What is Stoicism’s Purpose? To Empower A New Perspective
“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.”
Marcus Aurelius
When we distil Stoicism down to its basic principles, what is its purpose? Why should we adopt a Stoic approach? Isn’t that just being emotionless and indifferent, where life should be filled with emotions and passion? Stoicism aims to empower new perspectives that improve our relationship with the world, which delves deeper than surface-level reservations.
Last week, I drove my close friend home after our weekly meetup, and we discussed the overlap between Stoicism and Christianity. It was fascinating to see that for every Stoic quote I mentioned, he could find an equivalent passage in the Bible reflecting the same principles. This inspired me to explain the core purpose of Stoicism in simple terms.
Epictetus explained in his Discourses, that the difference between us and animals is that animals react to the world’s impressions, but we have the added gift of making good use of them. Often, we do not use this gift, making us passive and unhappy. Stoicism’s purpose is to show us that it is not the world itself that determines us but whether we have made good or bad use of its impressions—in other words, our perspective.
Perspective Is More Important Than Circumstances
Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome between 161 and 180 AD, became one of the most famous stoics because of his Meditations. These journals were never intended for an audience, but they were the struggles and lessons Marcus discussed with himself during his reign. They were his personal entries, reminding him of the fragility of life, tolerance of others, and the importance of the rational mind, among other things.
When we read his meditations, we see the strange overlap between our lives and that of a former leader of the most powerful empire almost 2000 years ago. Why should we relate to him? Or take Epictetus, a former slave turned Stoic scholar. Why did the most powerful man in the Roman Empire and a former slave share the same principles?
Stoicism teaches us that external things do not make or break us; it’s the meanings we attach to them that do. We could have all the material wealth, relationships, fame, and comforts but still be depressed. We may struggle financially, have few relationships, and suffer from many ailments, yet we could still be grateful for what we do have. Therefore, it cannot be the comforts we achieve in life that empower our happiness, but our relationship with them.
This is why Stoicism aims to provide a path of perspective for greater fulfilment. From understanding Stoicism’s simplest purpose, we can begin to apply it to empower our understanding of our impressions, meaning our thoughts. If we understand the nature and observation of our thoughts, our perspective aligns with fulfilment, gratitude and acceptance.
Understanding The Nature Of Thoughts
“Choose not to be harmed — and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed — and you haven’t been.”
Marcus Aurelius
It is interesting to note the link between Stoicism and modern therapy. Stoicism and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) aim to detach our thoughts from our emotional reactions and understand their nature more deeply. The above quote illustrates the relationship between our thoughts and reality.
Two identical people are faced with the same impression. This impression is a rejection from a crush. In the first person, we would understand the reaction of those who had their expectations crushed and a grief-like cycle being stimulated. The second, surprisingly, accepts rejection as a normal facet of life. They are disheartened but not ruined. They choose not to feel harmed because they understand the rejection itself is neutral without its given meaning. Which reaction would we say is best? One lives happier than the other because of that experience, so shouldn’t we follow that path instead of the ‘natural’ reaction?
Intense emotions are harder to appreciate, but the concept is the same. We should not deny emotions because our minds must process them first. To process them, we must understand them in their simplest form: helpful or unhelpful or cause and effect, rationalising their nature. This is the first step to understanding Stoicism and perspective, but recognising our thoughts is only half the solution.
Allowing The Observation Of Thoughts
“Everything hangs on one’s thinking… A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is”
Seneca
The second stage is applying this understanding to the impressions of everyday life. The core component of meditation is allowing thoughts to appear and flow without judgment or attachment. Stoicism teaches the same principles, but it primarily aligns the thoughts we act on with virtues we should live by. These are Courage, Moderation, Wisdom, and Justice.
We would not have been upset if we had never attached to a certain thought, which gives us the freedom not to be upset at all, or at the very least, wiser for the experience. A breakup is a great example. I have been lost in grief, ruminating on what-ifs and where they are now. Other times, I have lived with acceptance, contentment, and abundant opportunities, with life being simple and joyful. Happier days were not because the experience disappeared but because the negative impressions flowed past me without attachment, and the positive impressions were nurtured.
The purpose of Stoicism and meditation is to live in the present moment with contentness. I had a long chat with another close friend about simplifying life rather than overcomplicating it. Happiness is simply being content now, wanting nothing to be different. Wanting nothing to be different is understanding our thoughts are fluid and spontaneous. Then with that, we have the perspective to empower or disempower ourselves in accordance with which thoughts we choose to live by.
