Shadi Bartsch: preference

Transcript context

…When reading Seneca, how is it that brings out something of the performative and perhaps also hypocritical elements in stoicism? And are those essential to stoicism? Or is it just that Seneca ultimately was a deviant from his own philosophy? This is such a complicated issue. There’re some reasons people think Seneca was a deviant from his own philosophy. He was extremely rich, one of the richest men in Rome. He practiced in usury and made tons of money off the British at the time, or the island of Britain, I should say. He was a tutor and then an advisor to the Emperor Nero until Nero advised him to kill himself in [AD] 65, supposedly for participating in a plot against Nero, which he probably didn’t. Yet he wrote all these works touting the value of not caring about money, not caring about politics, not caring about influence, not caring about your reputation, and so forth. What I like about Seneca is all these things he writes, he never says, “I’ve accomplished them. ” He says, “It would be great if we could accomplish this, and I’m trying.” But he never says, “I’ve succeeded.” People don’t like him because he failed. If you look at another figure, another great moralizing figure — if you look at Jesus Christ, for example — he lives the life he preaches. Seneca does not live the life he preaches, but some of the things he says are very interesting and valuable nonetheless. For example, the idea that too much emotional investment in things that aren’t worthwhile are simply damaging to you. I have a great example for how to think in a stoic way that isn’t a deep example, but it’s helpful to show how stoicism can help. I’m not going to talk about the deaths of family or really serious stuff like that. Let’s say you’re driving down the road, obeying all the traffic rules and signals. All of a sudden, a car comes out of nowhere, and it’s going 100 miles an hour, and it almost takes your door off before it screeches into the distance. You’re angry. You’re upset this person almost killed you. You’re shouting. You’re saying, “What kind of a maniac did that?” Then, Seneca says, “If you feel like this, tell yourself a different story.” He says wave the wand of Hermes — actually, it’s Epictetus’s phrase — but wave the wand of Hermes over what just happened. In other words, recast it. What you do is, you say to yourself, “In that car, there was a very sick child, and his frantic father was trying to get him to the ER as fast as possible, weeping, half out of his mind.” Then you don’t feel as angry anymore. You don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s a possibility. The other thing I want to say about Seneca and stoicism is that in his letters and essays, yes, he argues for the benefits of stoicism. Don’t invest too much in your loved ones. Learn to separate yourself from worldly concerns. If you go bankrupt, don’t be unhappy, et cetera, et cetera. In his dramas, it’s a completely different story. He repeatedly, for example, in Thyestes, shows people who seem to be trying to be stoic, but they all fail for one reason or another. Thyestes is exiled from power. His brother Atreus holds the kingdom. repeatedly, for example, in Thyestes, shows people who seem to be trying to be stoic, but they all fail for one reason or another. Thyestes is exiled from power. His brother Atreus holds the kingdom. Thyestes is living in the countryside with his children, supposedly eating grubs and sticks and acorns. He keeps saying, “Isn’t this wonderful? I love this simple life. Poison is only drunk out of golden cups. Nobody puts poison in earthenware.” That kind of thing. Then his brother invites him to come back and share power, and Thyestes isn’t that interested. He’s learned to be a good stoic, but his kids are like, “Daddy, Daddy, we don’t want to eat acorns anymore. We want to go back and have a good life.” So, he gives in out of love for his children. He fails in stoicism. He goes back and takes up the throne again with Atreus. And on that very same evening, he looks around, can’t find his kids, asks his brother over dinner where his kids are. His brother starts cackling, and he says, “They’re very close to you.” Thyestes says, “What do you mean?” Atreus says, “Ha ha, they’re in you. I just fed you your kids.” Now, that is a pretty grim story, and the other ones are equally grim. People die horribly. Nobody gets to live the good stoic life in the dramas. Was Seneca torn between his vision of a peaceful and painless life? Or did some part of him know that, ultimately, no human being is strong enough to actually be a stoic?…

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