In today’s day and age, is it possible to lead a
productive life guided by the principles of Stoicism? “Faith in a rationally ordered universe and our intimate
relation to the Logos are central aspects of Stoicism. If
the universe is divinely ordered, then there is a plan. Things happen to us for
a reason—a divinely ordained reason.” (Section 7-7). The idea of
Stoicism is, in its simplest form, the idea that while we may not be able to
control what happens, we do have some type of influence in the path our life
takes. As Epictetus so eloquently said, “Henceforth, my mind is the material I have
to work on, as the carpenter has his timber and the shoemaker his leather: my
business is to deal with my impressions aright. My wretched body is nothing to
me, its parts are nothing to me.” (Section 7-8). What I took him to mean here is
that we can only control and have influence over the subjective world around
us, not the objective.
With this basic explanation, one could reason that
living a life according to the philosophy of Stoicism would be fairly easy for
most. The textbook gives some really great examples on how Stoicism relates to
our everyday lives. Another example of how Stoicism applies to everyday life
can be found in the following scenario:
A patient is hospitalized with a serious infection during
the time frame of his family reunion. The patient has no choice in whether or
not he came down with the infection. The fact of the matter is he got it. He
does however have influence on how he perceives his hospital stay and how he
treats the people around him. This patient, in line with the Stoicism
philosophy, believes that there is a reason behind him coming down with this
infection, even though he may not understand what that reasoning is. He would
also choose to have a positive outlook on his hospital stay in order to make
his stay as pleasant as possible and reduce feelings of anxiety, stress or
frustration over his situation.
In this example
it is easy to see how the Stoic approach can be applied to everyday life. The
patient realizes he has no control over his situation, believing that he was
meant to be in the hospital rather than at his family reunion. After
relinquishing control, the patient realizes he has the power to make his
situation a pleasant one or an unhappy one by simply controlling his outlook
and feelings about the situation. By choosing to have a positive outlook about
getting better, the patient was able to reduce the stress, anxiety and fear that
are commonly associated with hospital stays, thereby making his experience
pleasurable.
In the end, I feel it is possible to approach life
with the mindset of a Stoic. This approach at life would help us to live
happier lives without as much stress and resentment over things that are out of
our control. In the words of Epictetus, “Remember that thou art an actor in a play,
of such a kind as the author may choose: if short, a short one; if long, a long
one: if he wishes you to act the part of a poor man, see that you act the part
naturally: if the part of a lame man, of a magistrate, of a private person (do
the same). For this is your duty, to act well the part that was given to you;
but to select the part belongs to another.” (Section 7-7).
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