Stoicism

Stoicism is a school of philosophy of ancient Greek and Rome. Its most well-known representatives are Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Although the Stoics' teachings are more than 2000 years old and not nearly as popular as they once were, their principles and guidelines are as relevant as ever.

Not only did the Stoic teachings find their way into the writings of famous philosophers, including Rene Descartes, but many findings in positive psychology, i.e. now scientifically proven, are strikingly similar to the teachings of the Stoics. In my opinion, anyone can integrate the principles of the Stoics into their lives and will benefit. Stoicism is therefore old, but by no means outdated.

To start things off, let me give you a short introduction on the three most important representatives of stoicism…

- Seneca (around 4 BC to around AD 65.:)

Seneca is known as one of the best writers of the ancient world. His essays and personal letters serve as an important source of Stoic philosophy. Seneca was very focused on the practical aspect of philosophy. He became extremely wealthy thanks to clever financial transactions, so he was something of an investor. In addition, he was an advisor to Emperor Nero for a time.

- Epictetus (around AD 55 to around AD 135 - real name unknown)

His real name is unknown. Epictetus means "property", which comes from the fact that Epictetus was born as a slave. His master, however, meant well with him and let him learn philosophy. He chose the best teacher available. And around 68 A.D. he was set free - this was common for educated slaves - whereupon Epictetus founded his own school. He passed on Stoicism to others. But he too, just like his teacher, did not write anything down. Luckily, Epictetus had a student who was keen on taking notes. These notes were so detailed that they became well-known as The Moral Discourses Of Epictetus.

- Marcus Aurelius/Marcus Aurelius (around AD 121 to around AD 180)

He came to Stoicism when he borrowed The Moral Discourses of Epictetus from a friend. He is now considered the last known (relevant) representative of the Stoics.

But Marcus was much more than a philosopher. He was emperor of the Roman Empire from 161 - 180 AD. Marcus Aurelius is considered the last of the five good emperors. He was very popular among his people and earned respect and admiration. He always knew how to use power and money wisely and did not let them go to his head. Even today Marcus Aurelius is used by many as a role model. On the one hand because of his thinking but also because of his leadership qualities.

But what exactly is Stoicism?

To answer this question is indeed not an easy task…

Since the Stoics thought nothing of clearly structured notes and apparently did not feel the need to clearly underpin what they were actually talking about, the search for the answer to the above question is a bit of a scavenger hunt…

Fortunately, people before me have faced this question too and so the stoic triangle of happiness was created. Stoics were fixated with the number one question of how to live a good life and off the basis of this triangle concept, one can explain relatively well what the Stoics were truly concerned with…

Eudaimonia: The Great Goal of The Stoics

In the middle of the triangle stands the great goal of the Stoics: Life in Eudaimonia. It denotes a life in which the full potential of one's person is realized, Quasi, the best version of oneself…

The word is composed of eu (good) and demon (the inner demon, something like the inner power, a divine spark - not to be confused with the demonic). eudaemonia is achieved when we make good with our inner demon, our potential, if you will…

In other words, we get the best out of ourselves…

So that is the goal, but how do you get there?

Through living and connecting with the three corners!

No. 1. Life in Areté.

Areté literally means virtue or excellence. Philosopher Brian Johnson gives the word the meaning of representing the best version of oneself at all times. This is not about a state of perfection - we are still human after all - rather it is about striving to evolve and thereby continuously grow into the best version of oneself… 

No. 2. : Focus on the controllable.

There are things in life over which we have influence and there are things over which we have no influence. And it is a trap to focus one's energies on those things that lie beyond our powers. Because no matter how much we want it, when it rains, we can't change it. That's why it's essential to recognize what you have influence over and consequently focusing your energy on it. The things we have no influence on, we have to accept the way they are. Easier said than done, that´s for sure.

No. 3. : Taking responsibility.

We are not to blame for everything that happens to us. Yet we are responsible for everything. If you wake up in the morning and there's a new-born child on your doorstep, it's not your fault. You didn't ask someone to put a child on your doorstep. However, you are responsible. You have the responsibility of what happens to the child. Do you raise it? Do you give it up for adoption? Or do you just leave it there and pretend it's not even there?

It's easy to blame others. “I did this because of this and this”. “I did that because of her and that”. You probably know what I mean. And that's what needs to be eliminated.

The third corner of the triangle teaches us to take responsibility. Because the only person who can really ruin our lives is ourselves. And the only person who can make our life wonderful is also ourselves.

Maybe some of you are thinking "but I can't help that I'm in such and such a situation. I didn’t choose to have those problems".

Probably.

Nevertheless, it is your responsibility. How do you deal with it? Do you whine and complain about how mean the world is? Or do you look for a way to change the situation for the better? It's up to you.

So much for the triangle. I would like to clear up a misunderstanding at this point. Although a lot of people implied that the stoics were emotionless, that’s definitely not the case. On the contrary, an important point of the Stoics is to face one's emotions, to open oneself to them. So the goal is not at all to suppress them. Rather, the goal is not to let them paralyze you.

According to the Stoics, strong emotions sabotage the path to eudaemonia. Therefore the goal is not to never experience fear or even to suppress it, the goal is to be courageous and act wisely despite fear. The Stoics all placed great emphasis on living and embodying their philosophy.

Epictetus compared philosophy to craftsmanship: as wood is to the carpenter and bronze to the sculptor, so our own lives are the proper material in the art of living.

Memento Mori & Amor Fati

Now we have an idea what Stoicism is all about and we have got to know the most famous representatives. As a last but therefore not less important point I would like to discuss two principles of the Stoics with you: Memento Mori and Amor Fati.

Memento Mori

Memento Mori translates to “remember that you are mortal”.

Now what's the point of that? I'm supposed to remind myself that I'm going to die? Yes. Exactly. What may seem grim or macabre to some at first glance is actually very powerful. Think about it. Is it really macabre? Or just a fact that our society likes to sweep under the rug? Nothing in this world is certain. Nothing is guaranteed. Not lunch in a few hours, not the next hug of a beloved person, nor the next breath. The only thing that is really certain is death. The Grim Reaper can be waiting around the corner and we wouldn't have a clue…

But does that now mean we should wallow in pity and give up everything because it will end anyway? Anyone who thinks that has not yet fully understood the principle of the Stoics.

Memento Mori reminds us that our time is limited and as Seneca said, "It's not that we have a short life, but that we waste a lot of it."

How often do we put off something that is actually important to us, assuming that we can get it done the next day? Or how often do we argue with our loved ones over some trivial matter? The fact is, we don't know if we will get another opportunity to make it right. Every moment is unique, and nobody knows how much time they got left.

Memento Mori for me is a call actually to live – actively participating in life – instead of just being alive. It's a call to do the things I care about. To spend time with the people I care about. And to do the best I can with the time I have.

“How long will you wait to ask for the best for you?” – Epictetus.

Amor Fati

Amor Fati translates to, “love your fate.”

Although it was Nietzsche who came up with the phrase Amor Fati, its core principle goes all the way back to the Stoics and is now associated with them.

If you remember back to the triangle, Amor Fati is something like a bridge between the second and third corner. It both asks us to take responsibility and it also asks us to put our focus on the controllable.

Truth is, you don't have control over everything. In fact, you have no influence on a lot of things. And on even more you only have partial influence. What you always have influence on, however, is yourself. How you evaluate a situation and what you make out of it.

As already said in the triangle, we are not to blame for everything, but we are responsible for everything that concerns us. Is it of any use to resist and fight against a situation that cannot be changed? No. It only creates an unhappy life. It is easier to live if we accept the things that are beyond our control. Make our peace with them.

The goal should not be, to experience only good situations but to be able to deal well with difficult situations. To bear one's fate with dignity, so to speak. Therefore, love your fate. One has just been dealt the cards, which one now holds. There is nothing that can be done about it. The cards have been dealt. The only thing left to do now is to make the best of the hand…

If you have ever played poker, you know that you can win with a bad hand and lose with a good hand. The Stoics were convinced that it didn't matter what circumstances we faced. What truly matters is how we deal with those circumstances.

What I am about to say might sound a little off, but try to follow me…

Our values are screwed up in many ways. By that I mean that we permanently long for an easy and relaxed life…

The big goal is retirement. Preferably with enough money so that we never have to worry about it again and can enjoy life. And in turn, we avoid putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations. To leave our comfort zone. We are panic-stricken about making mistakes or wrong decisions.

Now let’s get to the screwed-up part. Ask yourself: Which experiences in your life have you learned the most from? What things have you grown the most from? The easy ones? Probably not... The fact is, only through so-called “hard times” do we become stronger, tougher.

What I'm trying to say is that even if you don't understand, at the moment, why a given situation should be good for you now, or even more, that it is good for you at all, the principle of Amor Fati teaches us not to focus on something we can't control. Every once in a while, you just have to bear the burden that fate throws your way.

In the words of Seneca: “Fate leads the willing and drags the unwilling along”.

So it doesn't change the situation, whether we resist it or accept it. We have to carry the load either way. So why not enjoy the journey and make the most of it, even though it may be hard?

To drive my point I’d love to share with you a story of Thomas Edison, which highlights the principle of Amor Fati pretty well…

Edison came home one night after spending all day at his research facility. Suddenly a man came rushing into his house and informed him there was a fire in his laboratory. So he rushed there and saw his lab on fire. His son was with him. The flames could not be brought under control. Due to chemicals, the fire blazed up in various colours and could not be extinguished. It was a catastrophe. Instead of losing his mind, Edison asked his son to go and tell his mother to come by, they won't see such a fire again.

The very next day, he began to rebuild.

Obviously, I don’t know what led Edison to this reaction. In any case, I find such a reaction, in the sight of such a catastrophe impressive…

He would have had every right to be upset. All his work in that lab was destroyed. It would be perfectly understandable for him to fly off the handle. But would it have changed the situation? Wouldn't his lab have burned down because of it?

I would like to point out something important here…

Accepting things in which you have no control over does not mean resigning, on the contrary, it just means to concentrate and focus on what we have influence on and put our energy into it instead of the latter… The example of Edison shows this very well, the very next day he went back to work and began again with what he could do…

I truly appreciate you reading this far. Thank you! I hope you enjoyed my little take on Stoicism and maybe you can take one or two things away from it…

With one last quote I want to say goodbye…

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one!”

-Marcus Aurelius

Stay fabulous,

Fabian.