Kai Whiting sits down with Will Johncock to discuss the wider implications of Stoic philosophy when applied to matters encompassing both collective and individual well-being. The conversation heralds some interesting insights regarding how we think about the relationships we have with each other and the environment.

KW: Will, your book Stoic Philosophy and Social Theory has just been released. What inspired you to write a book of this nature? 

WJ: My research background comprises both philosophy and sociology. Sociological and social theories often study what is inherently social or communal about our apparent individualities. The view here is that how we think, feel, act, and so on, are to some extent products of our socialized environments. 

Stoicism conversely tells us that we should be indifferent to what is conventional about our social environments. Socialized contingencies such as our reputation and economic class are for the Stoics external to our internal rational control and therefore outside our essential nature. This does not mean though that the Stoics discount the belief we are socially constituted. We indeed have a communal nature for the Stoics, which is attributable to our internal rationality being a fragment of a universal rationality. They even argue that this common constitution heralds a worldly singular community. Because Stoicism and social theory each conceive of our internality as a trace of something communal, I was motivated to open discussions between them. 

KW: When thinking about a contemporary Stoic practice, what is the added value you see in having a wider perspective on how social structures influence an individual’s thought and behavior? 

WJ: We can consider here what Cleanthes, Marcus Aurelius, and others refer to as the “city”. We are citizens of this city because we embody a universally collegial rationality. The value in people appreciating that their internal reasoning capacity is a trace of something that is universal/common to others, concerns calls to fulfil social duties. 

Take the call to self-isolate because of COVID-19. If we firstly define ourselves as fragments of a communal entity, responsibilities that serve collective ends become every individual’s natural and primary focus. The benefit for the communally oriented individual, as numerous Stoics mention, is that collective wellbeing conditions result in indi-vidual wellbeing. 

KW: Please can you share an insight or two for people who, like me, are particularly interested in approaching environmental issues from a Stoic perspective? 

WJ: Various ancient Stoics describe change as fundamental to the world. The physical world changes, and it would be irrational to be upset by this. Does this acceptance of change therefore mean that the Stoics would expect us to view a changing climate as harmless also? 

As with any Stoic appraisal of relations between change and harm, this requires considering whether climate change’s causes are rational and in accord with the whole order of things. 

Let’s say you believe industrializing decisions and actions cause climate change. To determine whether these decisions and actions are rational or irrational, the Stoic should not restrict their focus to the climatic effects. Instead, the Stoic needs to judge whether such decisions and actions take into account their interconnection with a whole world. 

KW: Now that you have written your book, how do you envision Hierocles’ circles of concern? Is there any practical advice you would give to a person who has recently embraced Stoicism? 

WJ: One example of Hierocles’ position is that while our circle of family members might feel closer to us than other people who simply live in the same region, it doesn’t have to be that way. His consequent advice has practical value for new practitioners of Stoicism who encounter irrational behavior in others. 

Because Stoicism appreciates that humans share a rational nature that we each exercise to varying degrees, no human is entirely alien or a stranger to us. If someone acts irrationally, you can be internally indifferent to their irrationality, without neglecting the person entirely. New practitioners can use Stoicism as a way to counter feelings of estrangement from others. 

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Kai Whiting is a researcher and lecturer in sustainability and Stoicism based at UCLouvain, Belgium. He Tweets @kai-whiting and blogs over at StoicKai.com

Will Johncock is an Australian academic and author of Stoic Philosophy and Social Theory published by Palgrave Macmillan. He Tweets @willjohncock and blogs over at https://willjohncock.com

 

 

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