Seneca's Stoic Wisdom for Life's Challenges

Seneca's wisdom provides practical guidance for building resilience in the face of life's challenges. Seneca was born in 4 BC. He was born into a wealthy and influential family in Rome. He studied philosophy and rhetoric and became a close advisor to the Roman Emperor Nero. Seneca's writings on Stoicism were highly influential and are still read and studied today. When Seneca claimed that the wise man is safe from injury, his friend Serenus asked:
"What then?
"Yes," said Seneca, "they will try, but the injury will not reach him."
He claimed that the wise man was too far from his men and that anything they threw at him would not hold its destructive power until it got close to him. He likened such a pursuit to an army of archers and catapults trying to attack the gods. They took off high into the sky. Their arrows reach invisible places, but they never reach the sky, they fall to the ground. However, despite Seneca's pleas for inner strength and basic invulnerability to the evil of others, Selenus insisted that it would be better if no one tried to harm the wise man. Honestly, Wouldn't the world be a better place if all humans stopped hurting each other?
But Seneca disagreed and said: "You are expressing a wish that the whole human race were inoffensive, which may hardly be." Well, doesn't that remind us of the current state of the world, in which almost anything you say seems to offend someone somewhere? While the idea of an inoffensive world may come from a good place, the Stoic politician Seneca saw that it's most likely unrealistic. Seneca saw that it's most likely unrealistic. People always seem to say or do things that offend others, a predicament that lies as much in the power of the offensive as the offended. However, the problem with Serenus' wish is that other people's actions are beyond our control. If we, for example, wish to exterminate all people's negative opinions, we'll be in for grave disappointment. There always will be people spouting offensive language. And the emergence of social media and massive broadcasting platforms like YouTube, where everyone can deliver their opinions, has dramatically increased their visibility. And so, the number of people who get offended and demand others to shut up also seems to grow. Even though foul language may be offensive, hurtful, and often nonsensical, it'll probably occur as long as humanity is around, especially in countries that support freedom of speech. Hence, if we don't want to be offended, trying to shut up the offensive probably won't work. Therefore, Seneca repeatedly emphasizes in his work that the key to not being offended—not being defeated by other people's words or actions—lies within ourselves. So, it's not about defeating those who offend us; it's about being undefeatable by these people, which lies within our power, according to the Stoics. The question is, of course, how can we pull this off? This video focuses on Seneca's Stoicism, particularly regarding becoming undefeatable. When comparing the known Stoic philosophers from antiquity, the emperor Marcus Aurelius is probably the most popular. His Meditations are accessible and resonate with the reader, as they show an insight into his thoughts and struggles. His reflective nature, combined with being an emperor, creates a strong and clear archetype, which is also the case with Epictetus, who was a freed slave. In contrast, Seneca, though a significant Stoic figure, presents a more complex archetype. He was a statesman, philosopher, and dramatist. His varied roles contributed to different areas, such as literature, philosophy, and politics. Even though he had a prominent place in the Roman hierarchy, his power didn't reach the heights of Marcus Aurelius. However, he came close, as his authority over the empire was profound during Nero's first years of reign. Lucius Annaeus Seneca, also known as Seneca the Younger, was born in Córdoba, present-day Spain. His father, Seneca the Elder, was a famous writer and teacher of rhetoric, and his mother, Helvia, came from a prominent family. Seneca's education was in rhetoric, but philosophy truly grasped his interest. After a successful career in Rome, Emperor Claudius banned Seneca from Rome to Corsica due to accusations of adultery, where he remained for eiin hight years and where he wrote his famous consolation to his mother. Seneca created a variety of writings on Stoic philosophy. Aside from in-depth essays on topics such as anger, tranquility, and inner strength, he also wrote many letters containing profound Stoic wisdom. He wrote in Latin, which indicated his literary ambitions as a Roman, as most philosophers would still write in Greek. In this video, we'll focus on one of his pivotal works, De Constantia Sapientis, translated as On the Firmness of the Wise Man. As a Stoic, Seneca strived for a state of unperturbedness: a profound inner peace which external circumstances do not disrupt or, at least, minimally. But, from Seneca's perspective, what does it mean to be unperturbed? Is it akin to being an emotionless rock in the face of the whims of fate? Does it mean being completely indifferent toward the things around you, good or bad? In his work, On the Firmness of the Wise Man, Seneca described in great detail how the tranquil, equanimous individual, the sage, would respond to different situations, which we'll explore further in this video in-depth. How does one become undefeatable? Seneca's views on this matter align with the general Stoic view of being tranquil and undisturbed in the face of the external world. Being unshaken by outside circumstances, undefeatable in the face of insults and assaults, the Stoics see as defining characteristics of what it means to be internally strong. However, that doesn't mean that the wise man is an emotionless piece of stone, letting events pass by in utter indifference, basically being dead among the living. Stoics aren't emotionless, which Seneca agrees with, as seen in his letters, especially the famous letter to his mother. There is room for emotion, and the application of reason actually evokes emotions, or at least specific positive feelings integral to the Stoic optimal state of 'flourishing.' So, no, being Stoic isn't being emotionless. Being undefeatable isn't about being as cold as stone. It's about avoiding what the Stoics named the passions when confronted with external circumstances. Passion is an emotional response to these situations that arises from irrational thinking. This can be anger (or especially persistent anger) over an insult, persistent and excessive sadness over a loss, or a strong desire or desire for external objects or people. Therefore, the lack of these passions results in an unwavering spirit. From a Stoic perspective, one is invincible unless there is something in the outside world that shakes one's patience. Being invincible to adversity means being able to remain unharmed in the face of unfortunate situations, such as being insulted by someone, heartbreak, or the loss of someone you love. But when can you talk about your injury? What does it mean to be hurt? Seneca often refers to an injury in his essay De Constantia Sapientis. But what does he mean by that? When is an injured person considered injured? Are these physical injuries the result of an attack, for example? Or when someone verbally insults you and everyone laughs at you? Or are you likely to be injured when you suffer a significant financial loss or face an illness? You may be surprised, but for Seneca these things are not injuries in themselves. The hurt lies not in the act done to you, whether it be an insult or a physical attack, but in our attitude towards that act. Seneca said that the characteristic of a wise man is not that his circumstances prevent anyone from harming him, but that his life is so safe and comfortable that he rarely encounters situations in which he could be harmed. I claim that it is. Such a person remains calm not because of his inner strength, but because his life is so easy and without difficulties. If you put such a person in difficulties, which he has not learned to endure, his cheerfulness can quickly disappear. It's like putting the spoiled rich kids who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths in the shoes of the common man. Will his character be strong enough to continue to thrive, given that his strength is largely dependent on his wealth? The hallmark of a wise person is inner strength, the ability to remain unharmed regardless of external circumstances. I quote:
In like manner you may know that the wise man, if no injury hurts him, is of a higher type than if none is offered to him, and I should call him a brave man whom war does not subdue and the violence of the enemy does not alarm, not him who enjoys luxurious ease amid a slothful people. I say, then, that such a wise man is invulnerable against all injury; it matters not, therefore, how many darts be hurled at him, since he can be pierced by none of them.
End quote.
According to Seneca, a wise man is beyond receiving injury. Whatever life throws at him, he will bear it calmly.
"The invulnerable is not that which is never struck, but that which is never wounded," he stated. Again, we have no control over whether the world is good to us or not. It's out of our control. Even though we have immense wealth, power comparable to that of the Roman Emperor, and influence over all media in existence, we cannot control all human behavior. However, we can develop the ability to become invulnerable (or at least less vulnerable) to misfortune. How can I do that? According to Seneca, we can achieve this through patience, or enduring the adversity we wish to overcome, and through "trust in reason". " Let's look at different life situations and see how Seneca approaches them and how they can be overcome according to his ideas. In his writings, Seneca says of Vatinius that he was "born to be laughed at and hated. "Vatinius was a witty and wise fool, but his unashamed nature likely made him the target of intense scrutiny. According to Seneca, he had more enemies than diseases. However, Vatinius did not care what others said about him and was often self-deprecating, so none of his enemies could harm him. In some ways, Vatinius is somewhat similar to the a, who was invincible against his enemies because he did not care about the opinions of others. He had nothing to lose because he wasn't attached to anything. It seems like being offended is all the rage these days. Some people take pride in telling the world that something someone said struck a nerve, and they don't bother to explain why. It's probably for good reason (though not always), and their statements are often based on their ideas of how the world should be and how people should behave, and they probably believe that if they speak out, something will change. Apart from this phenomenon, it is commonly observed that people react less to insults. Such was the case in Seneca's time. For example, he says that slaves preferred to be whipped rather than insulted, which shows how much people hated it. For example, a blow of the blade. Seneca came up with a highly straightforward and rational approach to being insulted, which he explains in this passage:
Do these things befall me deservedly or undeservedly? If deservedly, it is not an insult, but a judicial sentence; if undeservedly, then he who does injustice ought to blush, not I. And what is this which is called an insult? Someone has made a joke about the baldness of my head, the weakness of my eyes, the thinness of my legs, the shortness of my stature; what insult is there in telling me that which everyone sees?
End quote.
Let's simplify this. If someone says something you don't like about yourself, and it's true, why is it an insult? According to Seneca, it's not. That's the truth. But what if someone says something about you that you don't like and it's not true? So why is that an insult? That's nonsense. So, the person who said it has more reason to be ashamed than you. According to Seneca, the wise man transcends insults. If he allows himself to be influenced by them, he quickly makes himself vulnerable. No matter where a person meets, he cannot feel safe because the person's words can hurt him or destroy him. Insults are harmful. Words will be like arrows through his body. His peace of mind depends on the whims of bullies and fools, so he can only pray that they will leave him alone. He might be better off completely isolated from humanity to avoid harm. Seneca's philosophy of firmness extends beyond insults. It goes further. Being invulnerable to mean comments is just the beginning of the art. Not being fazed by physical harm is "next level" stoicism. Unlike insults, bodily harm is an actual "injury." An event that Seneca mentions frequently in his essays. However, upon closer reading, it is clear that physical harm, whether a nosebleed or a stab wound, is still quite different from Seneca's meaning of injury. Of course, it cannot be denied that there is damage to the body. But still, the real hurt happens in the heart.
Seneca states:
Bear adversity with calm and prosperity with moderation, neither yielding to the former nor trusting to the latter.
End quote.
The ability of a wise man to endure suffering is immeasurable. Therefore, physical harm will not grieve him, and expecting it will not cause fear. He remains calm and unfazed by the pain or the possibility of it happening. A wise man with inner strength enjoys great advantages. People cannot use physical violence as a means of manipulation to get things done against their will. Epictetus later expressed this beautifully in his lectures, explaining that someone could put him in chains and bind his feet, but not even Zeus could touch his free will. Given the magnitude of physical pain, the effect it has on us, and the pain and fear most of us feel when encountering it, it is a great challenge to remain immune to it. For example, even superheroes, let alone civilians, must contend with an unwavering resolve not to speak during torture. So, it undoubtedly takes practice and patience to develop, as Seneca states:
"Think that the wise man belongs to this class, that of men who, by long and faithful practice, have acquired strength to endure and tire out all the violence of their enemies."
Seneca's invincibility extends beyond verbal and physical injuries. And let's face it: Even if Vatinius can withstand Nero's tortures and Cicero's sarcastic remarks, he couldn't when his lover broke up with him, no one is truly invincible. Probably not. From Seneca's perspective, a true wise man remains resolute in the face of any misfortune.
He states:
He who says that the wise man can bear this and cannot bear that, and restrains his magnanimity within certain limits, does wrong; for Fortune overcomes us unless she is entirely overcome.
End quote.
Seneca doesn't ascribe the wise the hardness of stone or iron; she does feel misfortunes,
such as losing loved ones but is conscious of her endurance. She may shed a tear or two after losing someone dear to her, but she'll rise superior to it and heal her wounds. Hence, after his banishment to Corsica, Seneca suggested that his mother grieve and let reason console her afterward. According to Seneca, trivial misfortunes the sage doesn't even feel. Seneca challenges us to move beyond minor and major disruptions and confront what many consider the greatest of all disasters: the death of. Not only did he see acceptance of death as something necessary to overcome (as it is an inevitable part of life), but he also believed that if death could be overcome, other misfortunes would also be tolerated. He also argued that it would be easier.
He states:
If we accept with an undisturbed and tranquil mind that greatest terror of all, beyond which the angry laws and the most cruel masters have nothing to threaten us with, in which fortune's dominion is contained—if we know that death is not an evil, and therefore is not an injury either, we shall much more easily endure the other things, such as losses, pains, disgraces, changes of abode, bereavements, and partings, which do not overwhelm the wise man even if they all befall him at once, much less does he grieve at them when they assail him separately.
And if he bears the injuries of fortune calmly, how much more will he bear those of powerful men, whom he knows to be the hands of fortune.
End quote.