Stoicism in the Pandemic

Foreword

This is a piece I wrote during my second year at university as a psychology student, at the peak of the Covid Pandemic. I have been fond of stoic philosophy since my first university degree in Classics and was extremely excited when a course came up in my psychology degree to revisit this wonderful philosophy.

How to live Stoically in the times of the Coronavirus pandemic

Being human, we assume no one has lived through the hardships that we face till we become more worldly with time and experience. In Stoicism, the state prior to the experience that we gain, is interpreted as lack of knowledge rather than ignorance (Pigliucci, 2018). The difference between the two is that lack of knowledge is information you have not yet acquired, while ignorance implies a more negative connotation. This is usually linked to being less educated, being of a lesser class or being less intellectually capable – all rooted in prejudice. The Coronavirus pandemic has increased the likelihood of people experiencing darker moments (Carreno et al., 2021) as beliefs that people held, such as the freedom of movement and decision making, were revealed as fragile illusions. The Coronavirus pandemic has challenged us to find ways to cope with our existence in isolation as we gain experience of it day by day. Stoicism lends itself well in such a situation as it is designed to set humanity free without the need to move an inch but very much depends on the agility of our minds.

Stoicism misconceptions and reality

Stoicism is often misconceived as a way of life that expects you to live without feeling or expressing any emotions (the good and the bad). This may bring to mind the blank expressions of ancient marble statues, and you might expect modern stoics to be just as silently perfect. As people scrambled through life after being plunged into an abyss of uncertainty without a set timeline, this idea may have seemed initially attractive. The attraction may lay in the ability to eliminate unwanted feelings on demand. Upon a closer inspection, while the philosophy and practice of Stoicism aims to achieve a state of inner harmony that has the potential to set you free, it does highlight how imperfect human nature is. The amount of time it takes to achieve stoic inner harmony doesn’t rest easy with people seeking instant relief from unexpected bouts of anxiety and hopelessness. Stoicism is far from the instant gratification that modern day is accustomed to and indulges in. The state of inner harmony is a collection of reasoning, role balancing and allowing certain emotions to have space to breathe before making conscious decisions to move forward. Stoicism does this by striving to minimise disruptive emotions, such as anger and fear, that hinder the path to a peaceful, satisfied and a wonderfully ordinary life. Therefore, it is possible to draw a grain of truth from the misconception as it is rooted in the idea of changing undesired feelings and emotions to lessen the burden of life. However, it is a constant learning cycle that eventually brings you this harmony not mental health on demand (Pigliucci, 2017).

When considering concepts such as life satisfaction and a painless existence, it becomes clear that another common misconception about Stoicism is that it is a philosophy for darker and difficult times. This is often coupled with famous names such as Nelson Mandela who embodied a stoic life during his twenty-year captivity (Barbosa, 2020) or the famous philosopher Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, who turned to journaling and Stoicism during a crippling pandemic across the Roman Empire that broke out in 166AD (Sabbatani et al., 2009). The Antonine plague eerily resembles characteristics of today’s pandemic, such as the economic depletion of the government state and uncontrollable monetary inflation which led to the downfall of the most powerful establishment at the time. Stoicism provides structure that guides you through difficult and complex times by building upon gratitude and going back to the basics of human nature, but it is designed for and aimed at everyday thinking and living. It is meant to create a peace of mind and the way the Stoics achieve this is by encouraging people to live according to nature. This means to embody the two pillars of Stoicism: the cardinal virtues and the dichotomy of control.

Massimo Pigliucci (2018), a professor of biology and philosophy, explains that to live according to nature, we must firstly take human nature seriously, which means to recognise that we are social creatures and belong to groups. This belonging comes with ethical roles as well as the responsibility to look after the space we inhabit to make it better for others as much as for ourselves. Pigliucci (2018) highlights that it is possible for us to survive alone but people thrive in healthy social networks. The key here is healthy, and healthy social networks lean upon meaningful and authentic connection. Across the ages, people did not so much fear death as they feared exile from their country and people, and this still stands true two thousand years later. This echoes the fear and ill mental health people experienced while in lockdown, that in some cases lasted for nearly a year. There were people willing to neglect advised social distance and risk becoming infected to be with loved ones during the current pandemic. Pigliucci (2018) continues to explain that we are also capable of reasoning, but we generally struggle with this on a daily basis as highlighted in the increased risk-taking behaviour during lockdown. This is where Stoicism ceases to be just a philosophy and becomes a set of techniques that guide us through the complex balancing act of reasoning.

The practical application of reasoning

The cardinal virtues and the dichotomy of control are the key pillars to stoic life. This includes (a) practical wisdom (the knowledge what is good for you and what is not), (b) courage (not just physical but moral courage, to be able to do the right thing), (c) justice (what right and wrong is and how to interact with people) and (d) temperance (which can be better explained as moderation, the right measure, not overdoing it or under doing it). Applying these virtues, will not make you perfect but the structure provides you understanding whether you have tried your best in every decision and action. Stoics advocate that if you have applied these virtues, then you will live an ordinary but meaningful and happy life. In the face of the pandemic, it takes true moral courage to admit when you are not okay and people have reported higher levels of depression across the globe in a recent study (Carreno et al., 2021).

The second pillar of Stoicism, the dichotomy of control, is clearly and simply summed up by Epictetus, an ancient stoic philosopher, as some things are up to us, and some things are not. He further explains that;

“Within our power are opinion, aim, desire, aversion, and, in one-word, whatever affairs are our own. Beyond our power are body, property, reputation, office, and, in one word, whatever are not properly our own affairs.” Epictetus

When you can divide every situation into these categories, and spend your time focusing on the first part – the things that you can control and influence within the constructs of the stoic virtues – you begin to live a much happier life or, in better words, a life with less burden. You will automatically end up doing much less as well as thinking much less, which is linked to stress. Stress is dubbed as the epidemic of the twenty first century (Bandelow, 2015). Bandelow (2015) found that five years prior to the pandemic over a third of the world’s population were already experiencing anxiety and the pandemic was rapidly increasing this to a number we will likely discover in the coming years (Carreno et al., 2021). The Stoics encourage to look internally at your own desires and motivations and if it does not compliment humanity, not to act on it. Also, by thinking and worrying about things out of your control you cause unnecessary stress to the mind and body, which again does not benefit humanity. Thus straying away from living according to nature.

“If you have the right idea about what really belongs to you and what does not, you will never be subject to force or hindrance, you will never blame or criticize anyone, and everything you do will be done willingly.” Epictetus

Willingness is the key here, it implies that there would be no resistance in your existence, in your relationships, work or play. It is the promise of a life that you would not need a rest from. In addition, Stoicism also brings to the foreground role ethics. Pigliucci (2018) comments that balancing between roles also helps to live a happy life. These are divided into three roles, (a) as a human being, (b) roles that are given to us such as being a son or daughter and (c) roles which we choose like motherhood or fatherhood. According to Stoicism, being human trumps all of the other roles but playing all roles with integrity leads to a peace of mind that you have done your best. The best way you can balance and play these roles, is playing them as you best understand those roles, which might not necessarily be according to society norms.

So, how can you live stoically during the coronavirus pandemic?

First of all, we must gain the knowledge and understanding that we are all on the same rock and we are in this together, pandemic or not. Globalisation has moved people away from belonging to just a city onto an international level. Even though we now belong to a larger group, our social responsibilities and needs remain unchanged – we still need meaningful connections. Lockdown has put us into somewhat of a forced exile from each other, but we are doing it for the greater good of humanity. For the Stoics, this would have been an acceptable way to look after the survival and benefit of humanity.

Turning inwards to inspect the constructs of our internal virtues, we can live stoically by trying our best and admitting when we need help. Many people have done so by taking part in studies such as the “Inner Harmony as an Essential Facet of Well-Being” (2021). It takes courage to admit when things are not okay, and while the methods of how to cope with it might not be perfect, trying your best is the key according to the Stoics. Leaning upon the first pillar of Stoicism helps you understand if you are living according to your best self.

It is important to come to terms with the fact that the pandemic is out of our control. There is no way to predict who will get sick or survive. According to the Stoics, we should not concern ourselves with such thoughts and focus on the things we can control, which is acceptance of the situation and aiming to be not perfect, but a little better than yesterday. By maturing psychologically, it allows people to become more knowledgeable and therefore move away from instinctive reactions and develop better capabilities of reasoning (Pigliucci, 2017). Therefore, it is advised to not attach your self-esteem to the outcome of situations but to the process of decision making as it is within our grasp.

Stoicism encourages us to understand that being ordinary is enough for a happy and fulfilled life. Faced with the pandemic, Stoicism can set us free from the constraints of the physical world and have gratitude for the basic things in life. This happens through exercises such as short reflections, journaling as well as other stoic practices such as premeditation of adversity and contemplation of death. These practices help to support and reinforce the two pillars of Stoicism.

References

Bandelow, B. (2015). Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 17(3), 327–335. https://doi.org/10.31887/dcns.2015.17.3/bbandelow

Barbosa, C. (2020, July 14). Nelson Mandela: A modern-day stoic. The Wise Mind. https://thewisemind.net/best-modern-stoics/

Carreno, D. F., Eisenbeck, N., Pérez-Escobar, J. A., & García-Montes, J. M. (2021). Inner Harmony as an Essential Facet of Well-Being: A Multinational Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648280

Pigliucci, M. (2017). How to Be a Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living. Basic Books New York.

Pigliucci, M. [TEDx Talks]. (2018, September 25). Stoicism as a philosophy for an ordinary life | Massimo Pigliucci | TEDxAthens [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhn1Fe8cT0Q&t=961s

Sabbatani S, Fiorino S. La peste antonina e il declino dell'Impero Romano. Ruolo della Guerra partica e della guerra marcomannica tra il 164 e il 182 d.c. nella diffusione del contagio [The Antonine Plague and the decline of the Roman Empire]. Infez Med. 2009 Dec;17(4):261-75. Italian. PMID: 20046111.