The Stoics and the Tao

I get more and more inspired by the Stoics. There are some commonalities with Taoism, but it has a more pragmatic view on how to maintain happiness in a world of change and suffering. The more I learn about their writings, the more I realise that it is so much more than just ‘gritting it out’ or denying pleasure. Rather, it is about being clear on what we can and cannot change. A stoic hopes for the best and prepares (mentally) for the worst. They don’t waste time and energy worrying or fighting what is beyond their control.

I find it remarkable that the Stoic texts written thousands of years ago still resonate today. It suggests that, as humans and as societies, we still have much the same drivers and ideas; similar fears and passions, even ways of organising.

What I like about Seneca is his emphasis on quality rather than quantity of life. “So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it … life is long if you know how to use it.” It’s not that we can, or even should be constantly productive. Rather it is that we should try not to get trapped in meaningless pursuits or trivial activities.

The notion of ‘the good life’ – Aristotle’s ‘eudaimonia’ – is a similar idea. Epictetus brings a stoic perspective to this ideal, a philosophy I have come to appreciate. He says “the true man is revealed in difficult times.” I also like his call for humility: “a person is not going to undertake to learn anything that they think they already know.”

The bridge from Stoicism to Taoism is to accept that life is changeable and full of dilemmas and paradoxes. The Tao Te Ching has long been my favourite philosophical text. By learning to reconcile the ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ – the apparent opposites – or rather to dance with them, to sync with the ebb and flow, and to find a pathway through the chaos, this is the ultimate task of living.