More than Happiness: A Stoic Guide to Human Flourishing

Abstract

Stoicism is a school of ancient Greco-Roman philosophy whose influence has persisted to the present day. This exploratory chapter presents the ethical philosophy of Stoicism as a guide to personal and professional flourishing and wellbeing. A philosophical system founded around 301 BC in Athens by Zeno of Citium (c. 334-262 BC), Stoicism was later developed by its three best known Roman practitioners: Seneca (c. 4 BC-65 AD), Epictetus (c. 55-135 AD), and Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD). It lays great emphasis on resilience and mental freedom gained from living a life of moral virtue in accordance with nature, thereby gaining a state of “imperturbable tranquility.” As a robust philosophy and way of life, through the ages, Stoicism has inspired a wide range of writers, thinkers, and practitioners such as Shakespeare, Montaigne, Goethe, Kant, Alexander Pope, Nietzsche, Pascal, Descartes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, John Steinbeck, Victor Frankl, Michel Foucault, Pierre Hadot, Tom Wolfe, JK Rowling, and Admiral James Stockdale. Stoicism is especially an excellent philosophy for those in positions of power and leadership and for those in high-stress jobs. Additionally, Stoicism has inspired many modern approaches to personal development (such as “Self-Help” movement), influenced logotherapy and psychotherapy (in particular, cognitive behavioral therapy and its precursor, rational emotive behavior therapy). It is also popular with the US military and the National Health Services (NHS) in the UK. After briefly reviewing the history, development, and key tenets of Stoicism, this chapter will focus on the writings of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius to distill perspectives and strategies that can serve as pathways to living a life that is eudaimôn, the term the ancient Greek philosophers used for a life “well-lived” marked by “happiness, " “fulfillment, " or “flourishing.” As a case in point, the chapter will illustrate Stoicism as a source of resilient leadership through the life example of Admiral James Stockdale, who endured 7 1/2 years of extreme torture as naval POW in Hanoi Hilton, Vietnam, sustained by the teachings of Stoicism as his unassailable “inner citadel” and main survival kit. Stoicism seems ideally suited for leadership development and the pursuit of well-being since it has its core as character, self-mastery, and purposeful action - the hallmarks of effective leadership and flourishing. Of all the Western philosophies, Stoicism seems perhaps the most immediately relevant and useful for our turbulent times. The practice of stoic philosophy will benefit medical doctors, psychotherapists, nurses, military service men and women, entrepreneurs, politicians, attorneys, social workers, and law and order personnel, to name a few.