Beyond Theory
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INTRODUCTION
The first and most necessary topic in philosophy
is the practical application of principles.....
Epictetus, Enchiridion #51
When I was in the US Army Infantry Officer's School at Fort Benning, Georgia,
I was in a new and experimental training program the Army spent years to
develop. It was unlike any other program they ever had. In short, they gave us
the answers to every examination in every field procedure right at the
beginning. If you had to disassemble and assemble an M-16 rifle in x-number of
minutes, they showed exactly what you had to do to pass. We practiced the
procedure until we got it down, then we took the test. It was brilliant, quickly
paced, and it worked. In four months, a fresh-faced Second Lieutenant could do
everything a grizzled Sergeant of 25 years could do - or so they assured us.
As the name of this book implies, there is something that comes before which
cannot be denied. These exercises and practices presuppose a background in
Stoic literature, including general theory and readings in the three Romans.
Without the foundational material, reading Beyond Theory is a bit like getting to
take a look at the final exam on the first day of class. If you are beginning your
studies with this work, that's OK. Sometimes it's good to know where you are
going before you begin. Read on and see if you want to stay with us. You may
not understand all of this practicum, but if you keep this by your side as you go
through your other studies, you will be able to see where you are going and will
pass with flying colors.
If you have read The Book of Doubt and are still reading, then you are a seeker
of wisdom to be reckoned with. You will not be disappointed. If you survived
the brilliant attacks of the skeptical philosophers, then you know that our
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familiar world may not be what we think it is. Or, it may. I believe a better way
to see the phenomenon of existence is to realize that it is what we think it is –
and so much more. If the attacks of the skeptics have left you wavering and
unsure if you even want to go on, I understand. I left Stoicism and became a
Pyrrhonean skeptic for several years before coming back to the Stoa. I came
back, because although real skepticism is smart and offers a point of view that is
both thoughtful and open-minded, it isn't grounded. It offers neither discipline
nor devotion. It doesn't ask you to be the best that you can be. It doesn't ask for
justice, altruism, or a noble character. Stoicism does.
It is part of the Stoic tradition to examine the possibility that other schools, such
as the Skeptics, may be correct. Even if they are, it doesn't matter. If the skeptics
are as correct or incorrect as the Stoics, we would still prefer to live as we do.
As Marcus Aurelius said,
The universe is either chaos and randomness; or it is unity, order, and
providence. If it is the former, why should I wish to remain in such
confusion and disorder? And why should I wish for anything other than
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returning to the earth? And why am I disturbed, the dispersion of my
elements will happen no matter what I do? But if the other supposition is
true, then I venerate, and I am firm, and I trust in the god of Nature who
governs.1
If you have read The Path of the Sage and the 32 Principal Doctrines of the
Stoa in addition to The Book of Doubt, then you have both a solid foundation in
Stoic thought and the kind of objectivity you need to be a contemporary
philosopher. It's perfectly reasonable to allow that the world may not be what it
appears to be and still embrace Stoicism as the best promise of living well. But
now is time to go beyond all this theory, which means you need to exercise and
practice. As Epictetus said time and time again: practice, practice practice. In
Stoic philosophy, practicing our principles is profoundly important. There really
is nothing more important.
You already know what a Stoic is. Now you can experience being the noble
character our philosophy promises. If the real world is your only testing ground,
the only place where you can practice, then it's going to be quite difficult for
most, and many will fall away. That is not the best way to acquire even an
elementary skill, let alone the master of all skills, the art of living. Whether you
are an athlete training for the Olympics or a soldier training for combat, in order
to be at your best you must exercise and practice before the contest or conflict.
In Beyond Theory, that's what we learn to do.
There are two parts to this book: Part One summarizes theory and recommends
two exercises; Part Two offers a new kind of practice. It was felt that a
condensed recap of theory was necessary before jumping right into the
exercises. The exercises of Part One require the usual analytical and logical
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effort, the left brain in action, while the “new” kind of practice of Part Two is
meditation, real meditation, the one that clearly engages the silent, intuitive
mind of the right brain. I'm guessing you are already familiar and comfortable
with the former, the left-brain analysis, but some of you may be feeling a little
anxiety right now about the latter. I have corresponded with many Stoics and
would venture to guess that 90% of them are left-brain oriented people - and
proud of it!
Virtually all of this book comes down to us from antiquity, but only Part One is
from the western side of our ancient world and the left side of our ancient brain.
Socrates may have achieved perfection by the use of reason alone, but we don't
really know. That was more than two millenia ago. The Stoa is capable of
expanding and evolving. It must be. It either evolves or it ossifies and dies.
Without change, it becomes nothing more than an intellectual artifact, an
academic curiosity. All existence is in a state of flux, as Heraclitus said, and our
philosophy can be no exception. Seneca said, “Truth will never be discovered if
we are content with discoveries that have already been made.... Truth lies open
for all; it has not yet been monopolized. And, there is plenty of it left even for
posterity to discover.”2 If Stoicism isn't gaining in wisdom, then it's either senile
or dead, and we are either studying a living philosophy or a dead one.
It's true, virtually everything in classical Stoicism is left-brain reasoning, and we
don't have to abandon the past just because particle physicists currently occupy
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the scientific throne. It only means that we have to learn a new set of rules. It's a
quantum world we are living in, which makes our philosophy more exciting
than ever, because now we have an opportunity to write a new chapter in our
history. It's not that we have to give up our left-brain world view. On the
contrary, this orientation is quite handy actually, and we still need it every day.
However, it's not the only description of life in our familiar world.
In Part Two, for the first time in Stoic history, meditation no longer means leftbrain cogitation practiced in a quiet corner. At last, Stoic meditation can take on
a new and greater meaning. Now we can do real meditation, what the mystics
and sages of the Orient have been doing for millenia, but in our case we can
practice without their antiquated and unnecessary prejudices and expectations.
Baggage. We now have a Stoic meditation that is clear, straightforward, and one
that can nurture and strengthen the right brain. We have always been in
possession of both sides of the brain, but now we can actually use both of them.
Isn't it time Stoics learned how to appreciate all of what Nature has given?
But first, Part One.
* *
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Part One: Theory & Exercises
INTRODUCTION
I received an email from an unhappy member of the Stoic community who
wanted his name removed from the registry of New Stoa. He was looking for a
job and didn't want his association with us to compromise his employment
prospects. He was an unemployed or underemployed philosophy teacher and
wanted a better situation. I tried to reason with him about how a Stoic would
approach this problem, but he angrily told me not to preach to him about
Stoicism, he had read all the books, and he didn't need my advice. Then he
ended our correspondence with this comment. This is an exact quote: “But I
really do have obligations and these must take precedence before stoic
principles - just as my Christian duties take precedence before pagan
philosophy.”
Frankly, I was floored and left speechless - for about one minute. I almost
answered his ridiculous comment, then thought better of it. Not because I didn't
have an answer, but because it is against my policy to argue with anyone who
wants to leave the Stoic community. We are not a cult. It's his life, and he can do
with it what he chooses.
What I really wanted to say to him is that for a Stoic, nothing takes precedence
before Stoic principles! Nothing. But, then, he is obviously an academic Stoic,
not a practitioner. He is a clear example of the difference between an academic
and a real Stoic, all theory and no practice, which was anathema to the classical
Stoics. For this disgruntled philosophy teacher, Stoicism is an intellectual parlor
game, not a way of life. But he doesn't end there. Here is his final
misunderstanding: “my Christian duties take precedence before pagan
philosophy.” Not only does he fail to understand the whole purpose of being a
Stoic, he clearly states that his religious faith
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is more important than the
reasoning mind of the philosopher. And in case there is any doubt about his
meaning, he refers to Stoicism as a “pagan philosophy” as if it is inferior to his
religion.
How unfortunate. How misguided. If you forget everything you ever learn about
Stoicism, I hope you remember one thing: being a Stoic is not an intellectual
abstraction; it is not a game; it is a way of life. A Stoic's principles take
precedence before everything. It is everything. It is how we live life - and live it
well. We do not take second place to someone's religious myths and wishful
thinking.
One way to insure that you are not misled into believing our philosophy is some
kind of distant, abstract, ancient world-view that doesn't have anything to do
with the real world we live in is to begin to live like a Stoic right now. You can
do that first by understanding and holding tightly to essential Stoic doctrine,
then adding specific exercises that bring life and strength to what you know.
The following is a summary of that Stoic doctrine condensed into the briefest
possible language. This reference point in Stoic thought is the basis for the
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exercises that follow. If the theory is understood and the exercises are practiced
with an open mind and sincerity, you will quickly acquire an insight into what it
really means to think like and be a real Stoic.
* *
A. Mneme: “Recitation of the DOE”
The greatest tribal warrior who ever lived was probably illiterate, a master of
the keen memory and oral tradition that has been with us for all of human
evolution. Genghis Khan's 150,000 cavalry warriors didn't move as a single
massive column, as was common in his day, the 12th century, but were broken
into many units and spread out over great distances. The difficulty in managing
such an army was in communication. Virtually all of his soldiers were also
illiterate, including most of the officers, which meant that all messages had to be
communicated orally. As we all know, the further you are from the source of
any oral communication, the more it gets distorted. To prevent
misunderstanding, all laws, codes of conduct, and battle orders made by the
Great Khan were composed in a commonly known Mongolian poetic style, set
to music, and sung by the men as they rode on horseback.3
What follows is written in the form of verse for the same reason: it's easier to
remember and less likely to be distorted with repetition. It's meant to be
memorized. Mneme, or memory exercises, were very much a part of a classical
Stoic's education. What you will find here is an extreme synthesis of the
Discourses of Epictetus (the DOE), organized and composed into a common
poetic style, blank verse. The endnotes that identify Epictetus's various points of
theory in this verse, even though numerous, are not all that can be found but are
some of my personal favorites. If you have any doubt about the dogma of this
mneme, I encourage you to look up
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the references provided. The DOE is
mneme, a memory exercise that can begin each day and/or as often as needed
when one wishes or needs to remember Epictetus's marching orders for life.
“The DOE”
One rule to unite us:
live in agreement with Nature.4
Two maxims to guide us:
Good is virtue that evil lacks;
all the rest is indifferent.5
Good and evil are in the will;
only will is in our power.6
Three studies abide us:7
Judgments and the inner discourse,
Desires and the rising passions,
Actions and the noble duties.
Hear the sage inside us:
practice, practice, practice, practice.8
* *
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ONE RULE
One rule to unite us:
live in agreement with Nature.
Epictetus remarked that it was a rule in life ... to do what was in
accordance with nature. For, if we desire in every matter and on
every occasion to conform to nature, we must on every occasion
evidently make it our aim .... Philosophers, therefore, first exercise
us in theory, which is the more easy task, and then lead us to the
more difficult [1:26].
The actual heading of this chapter of the Discourses is entitled, “What the Rule
of Life Is.” About this there can be no doubt. From Zeno to the end of the
classical period the Stoic motto, which is said a number of ways – in harmony
with nature, in agreement with Nature, conformably with nature – all mean the
same thing: there is one rule that unites all Stoics and all aspects of Stoic
philosophy. This is so important that Epictetus even matter-of-factly states that
anyone who does not live by this rule “...will wander up and down, entirely deaf
and blind, supposing himself to be somebody, while he is nobody.”9
It's important to remember that living in agreement with Nature does not mean
living by tooth and claw and survival of the biggest, strongest, and fittest among
us. That would be a better description of the other creatures in the forest. No,
our unique ability given to us by Nature is not bigger teeth and muscles, but
bigger brains. Using reason is our way, or should be our way. If there is any
doubt in your mind about the one rule of life, read Epictetus.
TWO MAXIMS
Two maxims to guide us:
Good is virtue that evil lacks;
all the rest is indifferent.
Good and evil are in the will;
only will is in our power.
The First Maxim:
The essence of good and evil is a certain kind of moral purpose. What
are things outward, then? Materials on which the moral
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purpose may
act, in attaining its own good or evil. How, then, will it attain good? If
it be not dazzled by its own materials; for right principles concerning
these materials keep the moral purpose in a good state; but perverse
and distorted principles in a bad one. This law God hath ordained, who
says, “If you wish for good, receive it from yourself.”10
Epictetus
The first maxim is a continuum, and the second maxim is a polarity. This one,
the continuum, connects the good on one end and evil on the other with
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indifferent things in the middle. “Some things are good, some evil, and some
indifferent. Now the good are the virtues ... the evil are vices ... the indifferent
lie between these, as riches, health, life, death, pleasure, pain. 11 In order to
understand what it is we are memorizing, the following will analyze this mneme
line by line.
Good is virtue that evil lacks. What does this mean? We have already seen from
our general principals that the good and only good, is virtue. “Only that which is
good and can never be used for undue gain and immoral purposes qualifies
unequivocally as good. Only the virtues are good in every situation and on
every occasion, and therefore qualify for the name that must always be
honorable, the Good.”12
So, the good is virtue. The cardinal virtues, as you will recall, are wisdom,
justice, courage, and decorum. Virtue that evil lacks means that evil is simply a
lack of virtue. That's what evil is. That's it. Evil is a lack of virtue. It has nothing
to do with committing a frightful sin whispered into your ear by a Prince of
Darkness that is calculated to bring about the wrath of a vengeful god. That's a
children's story. If evil is a lack of virtue, then it is the absence of wisdom,
justice, courage, and decorum.
We can use bad and evil interchangeably. “What we commonly call bad (kakon)
is not really bad. Sickness, poverty, and exile are the indifferents to the wise.
Even death, because it is the inevitable and natural process of change, is neither
good nor bad and must be one of the indifferents. There is no evil in Nature,
only in human beings when they act without virtue. Just as virtue is the only
good, so it is that the acts of persons who are lacking in virtue are the only
sources of evil in this world.”13
Now we come to the end of