Study in the Stoic way

Traditions, ,

Recently I attended a lecture of the Italian philosopher and biologist Massimo Pigliucci on tour to promote his new book How to Be a Stoic. Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life.

Massimo Pigliucci is quickly becoming one of the main representatives of Modern Stoicism. He runs a popular blog and takes part in many activities to promote this ancient philosophy. Last weekend he conducted a workshop on Stoicism in Rome. I would have loved to join. He is great teacher and I like the idea to study classics in their historical environment.

In both his book and lecture, which was quite similar to this one on YouTube, Pigliucci makes a compelling case for Modern Stoicism.

My first encounter with Stoicism was at high school. The teachers treated Stoicism as a historical phenomenon that belonged exclusively to Antiquity. I learned about Logos, equanimity and “secundum Naturam vivere” (living according to Nature) mainly in order to reproduce these concepts in examinations.
The concepts stayed with me, but I did not think much about them. Just for fun I memorized a random sentence from Seneca’s advice to Lucilius: “Nihil vero tam damnosum bonis moribus quam in aliquo spectaculo desidere” (Nothing really is so damaging to morality than to assist at some kind of spectacle). It never stopped me to visit concerts and festivals.

Later in life I became more attracted to Horace’ Carpe Diem and theories of happiness of Epicurus and Aristotle. Stoicism always seemed a bit Puritan. Pigliucci talks about the “stiff upper lip” and asserts that this qualification does not do justice to most Stoic philosophers. While Heraclitus and Socrates became my real heroes, a fascination with Roman emperors finally led to a lasting admiration for the Stoic Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Last year I even went so far as to sent a copy of the Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations to Donald Trump to congratulate him on his victory in the U.S. elections, hoping he would take some wise Stoic teachings to heart. It may seem a bit of a crazy whim now, but at that moment in time it felt as the right thing for me to do.

I do not know whether the book ever reached his desk at Trump Tower (probably not), but, as Stoic philosophy teaches us, one should never worry about things that are out of our hands. Or in the words of the Serenity Prayer (also quoted in Pigliucci’s book):

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

“Nice try!”, said Massimo Pigliucci to me, when I told him about this spontaneous action during the book signing session.

Stoicism can be particularly helpful when we face the hardships of life. Impressive is the story of James Stockdale who managed to survive more than seven years of imprisonment and torture thanks to the words of Epictetus and how Lawrence Becker, author of Modern Stoicism, deals with invalidity.

I enjoyed the book very much, but Pigliucci did not convince me to become a Stoic. I am not looking for a particular school of thought (or religion) to define my identity. If Socrates was a gadfly, I prefer to remain as free as bee and move from flower to flower causing cross pollinations. So after tasting the nectar of this book I am more open than ever to take Stoic advice whenever the occasion arises.

The book also gave me a new perspective on the gamma way.

The Stoics founded their philosophy on three topoi or areas of inquiry: Physics, Ethics and Logic. Pigliucci explains the relationships between these topoi, the cardinal values and disciplines of Stoicism here.

I now believe that these three topoi can also be a good starting point for me to develop the gamma way. I only would add a small “meta” to Physics, because in our modern age Physics has become an exclusive scientific domain. The Stoics themselves did not practice modern science when they speculated on the Logos (even though they had a form of peer review).

Anyone who wants to learn from various wisdom traditions, should also be open for metaphysical speculations. The criterium should not be whether such speculations are true or not (in most cases we cannot tell anyway), but to understand how useful and/or insightful they are within their own traditions and possibly beyond.

In such a gamma curriculum (meta)Physics would be dedicated to the study of the nature of things (like all human knowledge and speculations about the universe, nature, consciousness). Ethics would mainly focus on the study of psychology (the nature of emotions and feelings) and the way to connect to each other and our environment. And finally, the topos of Logic should be aimed to increase our abilities of good judgment and to act accordingly.

The Stoic values in the scheme above do not automatically fall into place on the circular gamma model. Justice and temperance for example belong to the gamma domain of Logic, connected as they are to the key value Proportion. 

These differences do not really matter. Stoicism and the gamma way have a different scope. The gamma way is a simple and basic moral compass for an open exploration of wisdom traditions. Stoicism is an established school of thought itself.

That said, all arrangements of topoi, values, disciplines, symbols and stories are in the end just helpful for a good life.

A real sage does not need any of them to live according to Nature.

Happy Summer Solstice!

Various


It is a special day today. 

Exactly two years ago this website went live. I still remember how excited I was (maybe even a bit overexcited…). Starting your first website is certainly a life event. Since many things came together for me that day, it was even a emotional moment. 

Then, a year later, also on this very day, I started with the subsidiary website gammaway.space. On this site I collect interesting and inspiring references or “starters”. It is like a digital library for the gamma way.

Today I have no new project to launch. In fact, in the last months I did not add much content to either website. I still have many plans to develop the gamma way further – it is in a way my life project – but I am not in a hurry anymore. I do not need more deadlines or KPI’s. This is part of my life, not my job.

Sharing the first basic ideas and concepts was an important step. But words are only words. They are not written in stone. Certainly not on this website. Life philosophies should be lived and tested. Paths to wisdom should be explored in reality. 

Sometimes it is good to take a break. A break can give you new perspectives and lead to new insights. 

I do not know whether the gamma will ever inspire many others. The inner goal to become wise(r) myself precedes the outer goal of making the world wiser. 

So, first of all, I am living my life now. 
As long as I have confidence that the gamma is the best compass available, I continue to live it in the gamma way. 

Or at least, I am trying to do this, first of all, with an open mind, following my own uniquely curved path, trying to connect to the principles of the universe, grateful, ready to learn from everything and everybody, continuously correcting my views, embracing the colours of cultural diversity, inspired by all wisdom traditions, following the Golden Rule to develop compassion, changing perspectives many times to determine the Golden Mean or just proportion in everything. 

In this way I hope to develop the seeds of my potentials or gifts to flourish like a sun flower, stimulating other beings to flourish too. 

A new circle has just begun.

Happy Summer Solstice!

Gamma day in the Pantheon

Various

The Pantheon in Rome is one of my favourite places in the world. The name of the temple stems from the Greek word Πάνθειον, “[temple] of all the Gods”.

The Panheon remained intact through the centuries because in the Middle Ages it was consecrated into a Christian church.

Next to the tombs of two Italian kings, Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, it contains the remains of the Renaissance artist Raffaele Sanzio who painted among many other masterpieces the famous fresco The School of Athens in Vatican palace.

The inscription on his sarcophagus reads: “Ille hic est Raffael, timuit quo sospite vinci, rerum magna parens et moriente mori”, meaning: “Here lies that famous Raphael by whom Nature feared to be conquered while he lived, and when he was dying, feared herself to die.”

These words make me reflect on the present relation between mankind and nature.

The cupola of the Pantheon was the biggest in the world for more than thousand years. 
The Pantheon has a hole in the top, the oculus to the sky, that lets both the sunshine and the rain in. 

For me this building is a monument for open mindedness.

Special Day

Religion, Traditions

Today is a special day for me.

Four years ago on this day I woke up in the early morning with an urge to write a book about religion. In the bio on this website I already wrote about this. The illness of my father was a shock to my world. It worked as a wake-up call. I was full of ideas and felt an urgency to write I had never felt before.

In the end I did not write the book within the deadline I had set for myself (three years, three months and three days), but I started this website.

In my life I have made a transformation from a strong opponent of religion to a careful defender of it, even though until this very day I never formally entered any specific tradition. Sometimes this transformation felt like swimming against the tide. Scientific research challenges religious claims with more confidence than ever before and religious extremists seem eager to prove to the world that religion is the most destructive force in human history.

I love science and detest religious extremists. At the same time I am attracted to religion (especially to the mystical side of it, but that goes beyond the gamma way). I reject the idea that many religious people seem to hold that an ethical life is impossible without religion, but I fully accept that religious traditions have a lot to offer to people who want to live a good life.

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (Thessalonians 5:21)

When I look at the notes I made during those days in 2012, this text of Paul the Apostle describes my attitude towards religious traditions very well. I set out to find a common ground in them, a few basic principles that are easy to understand and can create some harmony among them while upholding their unique place and value within cultural diversity.

About three months and three days later the gamma way symbol and its basic principles were created on my computer and in my mind. This period was also more or less the time span between Christmas and Easter that year.

That is why today is a special day for me and probably will be for the rest of my life.