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, and deploy steady efforts to ameliorate the factors that can be influenced.
The problem, of course, lies in the difficulty of correctly categorizing problems as solvable or unassailable. Seneca, like many people nowadays, erred on the side of defeatism. He was too willing to rate problems as unassailable, and too weak in his efforts to find workable solutions.
Seneca’s philosophical framework leads to praising people who, due to irresistible threats, must go into exile and build a new life from scratch. The praise is well deserved, especially if we consider the severe inconveniences of exile in antiquity.
The remarkable adaptability of Anaxagoras (500-428 BC) and of Seneca himself, during his long exile in Corsica, earned my admiration. However, their misadventures may not impress many people in our century, where emigration has become the common lot of vast numbers of people.
In his 68th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca defines peace of mind as an achievement independent of external circumstances. The philosophical individual, says Seneca, carries tranquillity in his own soul. He does not need to draw it from the tangible world.
Seneca’s insights and Pico della Mirandola
Let us see now how Seneca’s philosophy fares when faced with appalling circumstances. The life of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) presents the ideal testing ground.
On the one hand, Pico was well acquainted with Seneca’s works and with ancient Stoicism in general. On the other hand, Pico endured extreme adversity in his life.
In addition to being an excellent Latinist, Pico possessed extensive knowledge of antique philosophy. He was as familiar with Plato and Aristotle, as he was with Seneca and Boethius.
Pico described himself as “someone who drinks from all fountains of wisdom.” When he turned fourteen, he enrolled in Bologna University to study law, but soon after, he began to attend lectures on philosophy. In the ensuing years, Pico would also attend courses in the universities of Padua and Paris.
For Pico, knowledge acquisition was indissolubly coupled with language learning. In fifteenth-century Europe, Latin was the dominant language, but a large part of Aristotle’s works had been preserved in Arabic. Latin translations of those works left a lot to be desired.
Pico had learned Latin as a child, but at the university, he felt the need to learn Arabic and Yiddish as well. The former for reading Aristotle’s works, and the latter, to read the Judaic literature on the Talmud and the Kabbalah.
Aristotle’s and Seneca’s ideas shaped Pico’s convictions. He regarded reason as the quintessential tool of cognition, but did not close the door to mystical knowledge.
Pico attempted to integrate the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, the Kabbalah, and a few other philosophers like Seneca, but he did not succeed in removing the contradictions.
The philosophical compilation made by Pico is known as “the nine hundred theses.” Many of those summarize insights from Aristotle and Plato on epistemology and logic, and ethical insights from the Talmud and other sources.
Pico’s nine hundred theses are far from revolutionary. Stoic insights similar to Seneca’s are presented side by side with the Biblical principles of divine revelation. The theses constitute a well-intended, but failed attempt at philosophical integration.
Regrettably, the Catholic Church regarded thirteen of Pico’s nine hundred theses as violations of the Christian faith. In our century, Pico’s theses might have gone unnoticed, but Pope Innocent VIII sternly condemned Pico’s attempt at conciliating Christianity, Platonism and the Kabbalah.
How Pico della Mirandolla applied Seneca’s ideas
In the face of a potential arrest and imprisonment, Seneca might have stayed in Rome and allowed the Pope to arrest him, but Pico decided to leave. He went to France with the goal of settling down there. In contrast to Seneca, Pico did not regard conflicts with authority as unassailable problems.
His vast knowledge and reputation could have enabled Pico to easily find a private teaching position, that is, a post outside the universities controlled by the Catholic Church.
Pico went to Lyon, but Pope Innocent VIII had the local authorities arrest him. He wanted to prosecute Pico for heresy and have him recant the thirteen theses that contradict the ideas of the Catholic doctrine.
Even in the face of harsh adversity, Pico continued to regard problems as solvable. In contrast, Seneca would have long ago given up and accepted his prosecution and imprisonment.
Pico did not contest that, in life, some obstacles can prove insurmountable. He shared Seneca’s basic premises, but placed more emphasis on self-reliance and personal initiative.
Instead of viewing his adversity as inevitable and suffering quietly, Pico contacted Lorenzo de Medici in Florence, asking for his help. The strategy worked: Pico was released, relocated to Florence, and found suitable employment.
A few years later, Pico died in mysterious circumstances; he was only thirty-one years old. However, his early passing does not discredit his philosophy.
Pico employed Seneca’s prescriptions to keep a cool head in dire circumstances. He did not panic and did not waste time on lamentations. He correctly judged problems as solvable even in the face of a severe setback.
Seneca had come up with a solid formula for staying sane in times of adversity, and Pico applied it flawlessly. Actually, he showed better judgement than Seneca in counteracting severe opposition. Pico’s example is worth studying because it teaches a lesson of perennial value.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “Asymmetry: The shortcut to success when success seems impossible.”
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