Turing to Stoicism in the Time of Pandemic[1]
If your philosophy doesn’t work in the most dire circumstances, then abandon it now, because it is a Starbucks philosophy.
~Major Thomas Jarrett[2]
At the time of this writing (February 20, 2021), more than 2.4 million people around the world have succumbed to the COVID-19 infection so far, and many more have been hospitalized. Besides serious health hazard, in terms of its social impact, the pandemic has turned our dwellings into home-shift offices and social distancing has disrupted work, school, and gatherings with family and friends. Overall, the hazard of serious illness, the impending fear of loss of job security, and the challenging adjustments to our normal work routine have created extraordinarily high levels of stress.
To deal with anxiety and stress caused by the pandemic, we turn to Stoicism, a philosophy that has its roots in ancient Greece and Rome. Stoicism is a school of ancient Greco-Roman philosophy whose influence has persisted to the present day. It lays great emphasis on resilience and mental freedom gained from living a life of moral virtue in accordance with nature, thereby gaining a state of “imperturbable tranquility.” It offers a deep philosophical framework and an ethical scaffold, especially during hard times such as these. From Seneca, Epictetus to Marcus Aurelius during these early times to Victor Frankl and James Stockdale in our times, Stoicism has endured as a “tough-love” philosophy to live a fulfilling, meaningful life, even amidst adversity. The early Stoics learned all about managing crises, first-hand: they lived through exiles, wars, pandemics and loss of loved ones. Using universally applicable, rational principles to understand life, the Stoics devised various mind hacks that can be used to cope with stress, misfortune, and grief. As Tim Ferriss said in a 2017 TED Talk that Stoicism is “the most reliable safety net for emotional free fall.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us and raised many questions about the ways we work, live our lives, and lead our organizations. During such turbulent times, the older wisdom traditions such as Stoicism can be helpful. Now that the impending danger of the COVID-19 pandemic is slowly giving way to a protracted state of caution and restraint, we can benefit from taking a Stoic perspective in dealing with its slings and arrows.
As a robust philosophy and way of life, through the ages, Stoicism has inspired a wide range of writers, thinkers, and practitioners such as Shakespeare, Montaigne, Goethe, Kant, Pascal, Descartes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Thomas Jefferson, Pierre Hadot, JK Rowling, and Admiral James Stockdale. Stoicism is especially an excellent philosophy for those in positions of power and leadership and for those in high-stress jobs. Additionally, Stoicism has inspired many modern approaches to personal development (such as “Self-Help” movement), influenced logotherapy and psychotherapy (in particular, cognitive behavioral therapy and its precursor, rational emotive behavior therapy). It is also popular with the US military and the National Health Services (NHS) in the UK.
Stoicism seems ideally suited for leadership development and the pursuit of well-being since it has its core as character, self-mastery, and purposeful action – the hallmarks of resilient leadership and flourishing. The life example of Admiral James Stockdale serves as a beacon of resilient leadership. Stockdale endured 7 1/2 years of extreme torture as naval POW in Hanoi Hilton, Vietnam, sustained by the teachings of Stoicism as his unassailable “inner citadel” and main survival kit.
Of all the Western philosophies, Stoicism seems perhaps the most immediately relevant and useful for our turbulent times. Today it is popular within several groups such as the military, Silicon Valley, and people interested in secular alternatives to religion. The practice of stoic philosophy will benefit medical doctors, psychotherapists, nurses, military service men and women, entrepreneurs, politicians, attorneys, social workers, and law and order personnel, to name a few.
The Stoics equated eudaimonia (flourishing) with virtue and recognized that happiness can be achieved through living a life of “value” (and not “valuables”); that is, by cultivating the four cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, righteousness and self-control. Accordingly, Stoicism can provide us with best coping strategies to deal with the stress and maintain mental peace in a state of exception like pandemic.
Additionally, Stoicism counters our general habit of complaining with the attitude of gratitude by reminding us that things could always be worse. As one writer put it: “Instead of complaining that you can’t go to a concert, bar, or sporting event, be thankful that you do not have to go to the hospital” (Sullivan, 2021).[3] The Stoics also considered our duty to humanity takes precedence duty to oneself. What is good for the beehive is good for the bee. This simple understanding can help us to diligently follow social distancing and using mask, etc. for the preservation of the greater good of the society.
Stoicism emphasizes that you can’t control events, but you can control your responses to them.
We present below four Stoic techniques/exercises to deal with the stress caused by events such as the pandemic:
- Dichotomy of Control: The Trump Card of Stoicism
One of the most robust psychological scaffolds that Stoics use is called ‘dichotomy of control:’ some things are in our control (our thoughts and actions) and some aren’t (our health, property, reputation). The Stoic refrain: Focus on what is within your sphere of choice, and take the rest as it comes, with equanimity. The Stoic approach to eudaimonia hinges on understanding this distinction clearly. Whoever wants to be free, says Epictetus, should wish for nothing or avoid nothing that is up to other people (Enchiridion, 14).
By focusing on what is in our control and taking the rest as it comes with stoic calm can go a long way in alleviating stress. What happens to us is never directly under my control, never completely up to us; however, our own thoughts and actions are. The pandemic is not really under my control—virus’ mutation into various strands is not under my control—but the way I behave in response to it is in my control (wearing a mask, hand-sanitizing, practicing social distancing).
One of the basic psychological principles of Stoicism states that “It’s not events that upset us but rather our judgement about them.” More specifically, our judgment that something is really bad, or even catastrophic, causes our distress. Once understood in the right manner, it can brace us to deal with any adversity, including the post COVID-19 environment, with Stoic calm.
- View from the Above: Taking a Cosmic Perspective of Human Situation
This exercise consists of the act of reflecting on things from a larger perspective or taking a cosmic view of our human condition. In the grand scheme of things, everything is so small, so miniscule. Even our planet is a mere fraction of a dot! Seneca advises Lucilius in letter XCIX to “place before your mind’s eye the vast spread of time’s abyss, and embrace the universe; and then compare what we call human life with infinity.”[4]
A variation of this exercise is to remember that we are not the first to experience adversity. Humanity endured several health pandemics such as cholera, the Spanish flu, and HIV/AIDS, to name just a few. Somehow, we do not seem to remember that in
the past people have gone through such conditions as we ourselves have been since March 2020. Approached thus, we realize that things don’t matter as much as or in the manner that we thought. This practice enjoins us to look at external things dispassionately, not referring everything back to our own individual hopes and fears. Approaching life situations this way, we can preserve our tranquility, our most precious possession.
Marcus Aurelius refers to this practice at several places in his Meditations (e.g., IV.33, V.23, V.24). In this exercise, we strive to take a dispassionate view of our worldly concerns and weigh them in the cosmic scale: as the minute, passing, repetitive, and, in a word, “indifferent” affairs that they are, relative to the Stoic perspective for which virtue is the only true good.[5] Marcus Aurelius assures us that this view from the above will relieve us from the daily burdens of our human existence and foster a sense of wonder: Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them (Meditations VII.47).
This exercise is all about transcending one’s individual perspective for a more total perspective that sages from all ages have bidden us. In his work Human, All Too Human, Friedrich Nietzsche, remembering Plato’s words in the Republic (604c), says, “All in all, nothing in human affairs is worth taking very seriously, nevertheless.” [6]
- Memento Mori: The Finitude of Human Existence
This exercise is about reminding ourselves about the impermanence of things, relations, and events, including our own mortality. It said that in the ancient Rome, according to a practice hankering back to the more virtuous days of the Republic, Roman emperors had people whispering “sic transit gloria mundi” (worldly glories are fleeting) and “memento mori” (remember you are mortal) into their ears and their generals’ ears during the parades and the chariot rides celebrating their triumphs.
Epictetus is succinct, “Continually remind yourself that you are a mortal being, and someday will die. This will inspire you not to waste precious time in fruitless activities, like stewing over grievances and striving after possessions.”[7] This exercise is not about obsessively brooding over death all the time. Rather, it is about living urgently and authentically-making the most with what we have in the time we have. It is about reminding ourselves how transient life yet precious life is and living it fully, without getting too attached to things, people, and positions. The moment we realize how fragile life is, we stop making “to-do” lists and start working on “to-be” list.
Apple ex-CEO Steve Jobs’ Stanford commencement speech, given 6 years before his death, was a moving meditation on mortality. He reminded the graduating class that “death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent.”[8]
Far from being morbid, frequently meditating on the finitude of our human existence could help us appreciate the time we have and make the most of life by becoming aware of its inherent fragility, precariousness, and preciousness.
- Premeditatio Malorum: Negative Visualization
Negative visualization is a mental exercise – an experiment in imagination: we contemplate bad things so that we will be better prepared for them when they actually occur. The basic idea is to be prepared rather than sorry. Stoics use negative visualization to train themselves to stay calm and stay free from emotional anguish in the face of adversity. Also referred to as premeditatio malorum (literally, pre- meditating on future evils), this exercise is about imagining worst that could happen. Why it is essential to practice negative visualization? Because whatever fate has given us, fate can take away without a moment’s notice. The idea is not to make ourselves depressed, but contemplating on these things takes away their impact when they do happen.
As Seneca explains in his essay To Marcia on Consolation, ix.5, “He robs present ills of their power who has perceived their coming before- hand.”[9] The very act of thinking about these things beforehand lessens their blow when such things happen. Seneca further explains that we should so brace ourselves beforehand through this practice that nothing ever takes us by surprise in letter XCI to his friend Lucilium:
What is quite unlooked for is more crushing in its effect, and unexpectedness adds to the weight of a disaster. The fact that it was unforeseen has never failed to intensify a person’s grief. This is a reason for ensuring that nothing ever takes us by surprise. We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events.[10]
That is why it is said that nothing happens to the wise person against his expectation. Such a person undertakes everything “with a reserve clause”. . . in his most steadfast decisions, he allows for uncertain events.[11] The wise person prefaces every under- taking with a reserve clause – ‘God willing’ or ‘circumstances permitting.’
To summarize the Stoic perspective about dealing with adversity and living a life of fulfillment, the Stoic literature provides us with some good formulations of some “truths” to live by. We present one such formulation as follows:
- Some things are within our control and some things are not.
- We are not disturbed by events but by our opinions about them.
- Life is what you make of it. It’s up to you.
- The universe is changing. Nothing lasts forever.
- Do not act as if you had 10,000 years still to live. . .rather while you still can, while there is still time, make yourself good.
Living a Life of Flourishing and Fulfillment is in our Own Hands
The Stoic approach is aimed at living a life that is impervious to external exigencies. As the great American historian Will Durant has observed in his exposition of the philosophy of Epictetus: “The essence of the matter is that a man should so mold his life that his happiness shall depend as little as possible upon external things.”[12] External things are not within our control and pursuing them will make us vulnerable. “Who, then, is the invincible human being?” Epictetus once asked and answered the question himself: “One who can be disconcerted by nothing that lies outside the sphere of choice” (Discourses 1.18.21, tr. Robin Hard). Any misfortune “that lies outside the sphere of choice” should be considered an opportunity to strengthen our resolve, not an excuse to weaken it. This is one of the truly great mind-hacks ever devised, this willingness to convert adversity to opportunity.[13]
Stoicism prepares us to deal with whatever happens by using the virtues that we have cultivated over many years. Stoics believe that our real good resides in our own character and virtuous actions. Happiness, they maintained, only depends on virtue, i.e., the mindset that makes you “do the right thing.” And no one can truly take away this moral freedom from us. Victor Frankl has observed rightly: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” This freedom to stay calm, to be good and to do good trumps all else in fostering happiness. As free moral agents, we remain the masters of our fate and captains of our soul, to paraphrase William Ernest Henley.[14] The following quote from Wolfe’s novel underscores the ultimate freedom that we have, the freedom to assent to what is true and to deny what is untrue:
One of the few freedoms that we have as human beings that cannot be taken away from us is the freedom to assent to what is true and to deny what is false. Nothing you can give me is worth surrendering that freedom for.[15]
[1] This essay partially draws upon author’s work: Dhiman S. (2021). More than Happiness: A Stoic Guide to Human Flourishing. In: Dhiman S. (ed.) The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Well-Being. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02470-3_51-1
[2] Cited in Jules Evans, Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations (London: Rider, 2013), 70.
[3] Bill Sullivan, Manage the Stress of COVID-19 with Stoicism: Psychological tools from the ancient Stoics can help you endure the pandemic. Psychology Today, Jan 5, 2021. Accessed: February 20, 202: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pleased-meet-me/202101/manage-the-stress-covid-19-stoicism
[4] Cited in Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 1995), 182.
[5] See Pierre Hadot’s Stoicism by Matthew Sharpe. Retrieved February 20, 2021: https:// modernstoicism.com/pierre-hadots-stoicism-by-matthew-sharpe/
[6] Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits, trans. by Marion Faber and Stephen Lehmann (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996), 260
[7] Sam Torode, The Manual: A Philosopher’s Guide to Life, a new rendering (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017), 25
[8] See Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address (with intro by President John Hennessy). Retrieved February 16, 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v1⁄4Hd_ptbiPoXM
[9] Seneca, To Marcia on Consolation. In John W. Basore, trans., Essays Vol. II. Retrieved February 20, 2021: http://stoics.com/seneca_essays_book_2.html
[10] Robin Campbell, Seneca, Letters from a Stoic: Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium, selected and trans. With an introd. (UK: Penguin Classics, 2014), 205
[11] Seneca cited in Pierre Hadot, The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, 194
[12] Will Durant, The Story of Civilization: 3 Caesar and Christ (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972), 491
[13] https://aeon.co/essays/why-stoicism-is-one-of-the-best-mind-hacks-ever-devised
[14] See the last lines of Invictus by William Ernest Henley (Retrieved February 20, 2021: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus):
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
[15] Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full: A Novel (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition, 1998), 671–672. [Emphasis added]
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