The Spirit of Stoic Serenity 00 Introduction

PHILOSOPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE
I see in myself, Lucilius, not just an improvement

The Spirit of Stoic Serenity - Introduction
but a transformation.
(Seneca, Moral Letters 6.1)
Why Study Philosophy?

Philosophy is more than a matter of reading books to understand and
appreciate the views of their authors (and to examine and
challenge those views, just as philosophers have always done), it is
also an exercise in changing the way we look at life, and finding new
and improved perspectives on our specific concerns, to arrive
eventually at a point where our worries are defeated, or our fears
abolished, and our passions tempered.1 This process of discovery,
and the attempt to live by the insights we gain, is what the ancients
1
These lessons are adapted, with his gracious permission, from Keith
Seddon's book 'Stoic Serenity.' This book comes highly recommended, and
although it is not necessary to own a copy for these lessons, we hope that
students will find enough value in the lessons that they will be encouraged to
buy their own copy, and support one of the few voices for the practice of
Stoicism today.
called living as a philosopher. The term ‘philosopher’ was not reserved
so much for the teacher or author, but the person aiming to live the
philosophical life. One of philosophy’s most important figures, Socrates,
said this during his trial in Athens:
I did not care for the things that most people care about – making
money, having a comfortable home, high military or civil rank, and all
the other activities, political appointments, secret societies, party
organizations, which go on in our city… I set myself to do you – each
one of you, individually and in private – what I hold to be the
greatest possible service. I tried to persuade each of you to
concern himself less with what he has than with what he is, so as to
render himself as excellent and rational as possible.
(Plato, Apology 36b–c)
What Socrates did for himself was to find out how to make himself
‘excellent and rational’ – which in part at least resulted in his not caring
about the sorts of things that people usually regard as of supreme
importance (wealth and status, especially) – and then he set about
encouraging others to do the same. Socrates is famed for his assertion
that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’ (Apology 38a). In the
most general of senses, what Socrates wanted to examine is the system
of values we adopt to justify what we find of importance. And this is
what we shall be doing in these discussions.
What Stoicism Offers

The promise of Stoic philosophy is to give to the student a sense of
profound tranquility. In ancient times it was the job of the philosopher-
teacher to show the student how this can be done. The teacher would
do this simply by living the philosophic life, which the student could
witness on a daily basis simply as they attended their daily lessons and
through personal contact at other times. Indeed, some schools accepted
residential students who would actually have lived with their
philosopher-teacher throughout the duration of their studies. Thus the
students would have been able to see how their teacher managed their
everyday affairs, how they coped with crises and lesser troubles, and
how they faced the sorts of evils that in some shape or form eventually
touch the lives of everyone. In short, the teacher was a model for their
students.
Now the reality of studying Stoic philosophy today is that there are no
philosophical residential schools, and we would be hard pressed to find
a teacher of the caliber seen in those ancient times. Nevertheless the
philosopher-teacher can still guide and can give advice, and as students
we can actively put that teaching into practice. Though relatively scarce,
there are enough remaining writings from teachers and students of
Stoic philosophy, as well as a wealth of additional material. These will
be our teachers for the next 6 months or so.
About This Course

Each of these lessons will have an introduction, which will focus on a
specific Stoic practice or principle. Lessons build on each other, so
skipping around is probably not a good idea. Lessons will also refer to
outside sources, usually from the writings of Seneca, Epictetus, and
Marcus Aurelius, with occasional references to other teachers, ancient
and modern. Finally each lesson will conclude with one or more
exercises, requiring reflection and application the principles discussed
during the lesson.
Let's start applying some of these ideas right away by asking ourselves
what we are expecting out of this course.
Read
Seneca2 Letter 48. 7-8 starting at "Would you really know what
philosophy offers to humanity?" Seneca is warning his friend, Lucilius, to
2
The works of Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius are available at no cost in
several places on the Internet, although some of these translations are fairly
old. All of the text for these lessons may also be found at
(https://sites.google.com/site/thestoiclife/the_teachers). Nevertheless, the
text is understandable, and the principles stand out regardless of the date of
publication. You may also choose to purchase your own more modern
stay away from logic games, which were what was passing for popular
philosophy in his day (we could substitute pop-psychology today). He
then goes on to tell him what philosophy is really for, and what Lucilius
should be doing with it.
Write
Read section 7 again. In your journal3, make a list of the things that are
troubling you, things that you would like to be free of. Keep this list for
the end of the course, so you can see how much progress you have
made to free yourself from these worries and concerns. Try to keep
regular track of your list for the next week or so, adjusting your list as
you encounter new situations.
Discuss
Read section 8 again. If Stoic philosophy delivers what it promises, there
are many among your friends and family who might benefit from such
teaching. Additionally, it is well known that the best way to learn and
practice something, is to try to teach the principles to another. For this
exercise, find a friend or family member (not studying these lessons)
who is willing to discuss these things with you. Keep track of your
progress, challenges and questions in your journal.
The image on page 1 is Marcus Aurelius, fragment of a bronze portrait

(Roman artwork, after 170 CE) currently held at the Louvre Museum,
Paris, France. More details of the image can be found here:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bronze_Marcus_Aurelius_Louvre_Br
45.jpg)
translations, and these will also serve you well as you start to build your own
Stoic Library.
3
Participants are strongly urged to complete the short ‘in your journal’
assignments. Try to engage with the lessons as if you really were having a
conversation with your philosopher-teacher, and recording your thoughts on
paper, or on a computer, as you prefer. It is by doing the writing assignments,
and participating in the discussion forums, that we will begin to see real,
tangible growth in a Stoic 'art of living.'

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PHILOSOPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE

I see in myself, Lucilius, not just an improvement

(Seneca, Moral Letters 6.1)

Why Study Philosophy?

(Plato, Apology 36b–c)

What Stoicism Offers

About This Course

The image on page 1 is Marcus Aurelius, fragment of a bronze portrait

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