189 lines
10 KiB
HTML
189 lines
10 KiB
HTML
---
|
|
tabtitle: Developing Stoic Understanding
|
|
title: Developing Stoic Understanding
|
|
topics: philosophy
|
|
pub: "2016-01-30"
|
|
short_desc: "Sherman J. Clark wrote a fantastic article on the Stoicism Today blog in
|
|
December which really spoke to me. It approached some of the questions and
|
|
problems I've had with Stoicism in an elegant and enlightening way, which
|
|
has led to my significantly greater understanding of Stoicism."
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
<h1>Revelations: Developing Stoic Understanding</h1>
|
|
<p>Sherman J. Clark wrote a fantastic article on the Stoicism Today blog in
|
|
December which really spoke to me. It approached some of the questions and
|
|
problems I've had with Stoicism in an elegant and enlightening way, which
|
|
has led to my significantly greater understanding of Stoicism. Notably, and
|
|
what I want to highlight here, were the topics of <i>Selfishness</i>,
|
|
<i>Metaphysics</i>, and <i>Balance</i>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h3>Selfishness</h3>
|
|
<p>I have a difficult time with the idea of a universal brotherhood. I
|
|
cannot properly picture it, nor understand how to approach or pursue it.
|
|
When Stoicism speaks of the importance of community or of a universal
|
|
brotherhood, I generally switch off. Appropriately, I have a difficult time
|
|
understanding how Stoic pursuit is anything but selfish. Everything I
|
|
pursue, everything I read and try to apply, seems to benefit solely me.
|
|
There is an argument to be made that by bettering myself I better others
|
|
around me, but that does not provide a fulfilling conclusion. It doesn't
|
|
actually promote social action, rather it proposes a benefit if I take
|
|
action. I'm looking for a reason to take that action, which seems to be
|
|
lacking. Clark specifically cites this issue towards the end of his
|
|
article: "I do not believe it possible to find within stoicism any
|
|
principle that definitively rules out selfishness or guarantees
|
|
other-regarding behavior." My thoughts exactly. Clark thus proposes that
|
|
the impetus for selflessness, or at least community, comes from the simple
|
|
fact that learning is best done communally. This I can certainly agree
|
|
with, if only considering the obvious fact that I do not know every answer
|
|
to every question, and thus I must seek them from external sources.
|
|
Learning with others promotes diverse opinions and solutions, often outside
|
|
the scope of my approach.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><i>"Not only do we need the insights of others to help us understand our
|
|
world better, but our own experience and understanding is best achieved not
|
|
in isolation but in shared conversation—dialectic."</i></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>This point is building block 1; the first of three pieces to a puzzle:
|
|
<b>learning promotes selflessness</b>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h3>Metaphysics</h3>
|
|
<p>To paraphrase Carl Sagan, we are the universe's way of understanding
|
|
itself. To Stoics, the universe is often synonymous with Nature. Living in
|
|
accordance with Nature is basically Stoic virtue. That's a very big
|
|
basically, and a very simplified view of Stoic virtue. However (a) I'm not
|
|
very good at explaining this; and (b) it's a <b>very</b> involved topic. I
|
|
want to touch on it briefly, since it is both covered by Clark and also
|
|
relevant to the discussion. Clark makes a very straight-forward argument
|
|
that Physics, or science to a more general degree, is appropriate as a
|
|
Stoic virtue. Again he touches on the importance of learning, and expands
|
|
it to how science is the means by which we can learn and understand the
|
|
beauty and order of our universe. By learning and understanding more about
|
|
the universe (Nature), we can better live in accordance with Nature. I'm
|
|
simplifying again significantly, but I think it boils down to knowledge.
|
|
Temperance and courage, two significant Stoic virtues, are defined by Clark
|
|
as a symptom of awareness. Temperance is the awareness that what others
|
|
crave is not worth craving after; courage is the awareness that what others
|
|
fear is not worth fearing. If virtues are best defined as properly attuned
|
|
awareness, then what better awareness to develop than the awareness of how
|
|
the universe works? As a computer scientist, and a person who finds great joy
|
|
in understanding systems and why they work, this makes perfect sense to me.
|
|
Building block 2: <b>awareness and understanding is the foundation of
|
|
virtue</b>.
|
|
|
|
<h3>Balance</h3>
|
|
<p> By balance, I mean the balance of stoic thought managing emotions. It
|
|
is common for Stoic teaching to be applied to negative emotions and
|
|
situations. Many blogs, books, and classes focus on applying a Stoic
|
|
mindset to stress, anxiety, depression, and the unfavorable situations that
|
|
cause those and other similar types of emotions to arise. Clark is
|
|
quick to propose a more important question: what happens when this approach
|
|
is fully applied? What happens when a full pursuit of Stoicism is taken
|
|
seriously? I appreciate Clark's use of the word "serious" when he speaks of
|
|
this pursuit. It implies to me that half-way applying Stoic thought is an
|
|
immature pursuit. That is to say, similar to an immature fruit tree, you
|
|
have only part of the system available to you. This is often how I've felt.
|
|
I know and understand the power of applying Stoic thought to difficult
|
|
situations. I want to know, as Clark puts it, if there is any room left for
|
|
joy after we've fully applied the Stoic philosophy.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><i>"It is neither appealing nor intellectually honest to take comfort
|
|
from a philosophy that works only if you do not think about it too
|
|
carefully."</i></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Clark investigates 5 possible answers to this dilemma, none of which
|
|
fully answer our question. However, he does propose a solution, and it is a
|
|
solution which resonates with me deeply: <b>"true stoic joy comes through
|
|
comprehension, understanding, and insight</b>." And that's the final
|
|
building block.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h2>Completing the Puzzle</h2>
|
|
<p>Putting it all together, what I took from Clark, and what has helped me
|
|
to better understand Stoicism as it applies to me:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><b>True stoic joy comes from learning about our universe,
|
|
together.</b></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>This has always been what has brought me the most happiness, but to hear
|
|
it from someone else now makes it much more potent. Almost ironically so,
|
|
considering one of the first topics I wrote about above was my general
|
|
disregard of community in Stoicism. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense
|
|
why I find computers so fascinating, or puzzles, or even video games: they
|
|
force me to learn about a system. And what more complex and unexplored
|
|
system exists than the literal infinity of the universe? When we pursue the
|
|
Stoic ideal too completely, there is a perceived risk that we will grow
|
|
completely apathetic, forced to acknowledge that while negative emotions
|
|
are not worth concern, so too are positive emotions, including joy! With
|
|
the revelation that true joy comes from understanding, the flawed
|
|
perception is then clarified to show flawed pursuit: we grow apathetic not
|
|
because we incorrectly realise nothing in the world is worthwhile, but
|
|
because we fail to understand the system. We grow apathetic by not
|
|
understanding the universe, or at the very least by ignoring the call to
|
|
curiosity. Everything boils down to understanding: we develop temperance
|
|
by understanding what is worth pursuit; we develop courage by understanding
|
|
fear; we develop wisdom by understanding how to learn; we develop justice
|
|
by understanding righteousness and wellness.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h3>Challenge</h3>
|
|
<p>My challenge now is to embrace this lifestyle completely. In the confines
|
|
and privacy of my own mind, it's very easy to follow. The only emotions and
|
|
opinions I need to concern myself with are my own, and I work hard to
|
|
properly concern myself with them. When it comes to others, I will
|
|
face emotions and opinions which I may disagree with, which may be
|
|
downright harmful, or which will hinder my pursuits. I will face failure
|
|
and frustration, especially so when opinions are concerned. This is where I
|
|
must double my efforts, and lead by example: show that the point is not to
|
|
win, or be the best, but to learn and understand. But what if this hinders
|
|
another, or makes them uncomfortable, or causes them harm? When I'm in
|
|
social interactions, I go out of my way to avoid uncomfortable or harmful
|
|
scenarios. I try not to call out others on their faults or failures,
|
|
because I don't believe them to be capable of handling it. That may be
|
|
worse than an accusation: to assume weakness or inability!</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>I must learn to act in accordance with Nature. I must seek to understand
|
|
all that I experience. I will seek the experience of others to verify or
|
|
improve my understanding as often as possible. Likewise, I will provide
|
|
others with my experience, so that they may learn and improve their
|
|
understanding. I will never do so in an attempt to prove myself superior,
|
|
because I know that pursuit is fruitless; pride does not bestow
|
|
understanding. And if others try to prove themselves superior to me, then I
|
|
will most likely let them, because pride does not bestow understanding.
|
|
Plus, if they are superior to me, then I have a source of knowledge!</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In summary, I'm left with a question, and a revelation. The revelation
|
|
is that the greatest joy in life is understanding the universe. The
|
|
question is, how do I share this joy with others without being offensive or
|
|
insensitive? So long as my intentions are pure, I'm doing what I can to
|
|
avoid those problems, and the remainder rests on the audience.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h2>Source</h2>
|
|
<p>Sherman J. Clark's article can be found on the Stoicism Today blog,
|
|
linked here: [<a
|
|
href="https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/2015/12/19/how-now-horatio-the-stoic-joy-of-physics-and-friendship-by-sherman-j-clark/">Link</a>]</p>
|
|
|
|
<!-- ================================= -->
|
|
<!-- ================================= -->
|
|
|
|
<!-- Notes
|
|
|
|
Source:
|
|
https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/2015/12/19/how-now-horatio-the-stoic-joy-of-physics-and-friendship-by-sherman-j-clark/
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Selfish vs community
|
|
|
|
- Nature
|
|
- nature is the universe
|
|
- we should live in accordance with nature. what does that mean?
|
|
- best way is to constantly seek to understand nature
|
|
|
|
- Positive and negative emotions
|
|
- Easy to apply stoic practices to negative emotions
|
|
- What happens when applied to positive emotions?
|
|
- "it is neither appealing nor intellectually honest to take comfort from a
|
|
philosophy that works only if you do not think about it too carefully"
|
|
- I like how a full pursuit of Stoicism is often classified by Clark as
|
|
"serious" pursuit. Several implications; importance of the word.
|
|
-->
|
|
|
|
<!-- ================================= -->
|
|
<!-- ================================= -->
|