Book Review: How to think like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
Stoicism with a capital S verses stoicism with a small s.
The lower case refers to a personality trait, a persons ability to endure pain and a sort of toughness and resilience, without complaint. Capital S is an entire school of Greek philosophy.
2. Origins
The word philosophy derives via Latin from Greek “philosophia” meaning “love of wisdom”.
The Greek word for virtue is “arete” meaning excellence of living.
When a human lives well, we can rationally think about our lives and make the best decisions.
3. Stoic values
The Stoics believed in a radical upheaval of underlying values so as to centre wisdom and its associated virtues.
Health, wealth and reputation are of course advantageous, but they are not good or bad in their own right. They are only good if used wisely.
“A wise person needs nothing, but uses everything well. The fool believes themselves to need countess things but uses them all badly”.
4. Wisdom
As we mature in wisdom, we mature in our ability to reason and in our capacity to reason.
Also, to identify others with that same capacity.
Thats why stoics came to the definition of the idea of “cosmopolitanism” which is (nope - not the cocktail!) a citizen of the universe deserving equal moral consideration and treatment.
5. The Stoic Response to feelings
Stoics believed in the differentiation in good, bad or indifferent feelings.
Indifferent were the automatic responses like anger or panic or fear.
“Even a wise person may tremble in the face of fear. What matters, is what they do next”
6. Cognitive Distancing
It’s our own judgement about a situation that upsets us, not the situation itself
I judge the spider to be scary and threatening. However, in the eyes of another, that same spider can be a fascinating, wonderful or ordinary thing.
7. Anger
When we are angry it's not because of people or things, it's our own judgment about those people or things that make us angry.
The Stoics think of troublesome or disagreeable people as if they are a prescription prescribed by a physician.
We exist FOR one another, and if we can’t educate those who oppose us, we have to learn to at least tolerate them.
Once you consider that your own anger is a bigger threat to you than the actions or presence of others, then you might consider loosening its grip.
8. The Mind Reading Fallacy
Describes how the emotion of anger assumes an unwarranted certainty of the motives of other peoples hearts.
It’s leaping to conclusions about the motives other people which will always be somewhat veiled to us no matter how well we think we know the person.
We should always remain open to the possibility that their intentions are not in the wrong.
9. “Nothing happens to any man which he is not formed by nature to bear.”
10. Character
The Stoics believed that only our intellect is truly our own.
Health, wealth and reputation (things external to our own character) present us with opportunity, but nothing more.
These things no more improve a persons soul than a golden bridle improves a horse.