[Book Review] Letters from a Stoic

The historical philosophical position of Stoicism from one of the greatest thinkers of Rome

Seneca provides a reasonable illumination on modern moral philosophy. The future holds many difficult conversations with our families, and this is a great lens through which we can have them.

Seneca letters provide insight into the mindset of the author that is more personal than some of his other writings. The narrative presented by the author is reminiscent of speaking to ones own father or grandfather. It is not like many philosophical works in that they are represented as impersonal wisdom. Rather Seneca’s letters are a familial and filial voice. For those who have not had the pleasure of philosophical discussions with a wise parent, Seneca’s letters are accurate facsimiles of the experience… which makes them particularly relevant to the Holiday Season in the West.

Much of Seneca’s philosophy boils down to a relatively simple aspiration of wishing to accept that which cannot be changed, the strength to improve that which can be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference. Many people have difficulty with stoicism because, while Seneca and similar thinkers make reasonable arguments about how we ought feel in specific scenarios… they don’t feel that way. “Why worry about death when it’s both inevitable and represents liberation from the pain of mortality” sounds good on paper but fails to recognize that many people worry about death anyway. In that regard, I would consider stoicism an old-mans philosophy that’s much easier to adopt once one already has a wealth of life experience.

While I truly do appreciate Seneca, as philosopher, and as a cranky old man whose words remind me of my own father to a truly uncanny degree; I also recognize that Stoicism doesn’t provide what many people need. Many people require a higher power, the understanding that the suffering of their lives bares purpose, and ultimate meaning. Stoicism doesn’t provide that many people. I would argue that the letters from a stoic are a piece of literature that should be read in their entirety, particularly by those who wish they could have such conversations with their own family. I would also, however, argue that stoicism as a moral philosophy only truly functions with the meaning provided by religious aspirations. To those who are already deeply religious, stoicism makes of itself a strong “philosophy of man.” To those who are irreligious, however, stoicism often seems to fail at the first hurdle, where the ‘should’ fails to become an ‘is’ within the self.

While it may not be a Christmas book, I do highly recommend Letters from a Stoic as, if nothing else, it makes an amazing allegory for conversing with a wise grandfather who doesn’t really ‘get’ the world as it is today. It represents a glimpse into life of a previous era, and for some of us, helps us understand how little humanity has changed. We’re still the same people we were two thousand years ago in many ways. New insights, new technology, but the hardware hasn’t changed, nor has the nature of our species.