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The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aureliusby Donald Robertson |
“At one point, Socrates explains in plain language what it means to him to be a philosopher: ‘For I go around doing nothing but persuading both young and old among you not to care for your body or your wealth in preference to or as strongly as for the best possible state of your soul, as I say to you: ‘Wealth does not bring about virtue, but virtue makes wealth and everything else good for me, both individually and collectively.”DONALD ROBERTSON |
BIG IDEA
Stoics on the goal of life
FROM THE BOOK“The schools of Hellenistic philosophy that followed the death of Socrates were often distinguished from one another in terms of their definition of the goal of life.ā€‹
For Stoics, that goal is defined as ‘living in agreement with Nature,’ which we’re told was synonymous with living wisely and virtuously. Stoics argued that humans are first and foremost thinking creatures, capable of exercising reason. Although we share many instincts with other animals, our ability to think rationally is what makes us human. Reason governs our decisions, in a sense—the Stoics call it our ‘ruling faculty.’ It allows us to evaluate our thoughts, feelings, and urges and to decide if they’re good or bad, healthy or unhealthy. We therefore have an innate duty to protect our ability to reason and to use it properly. When we reason well about life and live rationally, we exhibit the virtue of wisdom. Living in agreement with Nature, in part, means fulfilling our natural potential for wisdom; that’s what it means for us to flourish as human beings.
The Stoics therefore took the name of philosophy, meaning ‘love of wisdom,’ quite literally. They loved wisdom, or loved virtue, above everything else. If ‘virtue’ sounds a bit pompous, the Greek word for it, arete, is arguably better translated as ‘excellence of character.’ Something excels, in this sense, if it performs its function well. Humans excel when they think clearly and reason well about their lives, which amounts to living wisely. The Stoics adopted the Socratic division of cardinal virtues into wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation. The other three virtues can be understood as wisdom applied to the social sphere, our relationships with other people. Displaying courage and moderation involved mastering our fears and desires, respectively, overcoming what Stoics called the unhealthy ‘passions’ that otherwise interfere with our ability to live in accord with wisdom and justice.” |
Brian's Notes
Welcome to chapter #1 in which we get a biographical sketch of Marcus Aurelius at the end of his life along with a quick introduction to the history and underlying philosophy of Stoicism.
The goal of life, according to Stoics? “To live in agreement with Nature.”
The goal of life, according to Stoics? “To live in agreement with Nature.”
What’s that mean? Well, in short, the Stoics believed that what differentiated humans from other animals is our ability to reason.
To what end should we put that reason? To living with virtue.
Why? So we can benefit society.
Massimo Pigliucci reflected on similar wisdom in his great book How to Be a Stoic. Here’s how he puts it: “Since human beings are naturally social animals capable of reason, it follows that we should strive to apply reason to achieve a better society.”
That’s one of the reasons why our good emperor wrote to himself: “Think often of the bond that unites all things in the universe, and their dependence on one another.”
And: “Let your one delight and refreshment be to pass from one service to the community to another, with God ever in mind.”
Let’s go back to Massimo who also reflects on the four cardinal virtues of Stoicism. Here’s how he puts it: “The Stoics adopted Socrates’s classification of four aspects of virtue, which they thought of as four tightly interlinked character traits: (practical) wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. Practical wisdom allows us to make decisions that improve our eudaimonia, the (ethically) good life. Courage can be physical, but more broadly refers to the moral aspect—for instance, the ability to act well under challenging circumstances, as Priscus and Malala did. Temperance makes it possible for us to control our desires and actions so that we don’t yield to excesses. Justice, for Socrates and the Stoics, refers not to an abstract theory of how society should be run, but rather to the practice of treating other human beings with dignity and fairness.”
Here’s to loving wisdom and to dedicating our lives to becoming the Optimus-best, most excellent versions of ourselves. In service to the world. TODAY.
Big Ideas
01: THE GOAL OF LIFE
02: THE IDEAL SAGE (+ YOU)
03: STOIC JOY
04: TIME PROJECTION
05: THE CHOICE OF HERCULES
“Zeno told his students that he had come to value wisdom more than wealth or reputation. He used to say, ‘My most profitable journey began on the day I was shipwrecked and lost my entire fortune.’”DONALD ROBERTSON |
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