Seneca,

Your letter today touches on a point I have been thinking about lately, as well as discussing with others.  There is a trend in modern Stoicism to boil down the philosophy to set of points or “lifehacks.”  These are the tricks, which when improperly applied, are said to bring about worldly success, and every other manner of indifferent.  Yet, that’s being touted as the goal!

There are a number of “pop Stoicism” books, some are distillations of Stoic doctrine, but necessarily superficial.  Others are theurapeutic, and still more are of the “lifehack” variety.

The society today is lazy and impatient.  It demands the quick fix, material success, worldly acclaim, and every other manner of luxury.  Worse yet, it demands it immediately, without work, without cost.  It believe itself to be truly entitled to everything.

They only things it ignores are character, excellence, wisdom.

When you see these see mentioned, it’s couched in a sort of New Age ‘woo,’ which plays on all of the flaws above.  Books like “The Secret,” and variants of new-age hippy philosophy.

They all lack depth.

The idea that one might study and work for the betterment of one’s own soul is something which, if found at all, would be relegated to the church house.  And when found there, it’s only of a very particular sort.

No, the claims of philosophy are left dusty on the shelf, a mere curiosity to a handful of academics and intellectual masturbators.  Where are those living “philosophy as a way of life?”

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

Maybe it’s just “blue car syndrome,” but I’ve come across the word ἀμαθία, (ignorance, stupidity, or folly, the antithesis of σοφία, “wisdom”) four or five times in the past month.  It’s not a word I’d noticed much before, nor paid overly much attention to.

The idea that philosophy is the instrument of fortitude, protection, and freedom is interesting.  Why do you have to sell Lucillius so hard on this?  Is he not already committed?  Maybe the issue is that the fruits of this particular tree are long in ripening?

Your concerns about conversation are also of particular interest to me lately.  Most of Stoic philosophy is happening online these days, and almost all of it through text.  This amounts to the ‘harangues’ which you’ve mentioned.  Shouted at the top of one’s lungs, as it were.

This is not good for sustained development of the school.  We need to get real humans in real life, face to face.  We need Stoic communities.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

‘Aristo used to say that he preferred a youth of stern disposition to one who was a jolly fellow and agreeable to the crowd. “For,” he added, “wine which, when new, seemed harsh and sour, becomes good wine; but that which tasted well at the vintage cannot stand age.” ‘

I’m not sure I can rightly be called a youth any more, but “of stern disposition” is probably not inappropriate.  Whether that seems to produce a good aged vintage is to be seen.  (;

The crux of the issue regarding ‘retirement’ as you’ve put it, seems to be the stress that’s caused when one is torn between the values of philosophy and the values of society.  If one is expected to heap up a great surfeit of property, money, and status; the person doing the very opposite while working on themselves seems to be doing something vicious.

I suspect the moral here isn’t just for the retirement of one’s twilight years, as we think of it today, but rather the retirement (or renouncing) of the world in general.  To focus on philosophy, we must renounce certain things which the society says we must have to be happy.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

I received two of your letters today, and it seems to me that there is a commonality between them.  In the first, you extol the praises of your student, and you remark on the relationship between teacher and student.  In the second, you remark on the relationship between friends, and the bonds of love.

This has me thinking, in many traditions (and based upon your first letter, even in ours) the teacher-student lineage is an important one.  Oftentimes, in historical analysis, we can detect some … creative heritage making.  It’s important to be able to trace back a lineage, for most folks, as some guarantee of authenticity in the teachings.

We Stoics work to draw our lineage to Socrates, as do the Cynics (a bit tenuous, there).

Aside from pedagogical authenticity, I wonder if there’s some good reason for such a pedagogical lineage.  Maybe it’s the case that we’re unable to see our own progress, and even if we’re progressing in the correct ways and correct things.  If that’s the case, then the role of a teacher/mentor is indispensable.

Maybe we moderns are floundering without the rigor which a teacher can provide.  We can see in the writings of Musonius and Epictetus that they lay a firm hold on their students’ education in virtue.

We lack Stoic teachers.  We are all students floundering and splashing around in the pool and we call it swimming.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

“I shall indeed use the old road, but if I find one that makes a shorter cut and is smoother to travel, I shall open the new road. Men who have made these discoveries before us are not our masters, but our guides. Truth lies open for all; it has not yet been monopolized. And there is plenty of it left even for posterity to discover.”

This has long been, ironically, one of my favorite quips from your Letters.  It is true, that at some point we must actually produce ideas of our own, a shock I know.  But as you say, for the young (in philosophy in not in age) learning the dogma of the teachers who have come before is more than useful, it’s necessary.

The world is full of shallow and superficial philosophies, which sound deep and meaningful to the uninitiated.  It’s not challenge to produce such utterances.  The practice and ability of discerning where the the depth actually lies is one worth cultivating, however.

I’m content, at this point, to be the student.  I’m content to do much more listening that talking.  Thank you for the letter.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

“I pray that you may get such control over yourself that your mind, now shaken by wandering thoughts, may at last come to rest and be steadfast, that it may be content with itself and, having attained an understanding of what things are truly good, – and they are in our possession as soon as we have this knowledge, – that it may have no need of added years.”

Progress in our school seems to be a funny thing.  In talking with others, there seems to be a stalling out point.  After a year and a half or two, the pace seems to change.  Of course, I suspect the great teachers with the past would tell me not to be concerned about such apparent stalling, but rather work continuously, diligently, nonetheless.

I can recall  a few moments in which I realized that things which previously would have agitated or disturbed me simply did not.  It didn’t require any squelching or bottling up.  It just didn’t have the effect that it once would have.

Those moments, however, now seem fewer and farther between.  It’s in this weird sort of limbo where it’s easy to fall back into an academic study, or let the practice slide.

Neither is good, of course.

The seeming three-tier structure of “the foolish > the prokopton > the sage” is tidy, but it lacks certain helpful benchmarks.  I’ve been trying to study some other forms of meditation to help in my practice, and those schools have thins like “The 16 Stages of Insight Knowledge” and based on that, there are some categories of progress to note.

That sort of thing would be reassuring.  I get the feeling that Epictetus would call me “Slave,” take a swing at me with his stick, and ask if I really need some fancy title and a numbered stage of progress.

I guess that answer is no… but sometimes gold star stickers are nice.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

Today the phrase which stuck out at me the most was this:

“…they pray for bad things with good intentions.”

Our loved ones do want what’s best for us, but often they misidentify what will yield happiness.  The philosopher is in a particularly tenuous position, as the what she has identified as ‘the good’ is about as far from what the wider society believes to be good.

Musonius talks about honoring our parents, except in the case where our parents might instruct us (even unknowingly) in something non-virtuous.

The society at large, too, has certain expectations.  Some of these are more easily discarded than others.  The task, then, is identifying which of these might influence our own virtue, and handling them appropriately.

There is much food for thought, here.  Thank you for the letter.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

The part of you letter which really stuck out at me is the observation that men look forward only to that which is sure, and fear that which is uncertain.  Yet death is both of these, and it seems fear gets the better part of it.

I think I’ve mentioned before how today, we hide away death.  It’s clean and sterile.  The even hide the bodies of the dead in the hospital.  Better to not upset the people, that way.

This is a relatively new phenomenon, I expect.  Of course, this changes depending on the place in question, but it’s fair to say most folks were more familiar with death, and at a younger age, than we ourselves are.

Anyone producing their own food, or living far from a doctor would see more death (and life) in four seasons that most of us do in a decade.

I remember when I was fifteen, I saw a dead body for the first time outside of a hospital or funeral home.  It was shocking to me, and had a fairly profound effect.  No one else in my car had seen it; the results of an auto-accident.

But I saw it.  That evening, I was going to a concert, and I barely heard the music, I was thinking about that man on the road.

Death might come knocking at any time, despite our plans and projects.

Your letter today focuses rather on that slow dying process of old age, rather than the abrupt snuffing out; but no one’s time is guaranteed, nor the  manner.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

The admonition to be wary of the opinion of the crowds is particularly relevant to my time.  We are in the midst of choosing the head of state.  Rightly, by the founding Constitution, the role of President is relatively small:  to sign or veto bills from the Congress, to handle foreign treaties, and when at war to be the Commander in Chief.

Sadly, most Americans view the President as if he is merely sort of elected King!  We seem to clamor after aristocracy and royalty; having replaced that fascination with celebrities and such.

In this instance, there are no good candidates:  I’d settled for good people, but those seem thin on the ground as well.  We have dumb ideas, and evil ideas; then we get the terrifying watchword ‘bi-partisan’ which means something new both evil and stupid.  Occasionally they switch positions, and we’re left with evil ideas and stupid ones.

Suffice it say, I’m inundated with the opinions of the crowd, who seem to be clamoring for Demagogue A or Demagogue B.  We lack statesmen, men and women of character.  We need a Cato.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.

Seneca,

“You need a change of soul rather than a change of climate… your faults will follow you whithersoever you travel. “

Oh, how true this is.  I’ve traveled happily in the past, but most of the time I’ve found that my own issues cloud the trip.  I once spent 10 days on a small island in the Adiratic, a goodly portion of it sitting inside, reading.  Probably missed out on the better parts of the trip, as most would judge it.

My first backpacking trip, I spent miserable and wet.  I couldn’t do much about the second, but the first was all me.

“The person you are matters more than the place to which you go…”

Which of course is the crux of the issue.  Today, the society is tied in knots over ‘what’ a person is, with very little care for who the person is.  We fall to the collectivist fallacy, where the arbitrary classification of peoples becomes the dominant factor:  not simply “the individual.”

“ ‘There were thirty tyrants surrounding Socrates, and yet they could not break his spirit’; but what does it matter how many masters a man has? ‘Slavery’ has no plural; and he who has scorned it is free, – no matter amid how large a mob of over-lords he stands. “

Ah, and the return to my changing understanding of freedom.  You letter hits home with me today, here in my exile.  In a strange land, far from kith and kin.  Under some pressure, but the way I handle it is up to me.  The person I am matter more than where I am or what I’m doing here.

It’s the key thing, and it’s up to me.  Thank you for the reminder.

Farewell.

Part of Michel Daw’s Reading Plan of Seneca’s Letters.