Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (August 22, 2021)

Hello there,

I hope you’re enjoying this warm and beautiful (at least where I am) Sunday! Let’s get straight to it so we can get back to our respective necessities. For this exercise, let us look at some words from Epictetus Discourses’ IV 1-2 15:

“It doesn’t matter what the external thing is, the value we place on it subjugated us to another…where our heart is set, there our impediment lies.”

As far as living a simple is concerned, the Cynics (who many consider to be the older cousins of the Stoics) were the gold standard. Antisthenes was a pupil of Socrates, and later in life, he went on to create his own school called Cynicism. There is some debate about whether Cynicism can actually be considered a philosophy or is merely a lifestyle, but Antisthenes laid the groundwork that Diogenes would later “supercharge” and demonstrate in his own lifestyle of shameless indifference to the most entranced social norms. The main precept of this school of thought is that happiness is living in agreement with nature and that all social norms and materialism are contrary to this nature. This is why animals are happier and closer to the gods, while we run about chasing meaningless trivialities like wealth, titles and social conventions (that cause all our anxieties). 

Diogenes then taught his way of life, that was closer to nature and opposed to all these superficial trivialities, to those who wanted to learn it. Cretes was one of these pupils and taught these precepts to Zeno of Citium, who was the founder of the school of Stoicism. So naturally, there are many overlapping ideas between Stoicism and Cynicism, including the disdain for this superficial world that is opposed to nature. However, one difference between the two schools of thought is in the approach to materials, money and politics. The Cynic rejects all of it to the point of wanting nothing to do with it. The Stoic school conversely (and I’m oversimplifying here in the interest of condensing the exercise) accepts that we are pack animals living in societies, so we must have some type of political structure. If it were up to Stoics entirely, the structure would be closer to what Plato’s republic would be, but I digress.

As far as material goods are concerned, the approach is not an immediate rejection of it all. Instead, if material goods can be obtained in an ethical manner, and used in a virtuous manner, then, by all means, go get that bread. Let’s not forget Seneca was filthy rich, and Marcus Aurelius (as the Emperor of the Roman Empire) was the most powerful man in the Western World. Don’t get me wrong, the Stoics absolutely prefer a simple life, as it makes us more capable of doing what is meaningful to us. Think about it, the more you own, the more time you have to spend maintaining it. The more things you want, the longer you have to work for that paycheque to get it, which takes away precious time that could be used to work towards more virtuous ends. But material things can also help us be better and add more value in this world. So we can’t throw everything and caution to the wind and be street philosophers.

The lesson and focus of the exercise this week is one of “Want Not, Need Not, Suffer Not.” But we must not get overzealous and hurt our capacities to be better human beings and work towards the betterment of humanity either. So, this week, rationally try and find one way in which you can simplify your life by not wanting something, or by getting rid of something you already have. Make sure it is superfluous and that its removal adds more value than harm.

As always, I wish you a wise, tranquil and productive week. If you can, share how you are progressing with your exercise. Your journey may very well inspire others. 

Anderson Silver (Stoicism for a Better Life)