Stop Making Fun of Philosophy!

Interesting article here about the modern value of philosophy. 

We should all examine our lives and the fundamental nature of living. But few of us do. American culture is famously pragmatic. We are only interested in what works, what doesn't, and what will put a dollar in my pocket. We make jokes about philosophy majors. ("Lotta lucrative career prospects there, amirite?") We don't see the value in going around asking questions like "What is Beauty?" and "What is Justice?" and "Why is there something rather than nothing?" But there is tremendous value in asking these questions, even if that value is not quantifiable in U.S. currency.

 And:

And at the level of our society, there is a dramatic pragmatic stake in philosophy. We live in enormously complex, technologically advanced societies where we have the power to do a great deal of harm and a great deal of good. Our societies are built on complex institutions (such as "democracy," "the free market," and "science"), which are in turn premised on ways of looking at the world and on ideas about the world and humanity — in other words, on philosophy.
But we have become like people in a Star Trek episode whose planet is ruled by a benevolent artificial intelligence, and who live such charmed lives as a result that, over generations, they have forgotten how the computer works, so that when it breaks down, they are completely powerless to repair it, and have to call the Enterprise for help. Our entire civilization is built on technology called "philosophy" that, in many ways, we are losing a basic understanding of.

 Well, I agree of course.  If I disagreed, I wouldn't be nearly three years into the Great Books.  I never would have started a ten year reading list.  But let's turn that around.  I've spent the past three years reading the Great Books.  What has it gotten me?

• The most obvious thing that has happened is that my grasp of history is much, much stronger.  I've been a history buff for as long as I can remember.  (This is true of almost all strategy gamers.)  The Great Books have given me much better perspective on the ancient Greeks and Romans.  I now have a more comprehensive feel for the Renaissance.  I know much more about the political writings that led to our modern governments.  And I'll be adding seven more years of learning!
• I've come to appreciate a more high level approach to important questions.  'What is justice?', asked Socrates.  Now I ask that too.  I look for the basic, over-arching questions and work from there.  Aristotle has given me a much greater appreciation for finding the right categories to make comparisons from.
• Several writers, most notably Montaigne and Marcus Aurelius, have made me think about my general approach to life.  (And now that I've put them both in the same sentence, I can't help but think how wonderful an Odd Couple type TV show would be with the two of them forced to live together!)  I am using a somewhat more distanced approach when I think about how I live.  A more 'examined life', if you will.

I'm not any closer to answering the big questions that folks like Kant wrestled with and I probably never will be.  That's ok.  I'm still a better and more informed person.  Who wouldn't want that?

Stoic for a Week

I came across this in my twitter feed:

Stoicism is to improve your deaths. RT @stephenjenkin: Can Stoicism improve our lives? #stoicweek http://t.co/wF94COyFFT
— Cranky Roman Guy (@querulus) November 25, 2013

Which is a pretty great response.  The article itself is interesting.

The British are famous for their stoicism, but this week a team of philosophers and psychotherapists are testing whether living by the true principles of the ancient Greek philosophy can really help us improve our lives.

Today marks the first day of Stoic Week, where participants are asked to live by the principles of the two millennia old philosophy so academics can explore the potential benefits. 

They're focusing largely on the idea of control, with daily stops to monitor whether or not they are stressed by things out of their control.  They're also keeping a diary of 'passions' to see if they can control them as well.  I'm curious about the results but not so curious that I'll try and do it myself.  But I'm glad to see people get in touch with a hardcore 'substance' philosophy such as stoicism.

(Btw, if you want to follow me on Twitter, my handle is '@pdefor'.  I don't tweet very often and when I do it's usually sports or politics.  Or I'm retweeting something clever.  Maybe I should tweet link to this blog some though...  Hmmm.)

Great Quotes - Marcus Aurelius

Not to belabor the idea that Marcus Aurelius gave great quotes, but I've run across another good example.  The article is about an author named Jessica Francis Kane, who clipped an inspirational quote back when, and it's helped her writing.  The quote:

Do not disturb yourself by picturing your life as a whole; do not assemble in your mind the many and varied troubles which have come to you in the past and will come again in the future, but ask yourself with regard to every present difficulty: 'What is there in this that is unbearable and beyond endurance?' You would be ashamed to confess it! And then remind yourself that it is not the future or what has passed that afflicts you, but always the present, and the power of this is much diminished if you take it in isolation and call your mind to task if it thinks that it cannot stand up to it when taken on its own.

 She focuses hard on the question in the middle: 'What is there in this that is unbearable and beyond endurance?'.  There are very few activities in life that really fit that category, especially in writing.  More often, we get pulled from a task because our mind wanders or because something else simply seems more appealing.  Here is what she says:

Sometimes I thought surviving on peanut butter and ramen noodles might be it. Other times I thought about how Marcus Aurelius's concerns and mine differed, but I was inspired by the idea that the spirit of them, separated by so many centuries, was similar. His words helped me get to the desk, and stay there, during all the years it took me to write my first good story. Writing is hard, but is it unbearable? Who would say that it is? Even asking the question, I'm reminded of the one exclamation in the passage: "You would be ashamed to confess it!" His words helped me navigate rejection, which is certainly no fun, but if you ask yourself if it's unbearable, you find yourself preparing the next self-addressed stamped envelope pretty quickly. 

 Yet another lesson I want to somehow give to my children.  And it wouldn't hurt if I fully learned it myself...

Find Your Nature - Marcus Aurelius

Another theme that runs through 'Meditations' is that of one's own nature.

Why should any of these things that happen externally, so much distract thee? Give thyself leisure to learn some good thing, and cease roving and wandering to and fro. Thou must also take heed of another kind of wander, for they are idle in their actions, who toil and labor, in this life, and have no certain scope to which to direct all their motions, and desires.

I love the idea to 'give leisure to learn some good thing'.  One problem that I've had all of my life is that I'm torn between half a dozen good ideas and have trouble committing to any of them.  If I'd followed this advice, I would have settled on something early and driven towards it.  I can only imagine this would have made me happier.  (Yes, I still can follow this advice, and will!, but it looks different when one is nearly forty.)

These things thou must always have in mind: What is the nature of the universe, and what is mine - in particular: This unto that what relation it hath: what kind of part, of what kind of universe it is: And that there is nobdy that can hinder thee, but that thou mayest always both do and speak those things which are agreeable to that nature, whereof thou art a part.

What is your nature?  Once you find that, you can find how it relates to the nature of the universe and then you're all set.  But be careful out there:

Never esteem of anything as profitable, which shall ever constrain thee either to break thy faith, or to lose thy modesty; to hate any man, to suspect, to curse, to dessemble, to lust after anything, that requireth the secret of walls or veils.

Stay true to your nature!  Don't sacrifice your morals for a quick buck.  And don't do anything that you'd be ashamed to talk about in public.  And keep the proper attitude towards death:

Let death surprise rue when it will, and where it will, I maybe a happy man, nevertheless. For he is a happy man, who in his lifetime dealeth unto himself a happy lot and portion. A happy lot and portion is, good inclinations of the soul, good desires, good actions.

Oh, and one more related quote.  Seriously, a page a day calendar for Marcus Aurelius is a no brainer.  If I did needlepoint, I'd make a wall hanging of this next one for my kids.

The art of true living in this world is more like a wrestler's, than a dancer's practice. For in this they both agree, to teach a man whatsoever falls upon him, that he may be ready for it, and that nothing may cast him down.

Marcus Aurelius (and the stoics) had a certain and firm view of how to live.  It's not an easy path, but it's respectable.  Find your nature, keep things in perspective and be ready for the falls.

Death - Marcus Aurelius

One of the themes that Marcus Aurelius returned to again and again was death.  He cautioned people that death will continually wipe the slate clean:

In sum, remember this, that within a very little while, both thou and he shall both be dead, and after a  little while more, not so much as your names and memories shall be remaining. 

Don't worry too much, time will move on.  (Or as Heinlein said, "Time wounds all heels".)  Aurelius also said that you shouldn't worry too much about the prospect of death:

Not as though thou hadst thousands of years to live. Death hangs over thee: whilest yet thou livest, whilest though mayest, be good.

Which doesn't mean that you shouldn't prepare:

Thou art now ready to die, and yet hast thou not attained to that perfect simplicity: thou art yet subject to many troubles and perturbations; not yet free from all fear and suspicion of external accidents; nor yet either so meekly disposed towards all men, as thou shouldest; or so affected as one, whose only study and only wisdom is, to be just in all his actions.

Sometimes he's a little bit bleak:

Within a very little while, thou wilt be either ashes, or a sceletum [skeleton]; and a name perchance; and perchance, not so much as a name. And what is that but an empty sound, and a rebounding echo?

If I had a bunch of money that I didn't know what to do with, I'd put that last quote on a billboard in Hollywood.  At one point, while reading this, I though to myself that Stoicism seems like an old man's philosophy.  Clearly there was lots of thought of death, and how people should prepare for it.  It's easy to think of Marcus Aurelius sitting at a campfire while on campaign and contemplating death. 

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

'Meditations' is split into twelve books, each one again split into numbered sections.  The overall length is fairly short but it took some time for me to get through it.  After twenty or so of the sections, I found it hard to concentrate on more.  I was too busy chewing on what had already been written.  I could only do about half of a 'book' at a time.  If I read it again, I'd rather do so over a much longer period of time.  If anyone reading this is thinking of working the way through the list, I'd suggest tackling 'Meditations' bit by bit while reading through the earlier pieces of the second year.
Is it good?  In some ways it's fantastic.  It would be easy to take parts of Marcus Aurelius and form a pretty good motivational course.  He writes about how:

"...to endure labor; nor to need many things; when I have anything to do it myself rather than by others; not to meddle with many businesses; and not easily to admit of any slander."

Which all seems pretty useful.  He was, of course, one of the most prominent speakers of the Stoic philosophy.  (There's a pretty good post on the differences between the Stoics and the Epicureans here.)  It's not always a comfortable philosophy but cultures that have employed it have been wildly successful.  I'm thinking mostly of the Romans and the English empires.) 
The books themselves repeat several themes over and over.  I'll cover some of them in the next couple of weeks.  I didn't find all of these things convincing, but there is a ton of wisdom in 'Meditations'.  All in all, it's a wildly quotable book.  You could easily make a 'Meditations' page a day calendar, but I don't know if it would sell today.
More to come!

Biography of Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was born into a well to do, political family in southern Spain.  After his father died, he was adopted by his grandfather and, after many maneuverings (from others!) and marriages and such, he became Emperor of Rome.  Of all the Great Books authors, he easily gained the highest authority.  He was regarded as the last of the five 'good emperors' by none other than Machiavelli and Gibbon.  They ruled with 'wisdom and virtue'. 
He wrote 'Meditations' while on campaign between 170 and 180 AD.  While he was emperor, he fought significant wars in Parthia (Armenia and northern Iraq) and against the Germanic tribes.  He died in 180 near modern day Vienna.  He'd been emperor for 18 years. 
The next emperor was Commodus, his son.  Marcus Aurelius had been part of a line of emperors that had been placed in succession by adoption.  That ended with him and Rome was worse off for it.  (Commodus is the emperor portrayed in the movie Russel Crowe movie 'Gladiator', though take the history with a large grain of salt.)
'Meditations' marked Marcus Aurelius as one of the prime spokesmen for the Stoic philosophy.  He was introduced to it by a teacher of his, Diognetus, early in life.  He wore simple clothes and avoided the trappings of wealth. 

Reading for July

Just one thing for July:


Marcus Aurelius: Meditations link

I'm about half way through right now.  'Meditations' is a long list of thoughts.  I'd suggest reading it a book per day (It's divided into 12 (XII) books.)