LVII. Why You Should Practice Stoic Philosophy II
Philosophy…takes as her aim the state of happiness. That is the direction in which she opens routes and guides us. She strips men's minds of empty thinking and bestows a greatness that is solid.
P.S: This entry is a follow-up to my first post on this publication,
Why Practice Stoicism.
If one were to summarize Stoic philosophy into a few sentences, it would be this:
You probably came across Stoicism through my publication or another person’s work.
I too was attracted by boisterous quotes like Zeno’s,
“Man conquers the world by conquering himself.”
The realization that one can live a life of abundance, fun, power & prosperity by just controlling one’s mind and perception of life can be sublimely freeing and empowering.
Through this rational strength, you feel your mind opening up to a range of possibilities to shape your life as you’d like.
Imagine living with the Roman Code of Strength and Honor in the modern world, where you’re not facing exile, war, or fatal epidemics, but are in the best time to be alive—where technology, higher life expectancy, and a sea of opportunities abound to help you become the best you can be.
What would you accomplish with this potential?
How satisfied, happy, and proud of yourself would you be?
Wouldn’t you be a blessing to the people you love and take care of?
However, you might still be doubtful or unclear about what this philosophy can do for you.
I know I was when I started.
Luckily, no one has explained the benefit of studying Stoic Philosophy better than Seneca.
Today we’ll use his words to demonstrate the value of studying this life-changing Philosophy.
"Philosophy…takes as her aim the state of happiness.
That is the direction in which she opens routes and guides us.
She shows us what are real and what are only apparent evils.
She strips men's minds of empty thinking, bestows a greatness that is solid, and administers a check to greatness where it is puffed up and all an empty show.
She sees that we are left in no doubt about the difference between what is great and what is bloated."
Seneca then uses the metaphor of being ‘ill’ to refer to the uninitiated or juveniles in the art of living.
He tells us to approach philosophy as the antidote to our fears, passionate desires, insecurities, anger, sadness, jealousy, and more.
Practicing the philosophy at every waking moment, letting it slip in and drench our lives, he says, puts us on almost the same plane as the gods.
Even better than the gods because we get to apply the power of choice to navigate the common ailments of humanity while they’re naturally immune to them.
Sounds awesome, right?
However, just like anything good, there’s a cost to this happiness and greatness Seneca talks about.
It costs us unwavering commitment to the four virtues: courage, wisdom, justice, and discipline.
He bids us,
“Devote yourself entirely to her [philosophy].
You’re worthy of her, she’s worthy of you—fall into each other’s arms.
Say a firm, plain no to every other occupation.
There’s no excuse for your pursuing philosophy merely in moments when occasion allows.
If you were sick you would take a rest from attending to your personal affairs and drop your practice in the courts.
And during a spell of improvement in your condition you wouldn’t look on any client as being so important that you’d undertake his case in court.
No, you’d devote your entire attention to recovering from your illness in the quickest possible time.
Well, then, aren’t you going to do the same in these circumstances?
Away with every obstacle and leave yourself free to acquire a sound mind—no one ever attains this if he’s busy with other things.
Philosophy wields an authority of her own; she doesn’t just accept time, she grants one it.
She’s not something one takes up in odd moments.
She’s an active, full-time mistress, ever present and demanding.
When some state or other offered Alexander of its territory and half of all its property he told them that
‘he hadn’t come to Asia with the intention of accepting whatever they cared to give him, but of letting them keep whatever he chose to leave them.’
Philosophy, likewise, tells all other occupations:
‘It’s not my intention to accept whatever time is left over from you; you shall have, instead, what I reject.’
Give your whole mind to her.
Sit at her side and pay her constant court, and an enormous gap will widen between yourself and other men.
You’ll end up far in advance of all mankind, and not far behind the gods themselves.
Would you like to know what the actual difference between yourself and the gods will be?
They will exist for longer.
And yet to me what an indisputable mark it is of a great artist to have captured everything in a tiny compass; a wise man has as much scope before him as a god with all eternity in front of him.
There is one thing, too, in which the wise man actually surpasses any god: a god has nature to thank for his immunity from fear, while the wise man can thank his own efforts for this.
Look at that for an achievement, to have all the frailty of a human being and all the freedom from care of a god.
Philosophy’s power to blunt all the blows of circumstance is beyond belief.
Never a missile lodges in her; she has strong, impenetrable defences;
some blows she breaks the force of, parrying them with the slack of her gown as if they were trivial, others she flings off and hurls back at the sender.”
That’s the power of Stoic Philosophy.
However, Stoicism as a specialty isn’t enough to make us great.
We ought to dive into various perspectives, empirical scientific evidence, and mental models to help us master the world we live in and shape it into our vision.
We have to see to it that the ideas we talk about aren’t just for the pleasure of reading—mental masturbation, but that they have practical applications to improve our lives.
Seneca put it well. He said,
“As long as you live, keep learning how to live.”
That’s how we win.
And that’s why I created subsections full of actionable ideas in this publication to help us be all-rounded as the Stoics were.
The entries on Neuroscience-based Tools and Lead to Win are full of high-quality information and mini-courses you can apply to your daily life and get actual results to improve your resilience, lead your family, work, business & relationships effectively, boost your focus, mood & drive, achieve your goals, and enhance your overall health for more wealth, power, and happiness.
That’s how we conquer 2025 and beyond.
Great article on Stoicism.
I find that philosophy to be very helpful for anyone going through difficult situations.
There is a great 45-minute video by Professor Michael Sugrue talking about Marcus Aurelius's Meditations: The Stoic Ideal (link below).
On a side note, I find it interesting that if I were to create a Venn diagram overlaying the teachings of Stoicism, Zen Buddhism, and Christianity, I would see a huge overlap in some of the teachings. Maybe it is a coincidence. Maybe it is just the same wisdom showing up in different places.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auuk1y4DRgk