This week we are studying Stoicism. While you might have heard the word “Stoic” before, used to refer to the mannerisms of someone who refuses to let his emotions show, Stoicism itself is a bit more in depth. One of the most famous Stoics, Marcus Aurelius, is the author of a famous work called The Meditations.

Stoicism is the belief that through reason and self-control we can deal with any situation the external world throws at us. It’s not the world that’s the problem; it’s us. This very idea is echoed by many modern day Gurus and it is also an aspect of Buddhist teachings. At the beginning of Chapter 8, Soccio describes a stressful situation involving traffic and waiting in line at a bank. We typically face situations like this everyday, often blaming the world around us for the problem. How do you react in situations like the one to the right?

Consider two different people, Steve and Karen. They are on their way home from work, Steve is in the passenger seat and Karen is driving. When they hit traffic, Steve slowly gets furious, each second his anger rises to a new level as they move more and more slowly. Karen, despite the fact that she’s driving, simply says, “Well, I knew it was going to happen and what can I do about it?” Karen relaxes and listens to the radio while Steve seeths in anger. Karen is beginning to take a Stoic attitude toward the external events of the world while Steve is still upset that he can’t control them. Why try to control events that are clearly outside of our control, the Stoic wonders.

Everyday the world throws unexpected events our way. Why fight them? Why wish for something else? Accept your fate, says the Stoic, and you can control your own happiness, you can face every event with equanimity.

Hedonism and Cynicism

Because Stoicism is in part a reaction to hedonism, we should take a brief look at hedonism. Hedonism is very simple: it’s the belief that pleasure is good and pain is bad. Some accounts of hedonism stress mental pleasures and others stress physical pleasures. While Aristippus emphasized the sheer amount of physical pleasure, Epicurus’ account of hedonism was more complex. He thought that some pains were necessary as a prerequisite to pleasure and that in every situation one must measure the total amount of pleasure against the total amount of pain. Epicurus also emphasized mental pleasure over physical.

Stoicism also has its roots in cynicism. What is a cynic today? We call someone “cynical” when they are very critical of things in general. Originally, cynics were, in fact, quite critical of society and custom in general. They would laugh at Confucius’ idea of following the Tao through following custom. Cynics thought civilization in itself was corrupt. It isn’t surprising that cynics and stoics alike admired Socrates for the way he lived his life mostly without excess.

The two most famous Stoics were Epitectus (a Roman Slave: 50-130 c.e.) and Marcus Aurelius (a Roman Emperor: 121-180 c.e.). As a slave, Epitectus learned many things about the lack of control he had over his environment. He learned that while he could not control whether or not he was tortured, he could control his reactions to the torture, his attitude. Like Socrates, he lived a life without excess, teaching any who came to him and living very modestly.

For a Stoic, every human being is limited in some way. One person is a slave, another a ruler, and another an investment banker. But the stoic advocates using what we can use within those limitations: our mind.

Another central aspect of stoicism is that the world is pre-determined. That is, the world functions according to a plan, in accordance with the logos. If you understand this, says the Stoic then you never worry about trying to change it; you simply accept things as they are. As a human you are a small part of a greater whole. The only things you can truly control are your attitudes, beliefs, and reactions. Control only what you are capable of controlling.

Soccio uses the example of Christopher Reeve, the former actor who was paralyzed later in life. Despite his paralysis, Reeve did many things to help others. One is also reminded here of the famous physicist, Stephen Hawking (below). Hawking is one of the most brilliant minds of our times, and yet he can’t speak without the help of an electronic device, let alone walk.

Disinterestedness

Another aspect of stoicism is disinterestedness. Stoicism teaches us not to be attached to events, not to be personally invested. Many of you, I’m sure, have had discussions with friends about politics. At what point does the discussion turn into an argument? Probably somewhere around the point when you’re both personally involved in the position you’re defending. If you’re a democrat, can you watch a republican give a speech without getting angry and turning off the TV? If you’re a republican, can you watch a democrat give a speech without getting angry? And if you’re a libertarian, can you watch either of the major parties in the US give a speech without getting frustrated?

The lesson of disinterestedness is that you can never really see the truth of what’s happening around you unless you can detach yourself from any personal investment you might have in a given situation.

There do seem to be some inconsistencies in stoicism. If we are completely pre-determined according to the logos, why try to control anything, including our attitudes? A health-conscious marathon runner might get hit by a bus at the age of 23, flushing all his hard work down the toilet. And a lazy, ignorant, college professor might live to be 75. Still, the stoic believes that we can at least influence certain aspects of our lives while remaining faithful to the idea that we must ultimately follow the logos.

Let’s envision the following scenario. You are telling your friend—call him “Tom”—about the superb online philosophy course you are taking. You tell him that it’s great because it’s causing you to look at your life in more detail, shaking up your view of reality. You explain to Tom that he should look at his life in more detail. You tell him how illuminating it can be. To your surprise, Tom is completely unenthusiastic. He tells you that philosophy is a bunch of B.S. He tells you that he doesn’t need to examine his life because he already has everything figured out.

You are completely annoyed by the untruth of this and you try your best to quote from Socrates and Plato. But no matter what you say, he is unconvinced. How can he possibly believe that, you wonder. It drives you crazy that he is so unwilling to change his views and over the next few weeks you think of things you can say that might cause Tom to see the light.

What would the stoic say about your attitude here? While Tom might have his own problems, they are not your problems. You can’t control his worldview. Let Tom believe what he wants, says the stoic. You cannot control Tom’s beliefs, but you can control your attitude toward his beliefs.