Category: Self-help

Continuation of Part 1 here.

How to Live: Applying the Philosophy Teachings of Epicureanism and Stoicism

Dig the Epicurean Lifestyle?

Let’s say you dig the Epicurean lifestyle. But you think to yourself: Isn’t a life dedicated to the pursuit of happiness and desire an empty life? That might be true, provided you have not properly evaluated what are your desires and goals.

In our current society, we are often reminded about the supposed vices of capitalism. Many have spoken out against materialistic consumption, stating that it is pointless waste of resources and only contributes to egoistical boasting. Especially in our times of pandemic, promoting materialism seems to go against the voice of society itself.

To-Do: Evaluate Your Desires

The Epicureans, however, are not asking you to lash out on parties and branded goods. They are asking you to evaluate your desires and fulfil them. Sure, your desires may involve buying that shoe you always wanted.

Ask yourself this: Why do I want that pair of shoes? Is it because of boasting rights? Is it because of the quality of the shoe itself? Or is it just because you really liked that shoe? I believe that by scrutinising the root cause of our desires itself, we can come to understand our true intent. If it turns out to be the wrong reason – eliminate the desire itself. If after scrutiny you still like it – well, go ahead! 

At this point in time, we should not question others for trying to make themselves feel happier. If the act itself does not come at the expense of the self and others, why are we questioning the act itself?

Dig the Stoic Lifestyle?

The Stoics on the other hand provides a methodology that seems more relevant than ever.

In this pandemic, we are influenced by so many external factors. COVID-19 has closed down the borders, shutting down international travels. It has closed down massive gatherings, and forced many of us to limit our travels even within the country. All of us are called to wear masks, and risk a penalty if we refuse to do so. None of these are within our control, and it is understandable to be upset about it.

To-Do: Evaluate What Are Within Your Control

But if you cannot control the external factors, why bother then?

Disregarding the deterministic nature of the Stoics, we are still in control of our movements.

I believe most of us have come to learn how to live with the pandemic – we have already done half the work the Stoics trained so hard to do.

If we reconcile our mental state about the pandemic – understanding that it is going to be a long endeavour and all we can do is be patient about it, then the burden on our mind will start to lessen.

We can learn to be happy, even in these times of hardship. This applies to everything in life: if we can learn to control our emotions and reconcile our mental state with events out of our control, then we are in a much better place. 

I have skipped over many details about both schools of thoughts and what I offer today are simplifications of what they have to offer. But I believe it can be summarised to this:

Epicureanism vs Stoicism

Epicureanism: If you desire it, go for it! Provided you have thought through it properly.

Stoicism: If you cannot control it, why bother? Accept it, and be happy!

Philosophy is many things, but I believe its key purpose is this: to help us live a better life. Stoicism and Epicureanism, while differ in many aspects, aim to help us to do so. I can only hope that this article will inspire many more would-be philosophers to study philosophy and debunk everything I have written here and strive to write a much better article.

After all, the more philosophers there are, the better the world is. 

“Philosophy is the practice of death” – Plato

Philosophy, as most people understand it concerns one thing: how a person lives. In philosophy, it is called ethics. 

Ethics in Philosophy and How to Live

The two schools of thoughts, Epicureanism and Stoicism, are both schools of thoughts in ethics. However, they both vouched for different views of life – views that differ from each other so much that one can say they are both rivals. 

How to Live Better with Epicureanism

Epicureanism was started by Epicurus (surprise) in the very early days of Greece. Epicureanism is most famous for being the proponent of hedonism, which enjoyment of pleasure takes the utmost importance. But that is a wrong view of Epicureanism and a grossly oversimplification of hedonism in general.

For Epicurus, the goal of a person’s life is happiness, and happiness consists of the absence of pain.

Here we need to explain what is the definition of pain in Epicureanism. For Epicurus, pain includes both physical pain and mental troubles. Physical pain can be easily understood – no one wants to be hit by another out of malice, or suffering from illness that hurts the body. 

Mental troubles require some further explanation.

One of the primary mental troubles for everyone is the fear of death. We are all scared of dying. Sometimes, in the middle of night, when we think about our finite lifespan, we are gripped by this irrational fear that resembles an actual grip on our heart. This in turn generates a huge source of anxiety in our lives, thinking about things such as: “What happens after I die?” “Does my life matter?” “How do I make the most out of my life?”

Additionally, Epicurus also includes mental troubles we experience as a result of our growth. One such example would be claustrophobia. It is a result of events that happened out of our control, and we develop a fear of narrow spaces. Epicurus seeks to eliminate such troubles as well, either via self meditation or in modern terms, therapy. The goal is to eliminate all these pains from ourselves so as to pursue happiness without any restrictions.

So it is not hard to see why Epicurus considers the free from pain the best way to achieve happiness. Or in latin terms, eudaimonia (which meant happiness in general, or the flourishing of humanity). Free from both physical and mental pain, we are free to pursue what we truly love, and enjoy the unburdened state of happiness.

Pursue Your Desires, Avoid Pain

But how should we pursue this happiness?

Putting it simply: pursue your desires. These desires have many forms, such as the desire to be healthy, the desire to eat good food or the desire to be wealthy.

Some desires are considered more necessary than the other, but for our current purpose it suffices. The important part is this: by pursuing these desires, it is of importance that we lessen the pain we experience.

Happiness, in Epicureanism, is the lack of pain. This is why descending into a drug-fueled frenzy is not the proper pursuit of happiness – for it brings about many painful after effects. 

Additionally, Epicurus touted friendship as one of the most necessary aspects of a person’s happiness. As humans are social animals, it is imperative that we form social bonds with one another. Through the formation of friendship can true happiness be found, as we enjoy the company and assistance of one another.

How to Live Better with Stoicism

Stoicism, as the name implies, presents a stoic way of life to its audience. For a Stoic, happiness is “living in accordance with nature”. While this sentence alone has spawned hundreds of thesis, for our sake we can understand it as possessing that which is genuinely good.

So what is that which is genuinely good?

For the Stoics, that is virtue. The virtue of wisdom, of logos, of being courageous and being true to justice. Everything else is unnecessary. Taken to the extreme, it can be said that a person can live in extreme poverty, experience starvation and be hated by everyone – but as long as the person is virtuous, he is happy.

Why would the Stoics say this? 

In the material philosophy of Stoicism, the world is deterministic. What this meant is that everything that is bound to happen, will happen. If you are bound to be poor, then it is destined that you will remain poor. The only thing you possess control is your inner state of mind. 

If so, why not lash out against the world?

Because virtues are necessary for a person’s well being. Let’s say you are destined to be imprisoned for life. You can hate the person for putting you behind bars, or you can hate the guards caning you. But this has already been set in stone – whatever you feel, your fate does not change.

Stoicism then proposed that we practice the virtue of acceptance and happiness in your heart. Reconcile with the fact that you are imprisoned and understand that this is what the world has given you.

Then understand that you have one thing that is completely in your control: your inner mind. There, in your mind, contains all the freedom you have.

Why would you be angry at a hurricane destroying the town? It is merely nature. Similarly, why be angry at fate torturing you? It is only physical pain – external factors that are already set in stone. If you can be happy even in times of pain, then you have achieved happiness at every time.

Similarly, why do we fear death? Contrary to the Epicureans, the Stoics welcome death, for it is merely another part of the cycle. Why are you afraid of something that is going to happen? In fact, rather radically, Stoics advocates the practice of suicide: if you are already of old age and are losing your faculties, committing suicide does not sound like a bad idea. Better to die at a time of your choosing (notwithstanding the deterministic nature of the world) than let old age claim you.

(To be continued in “How Can Philosophy Help You Live: Part 2”.)

Global FOMO

The pandemic has been a whirlwind for all of us. Some have thrived by building beautiful things in the midst of lockdown. Some lost their jobs, opportunities and even their loved ones.

But there’s one thing all of us that we can agree on — the sense of loss and isolation that we’re going through, or what millennials could describe as “Global FOMO”. 

For some parts of the world that are going through lockdown, it’s the loss of being able to connect with friends and relatives. Not being able to go out and wander around without a mask. Personally, I was uncomfortable with the lack of progress, both at a personal and societal level.

For some parts of the world that are going through lockdown, it’s the loss of being able to connect with friends and relatives. Not being able to go out and wander around without a mask. Personally, I was uncomfortable with the lack of progress, both at a personal and societal level.

As a global community, we are more divided than ever, culturally, politically and socially. We see beautiful movements clash with not so beautiful ones and people avoiding people due to their ethnicity or colour being associated with the disease. It’s a global mess.

How can we make sense of this meaningless and complicated situation that we’re in? Here are three steps to overcome FOMO in such trying times.

#1 Overcome FOMO by understanding that there are some things that we can’t control.

Let’s face it. There’ll always be things that are beyond our control in life.

The pandemic is just one of the very few examples of this and embracing it in this period of time is more relevant than ever.

Having said that, this does not mean that we should simply just accept and give up. Rather, we should let this realisation make us aware that there are things that are within our control, at least to a limited extent.

For instance, we can change how we react towards events that happen to us by revisiting our interpretations towards them. This is exactly how some business owners manage to overcome the adversity that befell on them as a result of the pandemic.

They focused on things within their control, looking for ways to turn their business around and at the same time knowing when to give up and let go.

Therefore, in the case of overcoming global FOMO, it’s not just accepting that missed opportunities is part of life, but also being able to figure out the things that you could make out of your current situation and act upon them. As Otto Scharmer beautifully frames some questions for us to contemplate:

“What if we used this disruption as an opportunity to let go of everything that isn’t essential in our life, in our work, and in our institutional routines? How might we reimagine how we live and work together?”

Otto Scharmer

#2 Overcome FOMO by embracing the certain-uncertainty.

Many would be quick to think how COVID-19 has made everything unstable and uncertain in a span of a few weeks. But is it justified to blame a single event for everything that has happened?

Consider Kiekergaard’s contemplation on death being an uncertain-certainty. In Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions, he explains that everybody knows that we will die someday, we just don’t know when.

Since death is an uncertain-certainty, it also applies to our existence as well, that life is also a kind of certain-uncertainty.

As Professor Stokes puts it, it’s not that COVID-19 has suddenly made the world uncertain. Rather, it shows how uncertain our lives are all along; how human existence and the social structures in which it is depended upon are so fragile and can easily turn upside-down.

Not to mention our lack of progress on global existential risks. It’s no surprise, but does it mean that we should simply give up? Certainly not.

#3 Overcome FOMO by not giving in to nihilism by remembering that you are not alone.

“What we learn in time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise.”

Albert Camus, The Plague

Not to mention our lack of progress on global existential risks. It’s no surprise, but does it mean that we should simply give up? Certainly not.

In the midst of the widespread suffering right now, we may start to question whether human existence as we know it has any value or meaning. Is this all worth it?

If we agree with nihilism which is the idea that human existence has no value, then consider this. How is it possible that there are countless healthcare professionals in the frontlines working tirelessly to fight the pandemic? What are they thinking and feeling in these moments?

Perhaps it’s the sense of community working to fight the disease together; understanding that they’re not alone in their suffering or having a sense of duty and responsibility towards those who are suffering.

We can’t imagine what is going through their minds, but we can safely assume that they aren’t giving in to nihilism. At least not completely.

The same applies to caregivers, social injustice advocates and other professions who often witness lots of seemingly pointless suffering.

Their efforts show that although there may be times where there is pointless suffering, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we should give in to nihilism.

Furthermore, if we expand our worldview by not putting ourselves at the centre of everything but rather putting ourselves as part of a larger, interconnected system, then we may realise that we are definitely not alone in this seemingly meaningless suffering.

Perhaps we will never understand the meaning of life and human existence or even perhaps the world we live in is meaningless. Either way, we shouldn’t give in to nihilism. Because after all we’re human and as human beings we always seek for meaning in our lives, regardless whether there is meaning in human existence. Feeling FOMO might just be an instinctual response to what’s happening all around us but it doesn’t mean we should give up.