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Philosophical lessons from Seneca’s life (Part 1)
When analysing the insights of great philosophers, I love to look at their biographies and see the practical implications. Do their biographies reflect the benefits of their insights? Did their choices prove particularly perceptive and clever? Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) passed the biography test with flight colours. His choices mirrored his philosophy and all his…
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Seneca: effectiveness in the face of criticism
It is easy to dispense advice in retrospect and tell people what they should have done. It is far more difficult to make the right decisions in real time, while being bitterly criticised and publicly attacked. Psychological pressure is hard to resist, especially when it is coming at us from all directions. Seneca knew that,…
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Seneca on dealing with criticism
Conflict is the one of main sources of preoccupations in life. Interpersonal conflicts tend to generate higher anxiety than natural disasters. Most people find daily quarrels with their spouses more nerve-wrecking than one-in-a-lifetime damages inflicted by a volcano. In his 78th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca studied negative emotions and provided useful recommendations. The validation of…
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Seneca: putting the good life into practice
In ancient Greece and Rome, philosophy was conceived as a practical science; the purposes of philosophical learning were clearly defined: success, joy and happiness. Aristotle (384-322 BC) wrote his “Eudemian Ethics” and “Nicomachean Ethics” with the stated goal of helping his students achieve happiness. Seneca was not an exception in this regard. A prolific writer,…
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Seneca: myths about the good life
In the search for happiness, it is as important to do the right thing as it is to avoid dire mistakes. Seneca put together a list of mistakes to avoid, and warned us against our natural tendency to look for shortcuts. When it comes to virtue, character and happiness, I am afraid that every inch…
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Seneca on how to live a good life
Since the mid-twentieth century, many philosophers are not employing the term “happiness” any more in their goal setting. They do no longer preach that happiness is the goal of human life because, I guess, they find it unattainable. Instead of happiness, they are employing the term “the good life” as something that philosophy can reasonably…
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Seneca: tranquillity in extreme situations
Philosophy becomes more convincing when it’s subjected to the test of extreme adversity. In order to gain wide acceptance, theoretical discussions need to be validated by experience, preferably on multiple occasions. Seneca came up with a compelling recipe for achieving peace of mind in times of turmoil; he told his readers to accept the inevitable,…
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Seneca’s specific advice on tranquillity
Although imperfect, the philosophy developed by Seneca concerning peace of mind is worth studying. It has been practised by thousands of people across the centuries, and still today, can prompt us to improve our lifestyle. Seneca believed that adversity, if faced properly, can help us become emotionally stronger. The difficult question, however, is how to…
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Seneca’s philosophy of tranquillity
It would be great if I could affirm that Seneca figured out the key to tranquillity. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. He did deploy extensive efforts in this area, especially in his treatise “On the Tranquillity of the Mind,” but he failed to identify a valid formula for peace of mind. Nonetheless, I find it…
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Seneca on the meaning of life
I find it unfortunate that most people will only inquire about the meaning of life when they are out of time. After making all sorts of mistakes and finding oneself in lethal danger, it doesn’t make a lot of difference whether you know the meaning of life. When the time is over, it is too…
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