Sêneca was a stoic philosopher, however sort of a maverick: in his book, Da Vida Feliz (De Vita Beata), he makes it clear that some of the ideas presented there are his own work, not related to what other stoics think, even if he still share the core stoic ideals, such as the search for the tranquility of the soul and the search for a life that accepts fate in such intense way that it's owner is allowed to never be frustrated. The Stoicism was a Hellenistic philosophy school that aimed to annihilate the "passion", that is, "the emotions that overwhelm the reason". That would be the path to happiness, through the "ataraxia", the tranquility of the soul (absence of any emotion that obfuscates the reason).
Sêneca wrote simple texts, rich in examples, in a way to hit the reader who didn't have a lot of knowledge on the stoic doctrine, which is, however, advised. This makes Sêneca easy to understand, unlike a lot of modern philosophers who use a way-too-technical language, keep their philosophy from being absorbed by common people (majority of the people).
In synthesis, is genuinely happy the person that submits to reason as ultimate guide for life, because that's the only thing that separate us from animals. It's the individual's fate to be rational. More than that, being this the biggest difference, it should be part of the natural for said individual to use the reason and it's use reveals that happiness consists in acting according to what nature (or fate) want us to act. Fools are those who fight against fate.
For Sêneca and even for the common sense, everyone wants to be happy, everyone wants happiness, but most people miss the way proportionally to how passionately they pursuit it. Happiness shouldn't be sought through the path of passion, like those of the common sense want. Happiness should be sought rationally and rigorously, a path far from being easy, both to follow and to concept.
To start, those who want to have a happy life must flee from the "majority", that is, of the way majority of people think. The stoic philosopher shouldn't be tied to the way the majority sees the world, because the majority is passionate, the majority isn't guided by reason. Not being guided by reason, the majority should be isolated from the stoic in a way that it doesn't influence him/her. Sêneca said that the philosopher who didn't achieved the plain ataraxia and gather with the majority feels tempted to go back to their old ways. The majority is guided by the passion, by the desires, desires that sometimes can not be sated. So, the individual would be constantly tempted to have what he/her can not have. Not that the stoic can't have anything, but, while we satisfy every desire systematically, the reason is obfuscated and we can't recognize what we can actually have and what could be an useless effort.
As second law to achieve a happy life, Sêneca points that the stoic shouldn't judge from the looks, shouldn't take excessive care of the body (appearance) with the only goal of looking more than his/her peers, because the looks aren't reliable criteria to judge definitive value of a person. Looks could also only incite envy, plus they doesn't benefit the person long-term (notice that short-term benefits tend to not last enough to contribute to happiness). Because of that, we shouldn't show off possessions or want to be under "spotlight", not even judge someone from how good they look, because a person could be rich, beautiful, healthy and so on and still miss the happiness, the tranquility, that are possessions of the soul. Those are possessions we must seek. We shouldn't, however, give up on taking care of our body, just not be slaves of it, slaves of aesthetic methods, because those who take too much care of the body (specially appearance) is giving up on part of their freedom. So, we shouldn't live in complete function of the body, but live as someone who can't live without it and takes care of it as long it's necessary to be healthy.
The stoic should never want more than what they can have. They could have everything that is in their reach, but, if something is out of reach for whatever reason, it shouldn't be pursued, as it would only bring frustration. It's useless to be greedy over what you can not have. Plus, the stoic accepts the fate, the stoic accepts fortune, in the sense that the nature, the cosmos, makes a lot of decisions for him/her. So, the stoic must accept the context in which he/she is inserted and shrug off misfortunes, because it's useless to fight fate. It's a lost battle that would only bring frustration if we continue to fight. If we can have something or if we can't perform certain action, maybe it's better this way.
Lastly, not less important, the nature is rational for the stoic, the cosmos is rational. So, a well-crafted thought procedure is in agreement with the universe's will and can not be rejected as invalid. For the stoic, living according to nature is living rationally, not like the other animals. So, the reason must filter the desires, accepting only virtuous emotions (those that work well with reason and bring constructive results) and eliminate the emotions that go against the rational way. We must avoid passion, the emotions that overwhelm the reason, to live in a state of serene apathy that leads to perfect tranquility, therefore, to real happiness.
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12 years, 8 months ago
14 Apr 2013 03:47 CEST
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