In my last post on rationalism it may have appeared as if the adoption of Rationalism as a philosophy would be to adopt an incomplete philosophy. That’s because it’s true. Rationalism is a philosophy of knowledge, and how we verify knowledge. It is often set against empiricism as its opposite despite the fact they are not mutually exclusive. If Rationalism is just a source of knowledge, how then ought the philosophy to be completed, to cover the whole human experience?
The Painted Porch
Zeno of Citium taught the Stoic philosophy from the Stoa Poikile (Painted Porch), which is how the philosophy got its name. Stoicism actually has its roots in Cynicism from which they take the idea of Virtue and living in accordance with Nature as the highest and only good. In fact, a lot of the two philosophies overlap for evolutionary reasons. The only real differences are that the Stoics were active in politics whereas the Cynics were active opponents to politics, the Stoics studied physics and logic whereas the Cynics did not. From the surviving texts, it appears the Cynics placed greater emphasis on practicing discomfort and defiance of social convention than the Stoics did.
The Incompleteness of Rationalism
Where Rationalism is an approach to knowledge, Stoicism is an approach to life. The Stoics emphasise the importance of practical knowledge and the philosophy is practical itself. It is a philosophy to practice and to improve in. The ultimate goal of a philosophy is to live a good life. The Stoics used reason to define their sense of purpose as Virtue. Why? First we must look at what Virtue means. The word “virtue” itself seems somewhat fantastical in our use of it today, you can almost see it shine. For the Stoics Virtue simply meant living in accordance with Nature.
As human beings we have a unique ability to think rationally, and so it is uniquely our nature to do so. Thus, because it is our nature, and we must live in accordance with it. To become the best person we can be. That is the Stoic’s purpose. Every tenet of the philosophy can be linked back to this idea.
A Short Lesson on Stoicism
“There are things which are in our control and there are things which are beyond our control.” – Epictetus
This is the maxim, the slave and the later freedman, Stoic teacher Epictetus leads with in the beginning of his Enchiridion (though it is technically a compilation of his lessons composed by one of his students). It can be considered the second most central tenet to Stoicism. It aligns with rationality because, well, it’s true. You can drive the best you can, but it doesn’t mean you will see the cyclist coming across from the footpath. It is outside your control.
When the full force of this quote from Epictetus is internalised you will realise how great of a facade control is most of the time. We like to think we can control most things, but the truth of the matter is that we control very little. We control our thoughts, intents and actions and that’s it. This itself creates almost a circle of reasoning. Our thoughts, intents and actions being the only thing within our control, means that they are the only things we can apply our rational mind to with absolute confidence (since other things can be influenced, despite not being within our control).
Therefore to practice virtue, being the best person we can be, by being the most rational person we can be, is the only good, because to centre fulfilment inside of yourself, means you can never be disappointed and can always be fulfilled. Stoicism is a practice, and so this is only true once you’ve perfected it. Only by becoming a sage can you be free from disappointment and virtuous.
I say fulfilled and not “happiness” because that was the goal of Stoicism, to achieve “eudaemonia” or “flourishment”.
