Set up social rules for living
Stoicism is founded on “virtue ethics,” which tends to eschew hard-and-fast rules about ethical decisions. Nonetheless, following rules can help make life easier. While not a Stoic, Preecha has been practicing the five precepts of Buddhism. Some Buddhists train in these basic moral rules, which include not taking things that aren’t given, not killing, and not lying. These rules have helped Preecha be more mindful of his actions. Before following an instinct to tell a white lie or kill an insect, he now pauses to examine his motive for doing so. This week, you’ll explore creating your own moral rules.
"It is the act of a generous spirit to proportion its efforts not to its own strength but to that of human nature, to entertain lofty aims, and to conceive plans that are too vast to be carried into execution even by those who are endowed with gigantic intellects, who appoint for themselves the following rules:
I will look upon death or upon a comedy with the same expression of countenance.
I will submit to labors, however great they may be, supporting the strength of my body by that of my mind.
I will despise riches when I have them as much as when I have them not; if they be elsewhere I will not be more gloomy, if they sparkle around me I will not be more lively than I should otherwise be.Whether Fortune comes or goes I will take no notice of her.
I will view all lands as though they belong to me, and my own as though they belonged to all mankind . . .
Whatever I may possess, I will neither hoard it greedily nor squander it recklessly. I will think that I have no possessions so real as those which I have given away to deserving people. I will not reckon benefits by their magnitude or number, or by anything except the value set upon them by the receiver.
I never will consider a gift to be a large one if it be bestowed upon a worthy object.
I will do nothing because of public opinion, but everything because of conscience; whenever I do anything alone by myself I will believe that the eyes of the Roman people are upon me while I do it.
In eating and drinking my object shall be to quench the desires of Nature, not to fill and empty my belly.I will be agreeable with my friends, gentle and mild to my foes.
I will grant pardon before I am asked for it, and will meet the wishes of honorable men half way.
I will bear in mind that the world is my native city, that its governors are the gods, and that they stand above and around me, criticizing whatever I do or say.
Whenever either Nature demands my breath again, or reason bids me dismiss it, I will quit this life, calling all to witness that I have loved a good conscience, and good pursuits; that no one’s freedom, my own least of all, has been impaired through me.
He who sets up these as the rules of his life will soar aloft and strive to make his way to the gods.”
Seneca, On the Happy Life, 20
We often wonder what a good life, a life really worth living, would look like. Here Seneca offers a ready-made, long list of good advice to leading such a life. He needs to maintain an attitude of equanimity toward fortune and misfortune, not just in terms of wealth, but even in the face of death. As a member of a bustling society, Seneca recognizes that he has responsibilities to all other people, even his enemies. He further suggests that the best course is to always act as if others are watching, because the impulse to hide an action is a good indication that you probably shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.
None of the long list of guidelines Seneca mentions should be taken as the Stoic equivalent of the Ten Commandments. Stoicism is a type of virtue ethics, not a deontological (rule-based) system. When the Stoics talk of rules, they mean them in the sense of flexible heuristics, not rigid absolutes. Seneca’s own rules are not meant to be exhaustive, but are an effective reminder of what he values and why. The Stoics talk about the usefulness of precepts, that is, practical rules to keep handy so that you will be more likely to do the right thing when a given circumstance arises. You’ve been putting this theory into practice with less formal rules every time you’ve acted on an implementation intention. These precepts only made sense to the Stoics from within their overall philosophical system, which was based on a small number of axioms (starting assumptions). The rules, or precepts, are easily derived from Stoic axioms. A good example is when Seneca says to eat and drink “to quench the desires of Nature”—not in order to “fill and empty” one’s belly: A basic Stoic axiom is the cardinal virtue of temperance, and here that axiom is applied to the specific issue of eating. The precept, then, is that we should eat in right measure for nourishment, and not overindulge.
This is one way in which virtue ethics differs from other approaches to morality. It recognizes that rigid sets of rules, such as the Ten Commandments, are, well, too rigid. There will always be cases where exceptions need to be made. Stoic precepts are meant as useful guidelines, with the ability to be flexible depending on the situation. But they are still embedded in a coherent overall philosophical system.