Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~ Robert Frost[1]
I love those lines from Robert Frost’s timeless poem The Road Not Taken. As a practicing Stoic, they take on new meaning because of the importance of choice. Robert Frost’s traveler stands at a fork in the road, and he must choose—path A or path B. During his contemplation, he acknowledges that he cannot travel both paths. Then, in these closing lines, Frost highlights the obvious—the chosen path, whatever it may be, will make a profound difference in one’s life. So why choose the Stoic path? Why did you choose the Stoic, if you’ve already made that choice? Why not Epicureanism, Scepticism, Platonism, Cynicism? Why a philosophical path at all?
In this podcast, I’m going to argue that if you did choose the Stoic path, you may not have made that choice for the reasons you think you did. If you haven’t chosen a path yet, I’m going to give you some things to consider before you choose a path. As much as I personally love Stoicism and believe everyone can benefit from familiarity with its ethical principles, I do not believe the Stoic path is for everyone. The Stoics teach three natures:
Universal Nature
Human nature
And our individual nature—we might call that your psychological makeup of personality.
There is a good reason why we have a variety of philosophical paths—its call human variety. The first choice is for a philosophical life; an examined life. Sometimes, that choice is made when external circumstances force a reevaluation of our life.
Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, faced one of those unexpected life events and the subsequent fork in the road as a shipwrecked merchant in a foreign city—Athens. According to Diogenes Laertius, Zeno used his downtime wisely; he stopped in an Athenian bookstore and read about the life of Socrates. A new path opened in Zeno’s mind—a fork in the road—and he faced a choice. The choice he made not only changed his life, but it is also fair to say it profoundly changed Western thought and impacted history in ways he could not have conceived. Frost’s famous traveler only faced two choices. We face a multitude of paths and numerous forking roads as we travel through our lives. Today, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, there is renewed interest in ancient wisdom and the philosophical way of life many lived at the time Zeno made his life-changing choice. I am going to focus on those options available in Hellenistic times when philosophy was practiced as a way of life, and consider why a person who has committed themselves to philosophy as a way of life might choose any of the schools available to them. Then I will offer some reasons why they might choose Stoicism.
As Frost’s imaginary traveler considered his options, he knew two things. First, his choice would make a “difference” in his life. Second, knowing how “way leads on to way,” he understood it was unlikely he would ever make it back to explore The Road Not Taken. In other words, the choice was profoundly important and deserving of careful consideration. Moderns who are intrigued by virtue ethics and interested in philosophy as a way of life will likely find themselves facing a similar choice. Faced with several viable philosophical ways of life—Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism, and Cynicism—which to choose?
Unlike modern academic philosophy, ancient philosophy practiced as a way of life was not primarily intellectual; it was transformative. Its goal was not mere knowledge; instead, it intended to cure the soul of the practitioner by unburdening their mind of mistaken notions about the nature of reality and human nature and developing within them a state of moral excellence. This endeavor required more than philosophical discourse. That is why, as French philosopher Pierre Hadot so eloquently points out, ancient philosophical discourse and practice were intertwined and considered inseparable aspects of a way of life.[2] During Hellenistic times, philosophical schools created holistic systems of thought and practice designed to transform the practitioner through the practice of a prescribed way of life. The ancient philosophers were physicians of the soul (psyche), and their prescriptions were intended to heal. Nevertheless, they were not painless and easy methods. As Epictetus pointed out,
A philosopher’s school, man, is a doctor’s surgery. You shouldn’t leave after having had an enjoyable time, but after having been subjected to pain. For you weren’t in good health when you came in; no, one of you had a dislocated shoulder, another an abscess, another a headache. (Discourses3.23.30)
While philosophical theory was an essential part of practice for all ancient philosophical schools, it was not the primary motive that drove people to philosophy in general nor to any particular school. Instead, students were attracted to the philosophical way of life as a quest for wisdom, then they made a “specific existential choice”[3] to follow the path prescribed by one of the schools.
Zeno’s Path to Stoicism
While shipwrecked in Athens, Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, went to a bookseller’s shop and began reading Xenophon’s Memorabilia.Zeno was so impressed by the life of Socrates he asked the bookseller where such men could be found. As Diogenes Laertius tells the story, Crates the Cynic happened to walk by at that time, so the bookseller pointed him out and said, “Follow that man.”[4] Zeno did follow Crates and that was the beginning of his philosophical quest. Ultimately, Zeno left Crates and studied under Polemo at Plato’s Academy, and then under Stilpo at the Megarian school. Zeno borrowed elements from each of these schools and ultimately blended them with the concept of a conscious and providential cosmos to create the holistic philosophy of Stoicism. A close look at this story of Zeno and the Athenian bookseller, reveals several interesting things.
First, it is fair to ask why Zeno was so impressed by the life of Socrates he found in Memorabilia. As Scottish philosopher William Leslie Davidson points out while highlighting “The Socratic Impulse” in Stoicism, “we can hardly question that the historical Socrates reasoned on Theistic lines, basing his conception of God and God's providence on teleology or the marks of design manifest in the universe…”[5] Therefore, within Xenophon’s Memorabilia, we see “the Socrates” who “was characterized by religious reverence and personal piety” and inspired Zeno to follow the path of philosophy.[6] Interestingly, Diogenes Laertius makes a specific note of the fact that Zeno was reading Book II of Memorabilia at the time he asked where men like Socrates could be found. We do not know if Zeno already completed Book I, which highlights the piety of Socrates and defends him against the charge that he did not believe in the gods of the city. Throughout Book I, Socrates counsels his companions to discipline their desires for externals like food, drink, sex, and wealth. Likewise, the opening lines of Book II take up that same theme:
He turned his companions toward training themselves to be continent in their desire for meat and drink, and in regard to lust, sleep, cold, heat, and labor. (Memorabilia II.1.1)
According to Diogenes Laertius, Zeno must have read those lines and then continued through Book II to an unknown place where his admiration for the life of Socrates inspired him to ask where he could find such men. We do not need to read much farther to find a good cause for Zeno’s enthusiasm. In Book II, chapter 1, verse 21, Xenophon retells Prodicus’ story of Heracles (Hercules) and his fateful choice between two paths.
When Heracles was starting to enter adolescence from childhood—when youths, since they are already becoming their own rulers, make clear whether in life they will take the road through virtue or that through vice—going out to a quiet spot, he sat down perplexed as to which of the roads he should take.
This story of Heracles is worth reading. I provide more details in previous blog post titles, Choosing The Stoic Path. Or, you can read the entire story here:
The Memorabilia: Recollections of Socrates, Xenophon
French philosopher Pierre Hadot argues that ancient students of philosophy chose the school they would follow in ancient times because of a “way of life” it offered. I find this argument convincing, and this podcast is based on his idea. He writes:
The philosophical school thus corresponds, above all, to the choice of a certain way of life and existential option which demands from the individual a total change of lifestyle, a conversion of one’s entire being, and ultimately a certain desire to be and to live in a certain way.[7]
Therefore, when moderns are considering which philosophical path to follow, they should keep several things in mind. First, all the Hellenistic schools claimed to provide a path to eudaimonia (happiness), even though they offered profoundly different paths to achieve it. Second, to argue that one school is better than another is somewhat meaningless. It is reasonable to assume there are examples of people from each school who did achieve that goal. In the end, it may be a matter of individual personality that inspires a person to prefer one school’s path over another. It may be that Epicureanism, Scepticism, Cynicism, and Stoicism all provide viable paths to eudaimonia. This is not an argument for subjectivism; it is an argument for tolerance. Philosophical discourse between schools remains a healthy part of the philosophical way of life. Nevertheless, none of these philosophical paths can be “proven” effective for everyone. Each may work quite well for a subset of humanity, and a little bit of humility amidst the inter-school rivalries and debates will serve us all well. Third, none of these philosophical paths offers a quick fix for psychological angst.
