Page 1! of 37! Credit This Handbook combines, with some additional alterations, components of the Stoic Week 2014 and 2016 Handbooks produced by Christopher Gill, Patrick Ussher, John Sellars, Tim Lebon, Jules Evans, Gill Garratt, and Donald Robertson. Terms of use This packet is for the use of those Haverford and Bryn Mawr students who are participating in Haverford Stoic Week 2017. It must not be shared, distributed, or otherwise disseminated beyond the BiCo community. The contents of this handbook are not intended as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Any person with a condition requiring medical attention should consult a qualified medical practitioner or suitable therapist.This experiment is not suitable for anyone who is suffering from psychosis, personality disorder, clinical depression, PTSD, or other severe mental health problems. Undertaking this trial shall be taken to be an acknowledgement by the participant that they are aware of and accept responsibility in relation to the foregoing. Page 2! of 37! Contents Introduction 4 Roman Stoicism and Roman Revolutions 4 Frequently Asked Questions 5 What is Stoicism? 6 Central Stoic Ideas 7 1. Virtue 7 2. Emotions 8 3. Nature and the Community of Humankind 9 Stoic Maxims And Affirmations 10 Stoic Week: Your Daily Routine 12 Early-Morning Meditation 12 Late-Evening Meditation 13 Your Stoic Self-Monitoring Record 14 1. Saturday: What is in our Power? 16 2. Sunday: Stoic Mindfulness 18 3. Monday: Self-Discipline and Stoic Simplicity 21 4. Tuesday: Relationships with Others 23 5. Wednesday: Action and the Stoic Reserve Clause 27 6. Thursday: Resilience and Preparation for Adversity 29 7. Friday: Nature and the View from Above 31 After Stoic Week 33 Appendices 34 Meet the Team 34 Further Reading 35 Page 3! of 37! Introduction Welcome to the inaugural Haverford Stoic Week! This is your opportunity to take part in a unique experiment: following ancient Stoic Philosophy as an aid to living in the modern world, using this handbook as your guide. The handbook is a version of those developed by the “Stoicism Today” group, a multi-disciplinary team of academic philosophers, classicists, professional psychologists and cognitive therapists, with a special interest in applying Stoic concepts and practices to the challenges of modern living. The group includes several authors known for their writing and research on Stoicism. (You can find out more about them on the Stoicism Today website.) In this handbook, you will find advice on how to adapt and follow Stoic principles, with a combination of general theory and more specific, step-by-step guidance on certain Stoic exercises. These materials have been prepared by experts in the field and give you an unusual opportunity for personal development. Roman Stoicism and Roman Revolutions Stoicism was introduced to Rome during the middle of the second century BCE, when Greek ideas, literature, and art objects flooded into Rome after her successful campaigns against the Hellenistic kingdoms. Stoicism became an important feature of Roman intellectual life in the last generations of the Roman Republic, especially after Sulla’s siege and sack of Athens (87-86 BCE) caused a diaspora of Athenian philosophers around the Mediterranean, many of whom settled in Rome. Many of the most prominent political figures of the late Republic — Cato the Younger and Cicero among them — were deeply engaged with Stoic philosophy. At the end of the first century two Stoic philosophers, Athenodorus of Tarsus and Arius Didymus, served as counselors to the first emperor, Augustus. During the imperial period, Stoic philosophers continued to be involved with imperial politics at the highest level. Seneca the Younger, whom you have already encountered, tutored and advised the young Emperor Nero. But with access came risk. Many of the most prominent philosophers fell out of favor with their emperors and were exiled (or worse). Seneca was forced to commit suicide on the order of Nero; Domitian exiled Epictetus to Greece; Epictetus’ teacher, Musonius Rufus was twice exiled for openly criticizing both Nero and Vespasian. Perhaps the most famous Stoic was the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who wrote (in Greek) a lengthy series of reflections on Stoicism, The Meditations. Your experience this week will help you become the best Roman you can be during the game at the culmination of the semester. Some of you will be Stoics and your experience this week should help you inhabit that role. Others of you will (decisively) not be Stoics, but you will know Stoics, they will be your friends, allies — and enemies. Page 4! of 37! Frequently Asked Questions Q: What’s the basic idea? Follow the daily schedule, consisting of a passage for reflection and Stoic meditations for the morning and evening. At Midday, or another time more suitable for you, consider the Stoic exercise for that day. You should read the introductory materials thoroughly and skim the rest of the handbook a day or two before the start of Stoic Week. Then read each chapter in advance of the corresponding day. You might choose to read Monday’s chapter, for example, first thing on Monday morning, or beforehand on Sunday evening. You’ll find a convenient summary of your daily routine at the end of this introductory section of the handbook. The morning and evening meditation practices will also provide you with a simple daily routine or structure to help you to reflect on what you’ve done each day and what happened to you. Instructions for the Stoic meditations are offered in this booklet. You’ll begin by learning to record your thoughts, actions, and feelings, and to start observing them in a more detached and “philosophical” way. One of the main strategies that runs through both Stoicism and this handbook is that of distinguishing between things that are under your control and things that are not. The Stoics believed that this takes training to do well but that it’s the key to self-discipline and overcoming emotional disturbances. Maintaining this distinction requires continual attention to your own thoughts and judgements, which we can describe as a kind of ‘mindfulness’ practice. You’ll then build upon this foundation by exploring different Stoic concepts and techniques each day throughout the course of the week. Q: I’m worried I may not have time to do everything. How much time will it take? A: It will probably be helpful for you to think of this as a definite, short-term commitment — similar perhaps to the effort you would put in to studying for an exam or training for a sporting event. Ideally, this might take about 15 minutes in the morning and evening, and the same at Midday, although you might want to spend more or less. This is similar to the commitment required for most research studies on psychological self-help or skills training. Q. How can I make use of modern technology whilst living like a Stoic? Here are some ideas: • Post on the Moodle Forum (under Week 7) • Video. Record a video diary of your experiences of living like a Stoic and publish on YouTube or another video-sharing site • Blogging. Blog about your experiences on your own site. • Twitter. Tweet about your experiences, or post Stoic adages on Twitter as you go along, using #hcstoicweek • Facebook. Discuss ideas or raise questions on the Stoicism Facebook Group • Other Social Media. Post on Instagram or Snapchat or another platform • There are also Stoic groups on LinkedIn and Reddit, which you may find useful Page 5! of 37! Which of these appeal to you? If you are doing the experiment with other people it might help to discuss your experiences regularly. Perhaps you could have a 10 minute Stoic coffee break each day where you touch base with others to discuss how you are doing. What is Stoicism? Stoicism is a school of ancient Greek philosophy in the Socratic tradition. It was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium around 301 BCE. The name comes from the painted porch (stoa poikile) where Zeno lectured his students. Stoicism later became very popular in ancient Rome, where it continued to flourish long after the disappearance of the original Greek school. Less than one percent of the Stoics’ original writings now survive, however. The most important ancient sources that survive today are: 1. The many Letters, Essays and Dialogues of the Roman statesman Seneca, who was advisor to the emperor Nero. 2. The Handbook and four surviving books of Epictetus’ Discourses compiled from his lectures by a student called Arrian. Epictetus, a Greek ex-slave, is the only Stoic teacher whose thought survives in book form. 3. The Meditations, a private Stoic notebook or diary of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who was strongly influenced by Epictetus. In the Stoic Week Handbook we have included quotations from all three thinkers, especially Marcus Aurelius, who himself expresses Stoic ideas in a distinctively brief and eloquent form, which many people find very powerful. We think that Marcus wrote his Meditations as morning or evening reflections to help provide philosophical support for himself in an intensely busy and demanding life as emperor and general. (In the 17th century, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the third Earl of Shaftesbury, wrote his own Stoic journal closely based on The Meditations and Epictetus’ Discourses, available in print today as The Philosophical Regimen.) Stoic Week gives you a chance to follow a similar routine to Marcus each day. You might like to write down your own morning and evening meditations and keep them in a notebook, or share them with other people through social networks. You can base your personal meditations on the topics suggested or use other Stoic ideas that you have learnt about and find helpful.