Stoicism, an ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, enjoyed a comeback during the pandemic. John Brinslie-Pirie has a nice piece on how he found stoicism useful during lockdown.
Indeed, in extraordinary times stoicism can provide great wisdom on the things you can and cannot control. But I posit that stoicism is even more important in ordinary times. When's it too easy to act on autopilot. To fall into bad habits, and fail to make new good habits stick. To trade big thoughts and big dreams for the normal routines of everyday life.
To that end, I've found The Daily Stoic extremely worthwhile.
So what is stoicism?
First of all, there's probably not a lot within the stoic philosophy that will be new to people, especially for those familiar with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
As far as ancient philosophies go, stoicism stands out for its everyday usefulness. It is centred around three central disciplines:
- the discipline of perception (how we perceive the world);
- the discipline of action (the decisions and actions we take, and to what end);
- and the discipline of Will (how we deal with the things we cannot change, attain clear and convincing judgement, and come to a true understanding of our place in the world).
A common misconception is that stoicism is all about being unemotional and unmoved. In fact, that has come to be the common usage of the term. It's really not. Instead I see it more as a way of understanding our emotions, and what our emotional responses can tell us about our underlying values.
Is stoicism ideological?
No. It is an ancient philosophy. It is neither right wing nor left wing.
Yet, I'm not blind to the fact that of the people I know who have made stoicism part of their lives, they tend to be on the freedom end of the political spectrum.
Stoicism is not ideological, but is does reveal some of the philosophical underpinnings of political issues.
There are some obvious examples: personal responsibility plays a big part in the philosophy. In my last post, I wrote about how a lot of lifestyle regulations seem to deny the fact that most people are rational and free thinking beings who are capable of making a personal choice (bar some kind of major mental impairment or illness). This is a position at odds with stoicism which doesn't pretend exercising rational choices is always easy, just that humans can work to strengthen that capability. The reason why we don't always make choices that are in our best interests is often because of a struggle between our present and future selves. Stoicism acknowledges this, and provides tools for helping to work through that.
Stoicism also encourages freedom of thought in the pursuit of truth and wisdom. This isn't necessarily an ideological view. However it does mean that ideas, even controversial ideas ought not to be censored. It's a philosophical position that trusts in the ability to reason. For people to digest information from multiple sources to make up their own minds. In a different world, this feels like it shouldn't be a radical notion.
Finally, perhaps those to the left of the political spectrum worry that stoicism is an individualistic, selfish philosophy. And it might be, if the only end you were pursuing is professional-betterment. The Silicon Valley-types have definitely given the philosophy a bad name in this respect. But it seems like a pretty weird place to end up. Stoicism isn't a life hack. It's a deep contemplation about our place in the world and how to make the most of it.
The missing part of mental health
New Zealand society has gotten a lot better about talking about mental illness, and that's a really good thing.*
What we don't really talk about is that grey area where you may not be mentally ill, but there's still something important missing.
That something is what I'd loosely call philosophical grounded-ness. Where you don't have a 'why' to live for, or clear values to guide decisions. Sometimes that doesn't matter, you just get on with living. For people who have religion in their lives, it might not be an issue. Sometimes, though, that void can have a huge impact on mental wellbeing.
Whether it's stoicism or not, I think it's well worth talking more about philosophy and what it means for how we live our lives.
I am not your model stoic
This feels like a weird thing to write about given I am by no means a model stoic. I am but a baby stoic who on average makes ten bad decisions before lunchtime.
But I think that's why this book appeals so much. Even if I slip up or have bad days, the Daily Stoic's meditations are designed to keep the reader on track.
And at least the book's insights go a little deeper than that other self help book I read that taught me to make my bed, have good posture and pet stray cats.
*By the way, stoicism is no replacement for getting proper mental health support if you need it. It can certainly be a complement, but I wouldn't take it as an exhortation to continue struggling through or to feel shame in admitting you need real help.