[0:00]Some today consider philosophy to be a superfluous enterprise, valuable only to those with their head in the clouds and time to kill. This view may be partially attributable to the growing interest that contemporary philosophers have with producing ideas intended only for their fellow academics. As the 20th century French philosopher Pierre Hadot pointed out, modern philosophy appears above all as the construction of a technical jargon reserved for modern specialists. In contrast to modern philosophy, ancient philosophers were concerned not with the production of a technical jargon reserved for specialists, but with the attainment of wisdom for the sake of instigating a transformation of self. As Hadot put it, modern philosophers are artists of reason, while ancient philosophers were artists of life. He is the one in fact, wrote the ancient stoic Seneca who knows the fundamental thing, how to live. In this video we will unearth some of the ancient philosophers ideas on the elusive art of living, displaying philosophy as a subject imbued with a potentially transformative power which can help one change their life. Many of the great ancient philosophers viewed humans as for the most part living monotonous misguided lives, conforming without thought, and burdened by irrational fears and insecurities. The 19th century American philosopher Henry David Thureau encapsulated this view of the ancient philosophers, writing, the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. According to the ancients, in order to develop into a unique individual, capable of free thought and able to attain a higher state of being than most, wisdom was necessary. Throughout antiquity wrote Hadot, wisdom was considered a mode of being: a state in which a person is, in a way which is radically different from that of other people - a state in which he is a kind of superman. Today when one studies philosophy, it is most commonly for purposes such as entering academia, law school, or to train oneself in the rigors of logic and argumentation. For the ancients, one studied philosophy to become a fully developed individual, able to navigate through life successfully, calmly and wisely. Speaking of philosophy, Seneca wrote, it molds and builds the personality, orders one's life, regulates one's conduct, shows one what one should do and what one should leave undone, and keeps one on the correct course as one is tossed about in perilous seas. Without it, no one can lead a life free of fear or worry. In their quest for wisdom, the ancient philosophers rupture from the status quo was radical. The cynics own little, lived on the streets, and openly shunned and mocked social norms and conventions. The Epicureans removed themselves from society altogether, setting up their own small community of philosophers. The Stoics sought to construct within themselves an impenetrable fortress, unaffected by either men or fate. While most today can't or aren't willing to undergo such a drastic rupture with the status quo, the ancient philosophers put forth potentially transformative practical exercises. These exercises can be practiced by anyone at any time, and can potentially raise oneself and worldview to a level higher than most can comprehend. Practice these and the related percepts day and night, and you will live as a god among men. Pierre Hadot spent much of his life investigating these percepts or practices, calling them spiritual exercises. The French sociologist George Friedman nicely captured the essence of the nature of spiritual exercises with these words. Take flight each day, at least for a moment, however brief, as long as it is intense. Every day a spiritual exercise. Leave ordinary time behind, make an effort to rid yourself of your own passions, become eternal by surpassing yourself. This inner effort is necessary, this ambition, just. While the ancient philosophers set forth numerous spiritual exercises, we will look at three of the more powerful ones: meditating upon death, premeditating on future evils, and assuming a view from above.
[3:54]Far from being morbid, the ancient philosophers thought that frequently meditating on death could help one appreciate and make the most of life, by becoming aware of its inherent fragility. Most spend their days consumed with planning and acting for the sake of the future, unable to enjoy the pleasures and beauty of the present moment, and completely unaware that the future which consumes so much of their time and energy may never come. We would be wise, thought the ancients, to remind ourselves of the uncertain and uncontrollable nature of death more often. Persuade yourself that each new day that dawns will be your last; then you will receive each unexpected hour with gratitude. Recognize all the value of each moment of time which is added on as if it were happening by an incredible stroke of luck. Let your every deed and word and thought be those of one who might depart from this life this very moment, wrote Marcus Aurelius. Popular among stoic philosophers, premeditating on future evils was thought to be an effective antidote to the inevitable painful and tragic situations that everyone must face in one form or another. He robs present ills of their power who has perceived their coming beforehand, wrote Seneca. If we contemplate potentially painful events ahead of time, acknowledging situations we are afraid of as a possibility, we will be better prepared to endure and overcome them, and as Seneca explained, What is quite unlooked for is more crushing in its effect, and unexpectedness adds to the weight of a disaster. The fact that it was unforeseen has never failed to intensify a person's grief. This is a reason for ensuring that nothing ever takes us by surprise. We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events.
[5:32]One of the more powerful and potent of the ancient spiritual exercises involved assuming a view from above. The ancients thought that by contemplating the vast and majestic universe, one can rise above all earthly troubles, and look down upon the world as if from above. Watch and see the courses of the stars as if you are running alongside them, and continually dwell in your mind upon the changes of the elements into one another; for these imaginations wash away the foulness of life on the earth. When you are reasoning about mankind, look upon earthly things below as if from some vantage point above them, wrote Marcus Aurelius. Many people trudge through their days as if they have the weight of the world on their shoulders, constantly worried about their own individual life, and troubled by the suffering and evil that seems so pervasive in the world. To combat these existential sufferings, the ancients thought we should rise in our minds to a higher perspective. Place before your mind's eye the vast spread of time's abyss, and embrace the universe; and then compare what we call human life with infinity, wrote Seneca. Plato's entire philosophy was built around transcending one's individual perspective for a more total universal perspective, and his words helped Nietzsche, who wrote of assuming a position 6,000 feet beyond man and time. Escape from the pressures of being human, and realize that in the end from the right perspective, there's nothing to worry about, for it's all only human, all too human. I thought of Plato's words and felt them suddenly in my heart: all in all, nothing human is worth taking very seriously; nevertheless, wrote Nietzsche. Along with cultivating a sense of release from the burdens of daily human existence, a view from above stimulates feelings of wonder. Dwell on the beauty of life, wrote Marcus Aurelius, watch the stars and see yourself running with them. Wisdom and wonder have a close connection. Both Plato and Aristotle claimed philosophy to have been born in wonder, and the philosopher to be continually sustained by wonder in his pursuit of wisdom. Heidegger captured the wonder that enticed him, conceiving it as the wonder that a world is worlding around us at all, that there are beings rather than nothing, that things are and we ourselves are in their midst, that we ourselves are and yet barely know who we are, and barely know that we do not know all this. Along with instigating a transformation of self and a new way of seeing the world, the ancient philosophers sought to become an autonomous individual, meaning an individual who is a law unto himself. In our modern age of calm despotism and increasing social conformity, autonomous individuals are sorely needed. The individual who abides by the ancient conception of philosophy as a way of life, the endless seekers who unsettle all things as Emerson described them, are those who rebel against the ever present forces of conformity and tyranny. As Nietzsche wrote, where there have been powerful societies, governments, religions, public opinions, in short wherever there has been tyranny, there the solitary philosopher has been hated; for philosophy offers an asylum to a man into which no tyranny can force its way, the inward cave, the labyrinth of the heart: and that annoys the tyrants.
