Contents
Contents
Introduction
In my previous post on this series, I wrote about the Stoic principle of memento mori, and what benefits this philosophical principle can convey to your daily life (read it here).
In this post, I’ll highlight a tenet of the Stoic school of thought: apatheia – a state of mind characterised by degree of indifference to external events. The Stoics believed that this principle proved crucial for a peace of mind and the mastery of one’s emotions.
Indeed, the Stoics were known for their pragmatism, and the principle of apatheia was founded on rational thinking. Likewise, the Stoics were influenced by the teachings of Plato – particularly his views on metaphysics, e.g. the relationship between the world of forms and matter, which underpins the notion of mind over matter.
In a world where chance lies in wait at every turn – ready to pounce, the individual that does not exercise caution by means of rationality is likely to fall victim to chance.
It’s for this reason that the Stoics believed deeply in the importance of eschewing our reliance on external matters for our personal happiness. This is done by preventing ourself to act impulsively and emotionally to the events that befall us, whether they are positive or negative.
As such, the Stoics valued a dispassionate temperament. Not one that is unfeeling, but rather one that is characterised by eustatheia – a degree of mental steadiness which they believed was the outcome of living a life according to Stoic virtues (more on this in a later post).
The Stoics believed that this placidity of mind, removed from irrationality, emotional reactions, and excessive desires, was the path to true happiness. This principle is bound to ring true in a world where fortune or misfortune can befall anyone at any given point in time.
As such, Seneca is known to have said:
“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”
Handling emotions the Stoic way
Emotions are a fundamental part of human life and are intrinsic feelings that impel us to act out in a certain manner in response to certain external stimuli. It is needless to say that they are essential.
Therefore, it’s useful to ask ourselves: how did the Stoics manage to live a dispassionate life, and perhaps more importantly – why did they choose to? Shouldn’t we instead aim to live a life full of passion and meaning?
These are valid questions. Nevertheless, the Stoics believed that a good life is one based on Stoic virtues; one of temperance and in harmony with nature. Thus, favouring balance, the Stoics sought to seek a state of natural equilibrium.
This state of moderation was also recommended by the classical Greek philosopher Aristotle as a moral virtue (read more about the virtues of the ancient Greeks here). Rampant and uncontrolled emotions were deemed to be harmful to one’s health and not in line with the principles of moral virtue.
Stoic dispassion is not a total lack of emotion, but rather a certain detachment between the event that causes an emotion to stir and the resulting emotional response that normally follows.
So, rather than extinguishing our feelings entirely, we should gain the ability to properly gauge and control our feelings that may arise from a given event.
Indeed, we cannot prevent ourselves from feeling emotions, but we can control what we do when an emotion arises.
Of this Epictetus says:
“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.”
To rephrase: rather than becoming unfeeling automatons, we should allow emotions to wash over us (as they inevitably will), but rather than get swept away by them, we ought to stand firm in our ability to control and overcome them by virtue of our reason.
Emotional self-mastery
The key imperative of Stoic apatheia is self-mastery, which itself is attained by virtue of reasoning. Reasoning proved to be another key principles that the Stoics (and indeed, many classical Greek philosophers prior) were fond of.
The art of emotional self-mastery is perhaps even more relevant nowadays – in a world where corporations are continually trying to get a reaction out of you (after all, emotions sell), it’s especially relevant and important to be able to detach from the vast morasses of for-profit sentiments that surround us wherever we go.
How then, do we go about achieving emotional self-mastery? Some of the methods the Stoics recommend are listed below:
- Introspection – identifying and making sense of our reasoning is the first step to improving our ability to make sound judgments
- Gratitude – understanding the significance of our existence and being grateful for who we are (and what we are capable of) is essential to taming unrealistic expectations
- Practice – reasoning and sound judgment are acquired with time and effort; in order to break away from the mediocre we have to consistently strive for the higher
A right and a wrong way to embrace apatheia
As mentioned previously, emotions are an essential part of human life – and for good reason. The Stoic principle of apatheia stands in contrast to our natural mode of being and is also one of the reasons why detachment from our passions and emotions is such a difficult thing to achieve.
The sense of emotional freedom and independence that is the result of apatheia is a great reward, but it’s easy to confuse Stoic self-discipline with the stifling of our emotions and passions. Forcefully subduing any part of us improperly is bound to lead to issues.
It’s for this reason that I would like to highlight the importance of exercising reason when aiming at emotional self-mastery – there are good ways and bad ways to go about it.
For example, say you’ve raised your hopes and are convinced that you will get a promotion at work. The moment arrives and the announcement comes… but, it’s your colleague that has gotten the promotion instead of you. Surely, at this point in time a pang of disappointment will strike your core, and it’s sure to be followed by a couple of negative emotions.
At this moment in time, you could exercise the Stoic principle of apatheia correctly or incorrectly.
The correct way: You reason that by raising your hopes you’ve placed a part of your source of happiness in an external endeavour; something not entirely within your control. Having recognised that this is a sure-fire way to be disappointed again in the future. You allow yourself to feel disappointed as an exercise and reminder for the future, so as to prevent this from happening again.
The incorrect way: Feeling disappointed, you stifle the feeling by telling yourself that aren’t concerned about the outcome (whereas in actuality you are) and swiftly resort to distract yourself by seeking another (external) source to overcome this dip in happiness. Rather than coming to terms with the reason why you are hurt, you quickly skim over the feeling and move on to the next thing.
The correct way highlights that Stoic apatheia doesn’t consist of stifling or resisting the emotion itself, but rather controlling our response to it by virtue of our reasoning capabilities.
It’s as Marcus Aurelius has said:
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”
Therefore, we must come to terms with the way we perceive the world and what expectations we establish when we set into it. By managing both our perceptions and expectations for the better, can we truly achieve tranquillity of the mind.
Conclusion
The Stoic principle of apatheia represents one of the main tenets of the philosophy and is as useful a tool today as it was two millennia ago. Unfortunately, Stoic apatheia is often tangled with the modern definition of apathy, i.e. a state characterised by inertia and indifference; and indeed Stoicism itself is sometimes confused with a lacking of emotions. However, this is incorrect, as Stoicism does not advocate for a lack of emotions nor a lack of caring about one’s affairs.
Confusions aside, mastery of the main tenet of Stoicism through consistent introspection and practice is bound to be rewarding. Many of us in today experience recurrent states of confusion, worry, and fear. We might worry about the future of the planet, the current economic state, or perhaps ongoing conflicts.
Unfortunately, in the majority of instances there is no direct solution to these issues, and yet our feelings do not subside. It’s in times like these that the Stoics are yet again able to gift us with the principles of their philosophy, so that we might find a peace of mind at last.
