5 Lessons on Stoic Engagement

Highlights from Stoicon + link to videos

We had an excellent Stoicon this year on October 18, with all the talks revolving around the theme of engaged citizenship. (If you didn’t get a chance to join us, you can see the videos here.) While each presentation was different, there were some common themes that kept showing up throughout the day. I’d like to pull out a few of the most important ones for you today.

So what did we learn about Stoicism and engaged citizenship? Here are my top 5.

Engagement can take many forms.

Speakers at this conference came from a variety of backgrounds, including

• Academia (philosophy, history, political science, classics, etc.)

• Journalism

• Government

• Psychotherapy

• Community leadership and advocacy

• Corporate leadership

• Scientific research

• Executive coaching

Yet they all find ways of contributing to society through their personal and professional roles. Some contribute through federal or local government, others through involvement with civic organizations, still others through education or personal outreach. To me, this was a great reminder that each person, regardless of where life has taken them, can contribute to a flourishing society through prosocial engagement with the people around them.

Standout sessions in this area are the Stoic Engaged Citizenship in Action panel and lightning talks. I highly recommend watching if you haven’t already. Take a look at how many ways there are to get engaged!

Cosmopolitanism includes being a local citizen as well as being a citizen of the world.

Stoicism is famous for its cosmopolitan ethic: we are not merely members of a particular tribe but share spiritual kinship with all humans. (See Lisa Hill’s talk for a great explanation of this doctrine.) This means we owe everyone in the world a certain level of care and respect. We don’t have to give up our more personal relationships or be ashamed about caring for the people or places closest to us. But we do have to understand that our particular associates don’t deserve special treatment at the expense of others; that our particular nation isn’t superior to others; and that people outside our particular group shouldn’t be dehumanized.

And as Chris Gill reminded us, a cosmopolitan ethic also doesn’t just apply at the level of the polity; it applies to all human groups:

Citizenship isn’t necessarily just about being an active person in your nation. You can be a citizen in any kind of community, a smaller community, your family or friendship group, but also you can be a citizen in a broader sense, in terms of being a member of the human race, and acting as the Stoics think a human being should act properly in the community of humankind.

Cosmopolitanism helps us counter the human tendency to form in-groups and out-groups, which often leads people to favor their in-group and denigrate those outside it. This form of tribalism becomes even more salient whenever people feel physically or psychologically threatened—they increase their efforts to protect whatever group they consider to be their tribe, whether that is based on family ties, political or religious affiliation, social class, or any other form of identity.

Stoic cosmopolitanism asks us to move past this tribal thinking, reminding us that all humans are fellows. The Roman Stoics spoke of our kinship in essentially religious terms, saying that we are all children of Zeus, but we can certainly feel kinship with others without invoking the language of religion. It’s simple enough to recognize that all people share those special capabilities that make us human: rationality, creativity, social affection, language, and a desire to be valued and respected (just to name a few).

Regardless of whether or not we consider each other children of god, we can still call each other brothers and sisters (which is the point Hierocles was making with his famous concentric circles). Thinking of others as your relatives encourages you to care for them more deeply, to be concerned for their welfare, to involve yourself in their lives. Clearly, one human can’t literally care about everyone. But what we can do is eliminate the tribal thinking that causes us to dehumanize those who are not in our in-group. If we thought of everyone as “on the same team,” as John Sellars put it, our relationships as individuals would be completely different, and the relationships of one nation to another would also be completely different.

Diane Kalen-Sukra offers a Stoic oath to help interact with others in this way—even others we may not agree with:

First, see opponents as partners in reason. I pledge to meet disagreement with curiosity rather than contempt, remembering that every person shares in reason, and that truth is best sought together. Second, aim for the common good over personal victory. I pledge to seek understanding rather than triumph. To measure success, not by winning, but by what strengthens the community that we share. And third, lead by example, not by force. I pledge to let character, not anger, persuade, embodying the calm courage I hope to awaken in others.

Don’t be afraid to stand against the crowd.

Several speakers made the point that Stoic justice includes staying true to your beliefs, even when you seem to be the only person who holds a certain opinion. Mick Mulroy described a situation on the National Security Council where one person changed everyone else’s minds, and Lisa Hill suggested that people who take on civic roles should be prepared to be a lone dissenting voice. As she put it, “Don’t be afraid to be the only person who thinks something. There’s a pretty good chance…you’re the only person who is right.”

Ethical action isn’t always clear-cut.

Keynote speaker James Romm highlighted the messy realities of a political life by focusing on Seneca’s relationship with Nero. Seneca had a difficult decision to make: stay by Nero’s side and try to limit the damage he inflicted on Rome—but be tainted by association—or make a clean break but have no further influence on government. As Romm reminded us:

In contrast to Epictetus, the former slave, who had no political role and didn’t want one, or to Marcus Aurelius, who pursued and then wielded absolute power, Seneca occupies a messy middle ground. In both his life and his writings, he feels the pull, both of civic engagement and of withdrawal from the public sphere into a realm of quiet contemplation…

Perhaps his ultimate lesson is that there is no dogma that will guide us through troubled civic waters. Our choices must be guided by circumstance, what kind of state we inhabit, what capacity we have to exert influence, and to what degree we endanger our safety by activism. Stoicism is complex and contingent enough to justify many pathways through troubled times.

Early in the day, John Sellars made a similar point: that there is no Stoic formula or blueprint for ethical action. Instead, we have to internalize principles of virtue, and decide what is best based on our commitment to these principles. And Brigid Delaney, in a heartfelt conversation with Phil Yanov, talked about some of her most important advocacy work, in which things didn’t turn out the way she would have liked. Despite her best efforts, two men were executed for drug trafficking in Thailand. But she says that even if you don’t get the results you want, it’s still worth doing the right thing: “What I take from it is: the world may not respond, but the action creates a momentum where people really think about an issue.”

Engage with the people around you.

Given our dual roles as citizens of a nation and of the cosmos, we can benefit the human community by engaging with the people directly around us. As Allie Nava noted, we don’t have to accomplish anything earth-shattering in order to change the world. By living with virtue and fostering trusting relationships in our own neighborhoods, workplaces, civic groups, and local governments, we are creating a stronger society locally, nationally, and internationally.

And, as Tim Lebon pointed out, engagement in the world is closely related to wellbeing and sense of purpose, which he calls zest. Interacting with others in a virtuous way is good for them, and it’s good for us. Whether you are checking up on an old friend, volunteering in your community, participating in government, or simply treating the people around you with justice, you are benefitting others and yourself at the same time. As Meredith Kunz reminded us, “You don’t have to be perfect to go out there and do something. You’re still doing a net good, even if you’re not perfect.”

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Photo credit: Camylla Battani via Unsplash