Most philosophical doctrines are worthless for dealing with uncertainty. They fail to recognize emerging threats and, when people wake up, it’s too late to do anything. If we want to have a successful, happy life, we need to know what to do exactly in order to deal effectively with uncertainty.
Seneca came up with the answer, although he failed to see the implications. He was too busy with his own problems and possessed only a limited grasp of economics. Let us review his insights and complete them where necessary.
In his 102nd Letter to Lucilius, Seneca described in detail the risks that we all face in life. I would use the metaphor of trees that we have seen when they were planted, but that are now old and decayed.
I am referring to the process of getting old, but we can extrapolate the principle to all areas of human life. In terms of business, professional or social development, we all face risks of obsolescence, market shifts, and decreasing opportunities.
Seneca’s formula for dealing with uncertainty
Uncertainty is a general concept that encompasses all kinds of future risks. If we fail to adopt preventive measures, we may have to face a sharp decline in our health, social and financial status. Stoics sometimes employ the metaphor of a tree, which used to be tall and thriving, but has become dead wood, only good enough for burning in the fireplace.
Lamentations will not help us deal successfully with future changes in the environment; they will not help us identify risks and determine what to do exactly.
The Stoic prescription given by Zeno of Citium (334-262 BC) and Cleanthes (330-230 BC) consisted of acceptance and resignation. The same passive attitude had been proposed by Chrysippus (279-206 BC).
I regard the prescriptions of the early Stoics as profoundly unsatisfactory. Uncertainty constitutes a generic risk that every person needs to face; a philosopher that preaches acceptance or resignation is not helping us deal with uncertainty.
Seneca improved substantially compared to the early Stoics because he had understood that, when we are facing important threats, passivity is suicidal. Zeno was advising people to take setbacks philosophically, but is it not better to adopt preventive measures to avert problems?
In his 19th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca identifies a formula for dealing effectively with uncertainty, although he fails to take it further. Heraclitus had already implied that fortune is always flowing; sometimes, turning in our favour, other times, against.
Seneca: observations about risk and uncertainty
Seneca should have concluded this thought by advising us to perform regular risk assessments. The goal is to identify the growth areas and the decline areas, so that we can concentrate our efforts on the former and steer away from the latter.
I view this principle as a pillar of practical Stoicism because it combines the rationality of Zeno, the resolve of Chrysippus, and the flexibility of Seneca. Worthy Stoic thinkers look at the future and prepare themselves accordingly. It’s foolish to close one’s eyes to emerging threats.
In his 19th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca described the mentality that enables people to deal effectively with uncertainty. Instead of assuming that the future will be pretty much the same as the present, we should remind ourselves that “everything we have is temporary.”
Seneca was correct in regarding all assets as temporary. I’m referring not only to financial assets subject to strong volatility. Our good health is also temporary. If we do not take care of it, we are increasing the risk of sickness. Our home and motor car also need regular maintenance if we want to keep them in good shape.
Uncertainty is best faced through regular risks assessments, which result in identifying threats and opportunities. In his 19th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca warned us that “our fortune is never fully secure” and that “it could vanish overnight.”
Seneca’s reflection about uncertainty needs to be completed by one virtue: alertness. On the one hand, Stoic thinkers should be emotionally steady, and on the other hand, they should stay alert. The former is worthless without the latter. If we don’t see things coming, there is no way to keep our emotions steady.
Seneca’s insights and El Greco’s life story
The Renaissance artist Domenikos Theotokopoulos (1541-1614), also known as “El Greco,” displayed the Stoic virtue of alertness to an exceptional level. His rise from dire poverty to notoriety and comfort remains a great example of foresight.
El Greco was born in Crete and followed an apprenticeship with a local artist, mostly in the orthodox tradition of painting icons. It did not take him long to realize that it was impossible to earn a good living producing artworks that were practically indistinguishable from those painted by other artists.
Seneca’s remark that “fortune is always flowing; sometimes, it is turning in our favour, and other times, against” calls for a good measure of alertness. El Greco exercised alertness to the extent allowed by the geographical constraints of Crete.
He talked to sailors coming and going, and heard of the big names in Venetian painting. For instance, artists such as Titian (1488-1576) were earning a hundred times more than the most competent suppliers of icons for orthodox churches.
Seneca had experienced in his own life removals from south Spain (Cordoba), to Rome and Naples, and then for eight years to the island of Corsica, but those removals had been driven by chance to a large extent.
El Greco displayed the virtue of alertness to a higher degree in his removals from Crete to Venice and then to Rome, simply in pursuit of learning opportunities to advance his career.
Seneca: Stoicism requires active rationality
Stoic philosophy requires active rationality, that is, alertness and flexibility. Passive blindness is a losing proposition in any area of life. El Greco personifies the calm acceptance of reality with the alertness of a clear thinker.
In addition to perfecting his artistic skills, El Greco was an avid reader. He read voraciously and also collected books. His alertness led him to travel to Spain because he had heard of the large construction projects in El Escorial, which would require expert painters for adorning the altars and walls.
El Greco failed to secure the commissions he pursued at El Escorial, but his removal to Spain vastly helped his career. He landed a commission for a church in Toledo, and subsequently, he became the highest paid artist in the area.
Seneca would have praised El Greco for having devoted a large share of his spare time to reading history and philosophy. Those proved extremely useful in developing the ethereal, Neoplatonic style that distinguished him from other painters.
I find it remarkable that none of El Greco’s peers managed to imitate his style successfully. Even his direct descendant, his son Jorge Manuel, failed to keep his workshop in Toledo going after El Greco’s death, a fact that shows that success emanates from the proper philosophy. I can only encourage readers to study El Greco’s biography as a compelling illustration of Stoic ideas.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all kinds of situations, I recommend my book “The Philosophy of Builders.”
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