Post by Admin on Jun 19, 2014 22:16:49 GMT -5
Much has been written regarding the Stoic Sage: the perfectly virtuous, infallible individual who is "more powerful than everyone else, richer, stronger, freer, happier and the only person truly deserving the title "king". (Cicero- de Finibus 3.75 via Sellars- Stoicism)
Various names have been proposed throughout the school's history. Seneca, Lucan and even Cicero, to an extent favored, Cato the Younger. Epictetus offers us Diogenes the Cynic. Zeno himself may have also favored Socrates, as did many Stoics throughout history. Others might offer up Epictetus himself, Marcus Aurelius or any number of other candidates. Regardless, every individual suggested presents us with one problem or another. For the ancient Stoics, the biggest problem was that none of the early Stoics were keen on claiming the coveted pinnacle of Stoic enlightenment. They should, of course, be praised for wisdom in foregoing that acknowledgement as claiming the title falsely would have been more damaging to Stoa than any other external argument ever presented against the school.
In hindsight, we might be able to understand and appreciate the fact that the Stoics looked not exclusively within their school for models of the ideal. Stoa is, after all, a philosophy of "doing" rather than "saying". However, in their time this presented the Stoics with harsh criticism. Chief among those criticism was simply that the Stoics espoused and sought after an ideal which could never actually be obtained. Later Stoics attempted to somewhat ignore the questions of what the hypothetical sage's actions might be, and rather focus on their own actions as imperfect beings attempting to improve.
This opens up several questions. Did certain Stoics of antiquity look for candidates that were just "good enough", or did they actually believe that these individuals behind which they threw their support were actual Sages. Surely to be perfectly virtuous and infallible by always practicing perfect judgment is impossible. If we measure any of the candidates by this standard they will have fallen short. So that leaves us with a second option: that one who has aspired to be a sage (either knowingly or unknowingly) has obtained perfect wisdom, perfect virtue and perfect freedom at some point after making the decision to pursue it.
Some of us today may see the worth in pursuing an ideal that we acknowledge we will likely never obtain, if it even is possible. Others might be daunted by the prospect and many more are likely to never even consider trying to improve themselves due to the apparent impossibility. Of course, the competition for us is very different and far more private than it may have been during antiquities, when the Stoics would have been faced with questions about every aspect of their philosophy by individuals from other schools of philosophy. However, we are today, not so different from the Stoics of antiquities.
As students of Stoa that are, presumably, seeking to live the philosophical teachings of the Stoics rather than just read about it for academic purposes, we have already taken the first step to improving ourselves. To take a page from Chrysippus, we are the drowning men that have begun to swim their way to the surface. Though we are still drowning, and each of us a different depth from the surface we are all on our way to enlightenment and wisdom.
So to encourage those who may still be daunted by the task of achieving the feat of "being a Sage", consider this: at every crossroads in your life, every decision you make, every event that might move you, you have the opportunity to act like the Sage would act. Deliberate before you act. Consider what actions you might take, weigh them against your values and virtues and make a decision based on logic and the best judgment you have at your disposal. If we take the effort towards becoming a Sage one impression at a time the task becomes much less daunting. We may never achieve the recognition of being considered a Sage in our lifetime, by our peers, but we will have the much more rewarding knowledge of knowing our actions are in accordance with Nature. Most of us will never reach perfect judgment in every instance, but for an instance in space and time you will be The Sage to which you aspire and you will be richer, freer and happier for it.
Various names have been proposed throughout the school's history. Seneca, Lucan and even Cicero, to an extent favored, Cato the Younger. Epictetus offers us Diogenes the Cynic. Zeno himself may have also favored Socrates, as did many Stoics throughout history. Others might offer up Epictetus himself, Marcus Aurelius or any number of other candidates. Regardless, every individual suggested presents us with one problem or another. For the ancient Stoics, the biggest problem was that none of the early Stoics were keen on claiming the coveted pinnacle of Stoic enlightenment. They should, of course, be praised for wisdom in foregoing that acknowledgement as claiming the title falsely would have been more damaging to Stoa than any other external argument ever presented against the school.
In hindsight, we might be able to understand and appreciate the fact that the Stoics looked not exclusively within their school for models of the ideal. Stoa is, after all, a philosophy of "doing" rather than "saying". However, in their time this presented the Stoics with harsh criticism. Chief among those criticism was simply that the Stoics espoused and sought after an ideal which could never actually be obtained. Later Stoics attempted to somewhat ignore the questions of what the hypothetical sage's actions might be, and rather focus on their own actions as imperfect beings attempting to improve.
This opens up several questions. Did certain Stoics of antiquity look for candidates that were just "good enough", or did they actually believe that these individuals behind which they threw their support were actual Sages. Surely to be perfectly virtuous and infallible by always practicing perfect judgment is impossible. If we measure any of the candidates by this standard they will have fallen short. So that leaves us with a second option: that one who has aspired to be a sage (either knowingly or unknowingly) has obtained perfect wisdom, perfect virtue and perfect freedom at some point after making the decision to pursue it.
Some of us today may see the worth in pursuing an ideal that we acknowledge we will likely never obtain, if it even is possible. Others might be daunted by the prospect and many more are likely to never even consider trying to improve themselves due to the apparent impossibility. Of course, the competition for us is very different and far more private than it may have been during antiquities, when the Stoics would have been faced with questions about every aspect of their philosophy by individuals from other schools of philosophy. However, we are today, not so different from the Stoics of antiquities.
As students of Stoa that are, presumably, seeking to live the philosophical teachings of the Stoics rather than just read about it for academic purposes, we have already taken the first step to improving ourselves. To take a page from Chrysippus, we are the drowning men that have begun to swim their way to the surface. Though we are still drowning, and each of us a different depth from the surface we are all on our way to enlightenment and wisdom.
So to encourage those who may still be daunted by the task of achieving the feat of "being a Sage", consider this: at every crossroads in your life, every decision you make, every event that might move you, you have the opportunity to act like the Sage would act. Deliberate before you act. Consider what actions you might take, weigh them against your values and virtues and make a decision based on logic and the best judgment you have at your disposal. If we take the effort towards becoming a Sage one impression at a time the task becomes much less daunting. We may never achieve the recognition of being considered a Sage in our lifetime, by our peers, but we will have the much more rewarding knowledge of knowing our actions are in accordance with Nature. Most of us will never reach perfect judgment in every instance, but for an instance in space and time you will be The Sage to which you aspire and you will be richer, freer and happier for it.
