For modern readers, #stoicism is hard to understand because our century is vastly different from the early Roman Empire. It is easy for us to read the writings of Seneca, but his words do not make any sense in the present context. What has changed so drastically? The #opportunities open to individuals. Today, each person can pursue #selfdevelopment to an extent that #seneca couldn’t have conceived. We have ample possibilities to learn, work and define our own lifestyle. Seneca assumed that individuals can seldom build a #betterlife for themselves. He viewed social and economic constraints as unassailable. He regarded happiness as unworkable in the long term, and advised us to focus on reducing our misery. #humannature has not changed since Seneca’s lifetime, but it makes a big difference whether humans live in a favourable or unfavourable environment. I would compare Seneca’s #historical context to living as an animal in a zoo. If we see an antelope in a zoo, we will not be able to grasp how antelopes live in the wilderness. Without that knowledge, it would be rather pointless to tell antelopes what to eat, where to sleep, or how to heal a broken leg. Seneca examined life in the early #romanempire and noted that most humans lived in physical poverty and #psychological misery; he also noted that, even the most #successful people, are often victims of a reversal of fortune. In his 28th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca even advises readers to give up any attempts to improve their situation by travelling. It isn’t worth it, he says, to seek a better lifestyle by moving from the city to the countryside, or from the countryside to the city. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/understanding-senecas-philosophy/
