Chapter Four: Episode 19
Stoicism and Resilience
Stoicism and Resilience
Resilience is an essential skill for any life. And, in these past few years, we’ve all been enrolled in a master class on resilience, brought on by the Pandemic and its continuing impact on health, finances and politics.
Many have chosen to be tutored by the ancient Stoics for this master class. As I began to draft this chapter in the later days of the Pandemic, there were already 14 books about Stoicism on Amazon’s website. Today, in mid-2023, I can count 45. And books alone won’t slake our Stoic thirst: Stoic-focused websites are multiplying, and there is a whole new marketplace of Stoic mugs, pendants, and quote-a-day calendars!
Why this hunger for a philosophy that originated around 300 BC? Because Stoicism focuses on resilience. This ancient philosophy, now popularized for a contemporary, American audience, incorporates key teachings about how to be resilient.
For example, Stoics train their minds to “reframe” – as modern psychology would put it. One ancient training exercise, called, “the view from above,” has us picture ourselves as part of a larger cosmos and human community. Another Stoic exercise, the “daily review,” has us reflect on the day’s events and our responses, seeking improvement. A modern Stoic exercise, proposed by popular Stoic interpreter David Fideler, has us imagine that a wise person (like Socrates) is watching over our actions, so that we act in accordance with that person’s spirit and teaching.[1]
Watered-down Religion?
Hmm, is there is something familiar in all this?
Does the “view from above” remind you of religion – where believers are urged to always remember God watches over us?
Does the “daily review” remind you of traditional daily prayers, where believers examine their actions and motives (like the popular Jesuit Examen prayer)?
Does Fideler’s exercise in imaging Socrates also remind you of “WWJD” -- “What would Jesus do?”
Does seeing our lives as part of a larger community and cosmos remind you of Christianity’s “communion of the saints” – a cosmic community of souls that transcends time and space?
Well, then let’s ask: is Stoicism a religion? Hmmm. . .
Its attraction for many moderns is its promise of religion’s benefits without religion, as noted by this observer: “Some contemporary proponents of Stoicism. . . present it as a strategy for living a meaningful secular existence, as though Stoicism might be swapped in for religion like Lactaid for regular milk. (Got a God intolerance? Try Epictetus!)”[2]
But, on closer inspection, genuine Stoicism seems more akin to religion. It emphasizes strength derived from beyond one’s powers. It promotes mystical wisdom that demands a humble openness. It promotes living aligned with Ultimate Reality. And that Ultimate Reality isn’t some mute, molecular material. No, it’s alive with Being, in which we all participate, called by Stoics, “the Logos.”[3] (Of course, that term reminds us of the Christian scripture, “In the Beginning, was the Word” -- the Logos.)
So, is Stoicism religion, or simply watered-down advice?
(To be continued April 28, Chapter Four: Episode 20)
To Eight Trails readers: Does this post suggest a moment you’ve experienced and, perhaps, a photo you took? Share your reflections and photos with me by clicking “reply” to this emailed post. I would be delighted to include them in new posts — of course, crediting you!
[1] David Fideler, “Breakfast with Seneca,” page 218.
[2] Molly Young, “Better Living Through Stoicism, From Seneca to Modern Interpreters” (New York Times December 28, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/28/books/stoicism-books.html
[3] Fideler, op cit, 60.