An introduction to Stoicism (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, November 29, 2024, 20:16 (22 days ago)

From an interview with Massimo Pigliucci:

https://bigthink.com/thinking/is-stoicism-a-religion-3-key-clues/?utm_source=rejoiner&a...

"In parallel to these issues is an interesting, correlative phenomenon: the resurrection of Stoicism. As someone who makes a living out of being a public philosopher, I’ve noticed how often and easily people label things as “a bit like Stoicism.” Anything good, useful, or deep is called Stoic. In many circles, Stoicism has become synonymous with “philosophy” more broadly.

"So, we have two observations here: First, a crisis in meaning — an existential ennui or sociological anomie. Second, Stoicism is popular and becoming more so. Now, correlation does not equal causation, and these observations could happily live unconnected. The decline of religion in the West and the rise of Stoicism may be as unrelated as the spread of Wi-Fi and the disappearance of phone booths.
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“'A philosophy of life has to have three components,” Pigliucci said. “It has metaphysics — meaning a picture of how the world works and how the world hangs together, so to speak. It has an ethics — that is, an idea of how you should live in that world. And then it has a set of practices, meditations, and exercises of different kinds. And those are meant to help you out [in] implementing your ethics. And now, if you think about it, religions have all those three, right?”

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"So, if religions have three elements, and ancient Stoicism has those elements, it would seem fair to conclude that ancient Stoicism, at least, was a religion. But for many people today who are only loosely familiar with Stoicism, the metaphysical elements might not be so obvious. People are often introduced to Stoicism through disembodied quotes floating around social media, or “life-pro tips” to help you get by. They’ll know it from cognitive behavioral therapy or when looking for self-improvement tips. As such, they’ll probably only come to associate Stoicism with its practices and meditations.

"Metaphysical commitments are the kinds of things that many nonreligious people, especially those stewed in a scientific worldview, find hardest to swallow. It’s the belief in a soul, an afterlife, an interventionist God, or some karmic force like samsara. In Stoicism, the metaphysical commitment is in the underlying force known as logos, or rationality. According to Pigliucci, however, this is a different kind of metaphysics to “other” religions.

“'Here, the relationship between faith and reason is different. Typically, in a religion, metaphysics is about faith. And reason comes in as sort of, so to speak, as the handmaiden of faith. So, it’s reason; it’s fine so long as it agrees with the faith. If it doesn’t, then we’ve got trouble. In the case of philosophy, it’s the opposite. There is no faith. The Stoics didn’t go out there and pray to Zeus or anything like that. It’s all about reason because it is a philosophy, first.”

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"...the Stoics were about embracing your fate, or, as Nietzsche famously put it much later on, ‘amor fati’ or love your fate.”

“' The Universe doesn’t care about me. So bad things do happen to people, but I look at it from the Stoic perspective of accepting the facts for what they are and doing your best with what the Universe provides you with. And I’m still left with acceptance and endurance.”

"For Pigliucci, much of the ancient Stoics’ acceptance comes from their foundational, metaphysical commitments. When we take that away, we’re left not with a “love of fate” or a “trust in the divine plan,” but rather a tool for endurance. But what about Stoics’ ethical commitments? What about the Stoic idea that a life of virtue is the best and most fulfilled? Can we salvage that from its underlying religious belief? It’s difficult.

"A lot of the Stoic emphasis on virtue — such as the four cardinal virtues of practical wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance — is framed within a certain belief in the summum bonum, or the “greatest good.” Stoicism starts with the basic belief that the greatest good in life is virtue. But it’s debatable how true that is.

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"And the reason you cannot be a Stoic and an Epicurean at the same time is because for a Stoic, the highest good is virtue. For an Epicurean, the highest good is tranquility of mind, or ataraxia.”

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“'We know Stoic exercises work because they have been the initial inspiration for cognitive behavioral therapy back in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Both Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis, the two people that basically got CBT started, were both inspired by Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius mostly, and they explicitly say so. Now, of course, CBT is a therapy, not a philosophy or a life.”

***

"Not everyone likes seeing Stoicism as a religion, and of course, that’s okay. Pigliucci’s latest book is a fantastic and highly readable exploration of the different ancient philosophies available, and it settles on a kind of balance. We need virtue, sure, but we also need pleasure and epistemic humility. Explore philosophy and find something that works for you. Take what you need. Do whatever you can to get by and to get better."

Comment: without the support of religion what do you do? This interview tells us face life with a stiff upper lip. DHW should tell us how he does it.