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 late for thoughtfulness.
Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) didn’t wait until the last minute to ask about the meaning of life. In fact, he did something worse: He pretended that the last minute had arrived and then rationalised that acceptance is the equivalent of wisdom.
John VI Kantakouzenos compared to Seneca
Let me illustrate Seneca’s philosophy with an example from the 14th century: John VI Kantakouzenos, a Byzantine emperor. During his period as emperor, his interest in philosophy did not go beyond reciting the pieties of the Orthodox Church. He was too busy enjoying his power and his lavish lifestyle.
Eventually, his rule came abruptly to an end in 1347, when he was forced to abdicate in favour of John V Palaiologos. The life expectancy of deposed Byzantine emperors was very short. Normally, they were executed right away by the new emperor, or blinded and maimed, left to die slowly in darkness.
When John VI Kantakouzenos saw that his life was about to end, he made a proposal to the new emperor. Instead of being executed, John VI Kantakouzenos declared his willingness to become a monk and retire to a secluded monastery for the rest of his life.
The new emperor hesitated before accepting the proposal. If he allowed John VI Kantakouzenos to stay alive, he might face a revolt later on. It would not be the first time for a Byzantine emperor to return from exile and kill his successor.
However, after giving some thought to the matter, the new emperor accepted the proposal from John VI Kantakouzenos. The only prerequisite was that John VI Kantakouzenos would have to make a solemn promise to stay in the monastery for the rest of his life, and never again engage in politics.
The promise was made and John VI Kantakouzenos went to live in a monastery. After becoming a monk, the first thing he did was to change his name into Joasaph Christodoulos.
As of that moment, the newly-born Joasaph Christodoulos kept himself busy inquiring about the meaning of life, studying theology, and writing thick volumes about history and ethics.
In contrast to the very brief life expectancy of other deposed Byzantine emperors, Joasaph Christodoulos went on to live for another thirty years. His life in a monastery proved so happy and successful that he did not miss the outside world.
Joasaph Christodoulos had put into practice Seneca’s ideas about the meaning of life. He had turned resignation into virtue and made the best of every day. He had not expected to live for another thirty years, but enjoyed every hour to the maximum.
Seneca on living each day separately
In his dialogue “On the Shortness of Life,” Seneca explains the benefits of accepting external circumstances. If we accept the things we cannot change, then we can focus on improving those we can.
For Seneca, acceptance is the crucial ingredient of wisdom, and the key to the meaning of life. The whole point of courage, resilience and self-discipline are to identify unassailable issues, so that we can build our happiness around them.
Both Seneca and John VI Kantakouzenos only came to this conclusion when they saw their days come to an end. Before that point, they had only given lip service to philosophy.
All prior insights gained by Seneca were put to the test only when Emperor Claudius (10-54 AD) sent him into exile. I can say the same about John VI Kantakouzenos before his fall. His expectation of continuity ended abruptly and he was forced to embrace a philosophy similar to Stoicism.
Seneca went into exile on an island in the Mediterranean, and John VI Kantakouzenos went to live in a monastery. They both went essentially through the same experience and found the meaning of life when they thought that things could not get any worse.
Both of them expected to die soon, resigned themselves to the situation, and committed themselves to making the best of each remaining day. It is not an exaggeration to describe their experience as “being born again” or “starting a new life.”
In his dialogue “On the Shortness of Life,” Seneca describes his newly-found strategy as “living each day separately.” He is referring to the fact that he expected to die soon, and would not make any long term plans.
How sound are Seneca’s views on the meaning of life? Can we employ his insights nowadays to guide our decisions? Only to a certain extent, I’m afraid.
Seneca’s wider recommendation
Seneca’s philosophy would work beautifully if we are exiled on an island or locked up in a monastery, but I fail to see how it could guide our health, career, finances and social life.
In his 37th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca had praised Stoicism as the best way to keep our mind “strong and balanced,” but life demands much more than that. If we consider each day as our last, we will fail to invest in our future, and suffer the penalties of short-term thinking.
Despite Seneca’s assertions, it is not sufficient to embrace a philosophy that armours our soul against setbacks. We equally need guidelines to make fast and beneficial decisions from the perspective of a normal life expectancy.
Seneca must have realized the weakness of his ideas on the meaning of life. His 60th Letter to Lucilius tries to remedy this weakness by arguing that, irrespective of the situation, we can benefit for “taking care of our soul.”
What’s the rationale for the change in terminology? Instead of serenity, Seneca is now speaking of “taking care of the soul” to widen the perspective. Indeed, we cannot go far if we regard each day as our very last, and thus fail to make any investment for the future.
By using optimistic language, Seneca reinforces the wider perspective of the 60th Letter to Lucilius. He exhorts readers to take care of their soul because, by doing so, they’ll secure their happiness more effectively.
Seneca’s widened views on the of meaning life carry a key consequence: Instead of acceptance, he is now advising readers to pause, reflect, and choose the best path available.
I particularly like the fact that Seneca is pointing to Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) as an illustration of “taking care of one’s soul.” He refers to Cicero’s ability to remain calm during periods of turmoil, protecting his present and future interests.
Marcus Aurelius retook this perspective, emphasising the benefits of daily Stoic reflection in good and bad times. Seneca had identified the correct path through trial and error, but it still took two generations of philosophers to bring it to fruition.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “Undisrupted: How highly effective people deal with disruptions.”
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