception, Action, and the Will.
Let’s consider each discipline in detail with a few examples to understand them and their interconnection.
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Discipline of Perception
The discipline of perception requires us to maintain absolute objectivity of thought.
Every instant, the objects and events in the world bombard us with impressions. As they do so, they produce a mental impression. From this mental impression, the mind generates a perception. This perception can be compared to a print made from a photographic negative.
It is not objects and events, but our interpretations of them that are the problem.
Example 1: Let’s say other people have hurt me in some way. But that’s their problem. Their character and actions are not mine. When anyone provokes you, by saying something wrong about you, it is your own opinion provoking you. However, whether to feel hurt or not is a decision that you can make.
This is a key concept of Stoicism – using free will as voluntary acceptance of anything inevitable or outside our control.
According to this concept, man is like a dog tied to a moving wagon. If the dog refuses to run along with the wagon, he will be dragged by it.
Yet the choice remains his: to run or be dragged.
Example 2: We take things that are outside or control and label them as “good” (say, good health) or “bad” (say, cancer). When the “bad” things happen, or the “good” ones don’t, we blame someone else – God, luck or the people responsible – or those we decide to make responsible conveniently. If we limit the labels “good” and “bad” only to our actions, for which we alone are responsible, we would not blame anyone. More importantly, we will be able to focus on what we can do to change the situation.
Example 3: Let’s say someone says wrong or bad things about you. This may upset you or make you angry or sad. External things are not a problem. Your condition is the result of your own opinions and interpretations. It’s your assessment of them, which you can change immediately.
No one can steal your peace of mind unless you let them.
Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed.
Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Our duty is, therefore, to exercise stringent control over our perception, to protect our peace of mind.
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Discipline of Action
The second discipline that of action relates to our relationship with other people.
We were made not for ourselves but for others, and our nature is fundamentally unselfish.
In our relationships with others, we must work for their collective good, while treating them justly and fairly as individuals. Our job is to do them good and put up with them.
Example 1: Other people may not behave as you want them to. Don’t waste your time worrying about other people – unless it affects the common good. Worrying will keep you from doing anything useful.
Example 2: Our imagination or perception can be a source of misery, as we have seen above. You should not be overwhelmed by what you imagine, but just do what you can and should.
Example 3: Other people or events may impede our actions. When they obstruct our activities, they become irrelevant because no one can block our ‘intentions’. We can accommodate and adapt, and so the mind adapts to the obstacles and finds a way to bypass or overcome them through our actions.
The impediment to action advances action.
What stands in the way becomes the way.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Example 4: Let’s say you decide to be happy only if you get a promotion or have a certain amount of money in the bank or if someone behaves as you want them to. In each case, you have handed over the reins of your happiness to someone else – your boss/company or money, or someone else.
Through their actions, they can influence your reactions and consequently they can control you!
If you wish to be free, do not desire anything that depends on another, lest you make them your master.
Epictetus, The Manual for Living
Here’s Marcus Aurelius again on pointless actions. Interesting that a Roman Emperor talks about things on which he has no control.
If it’s in your control, why do you do it?
If it’s in someone else’s, then who are you blaming? Atoms? The gods? Stupid either way.
Blame no one.
Set people straight if you can. If not, just repair the damage.
And suppose you can’t do that either. Then where does blaming people get you?
No pointless actions.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
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Discipline of Will
The discipline of will governs our attitude to things that are not within our control, those that we have done to us by others or by nature.
If you try to avoid what you cannot control – sickness, poverty, death, calamity – you will inflict unnecessary mental suffering upon yourself.
What is done to me is ordained by nature; what I do by my own.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Example 1: Everything in the world changes every single moment. Some folks are afraid of change. However, if we observe, all vital processes of living take place because something has changed. Can we take a hot bath and leave the firewood/electricity as it was? Can we eat food without transforming it? Blaming change or being afraid of it is illogical because it is the very nature of our existence.
Example 2: Let’s say you are diagnosed with an incurable disease. You can blame your genes, luck, God, or you can choose our attitude to live while dealing with the disease. There are examples of cancer patients who chose a positive attitude and decided to lead a high-quality life as long and as well as they could.
Nothing happens to anyone that he can’t endure.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Example 3: We sometimes envy the rich. If you are unwilling to pay a few thousand to buy a BMW car, yet you envy the fellow who has a BMW car because he paid the price. He has no advantage over you – he has his car, you have your money. You can extend this to health, career, and find that everyone has got something, but they had to pay some price (stress, health, family life) in exchange.
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Key Takeways of Stoicism
As you have realized after reading the examples, the disciplines of Perception, Action, and Will are interconnected.
For me, Stoicism means:
Taking complete personal responsibility for things in our control.
- Our Actions
- Our Perception
- Our Thoughts
Being completely indifferent to things that are outside our control.
- Other people’s thoughts
- Other people’s actions
- Nature’s actions
Stoic philosophy is the source material for numerous self-help guides to dealing with life and its problems, whether the author directly realizes or acknowledges this or not.
My Indian readers and others familiar with Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy will find considerable similarity with Stoicism.
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Stoic Philosophers
Nassim Nicholas Taleb defined a Stoic as someone who “transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking.“
History of Stoicism is usually divided into three phases:
- Early Stoa, from the founding of the school by Zeno to Antipater.
- Middle Stoa, including Panaetius and Posidonius.
- Late Stoa, including Musonius Rufus, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.
No complete works survive from the first two phases of Stoicism. Only Roman texts from the Late Stoa survive.
Heraclitus, the mysterious figure from Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey) whose Zen-like aphorisms were proverbial for their profundity and obscurity alike, is considered to have had a considerable influence on Stoicism, and perhaps the most important.
It is from Heraclitus that Marcus Aurelius derives one of his most memorable motifs, that of the unstable flux of time and matter in which we move.
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.
Heraclitus
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Recommended Reading on Stoicism
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
On the Shortness of Life by Seneca
Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
The Manual by Epictetus
Discourses by Epictetus
Fragments by Heraclitus
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
After reading the books, Ryan Holiday’s words at the end of his book beautifully sums up philosophy for me.
Now you are a philosopher and a person of action. And that is not a contradiction.
Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way
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Nicely written with a clear path for many of the uninitiated. Thank you