John Bogle , founder of the Vanguard Group, one the world’s largest mutual fund companies, has this to say about how we live ineffectively: We chase the ‘wrong rabbits’, things that don’t matter, instead of going after the ‘right rabbits’, things that do matter.

I challenge myself as to whether the rabbit I’ve been chasing all these long years is real. Because the way we look at success – wealth, fame, and power – is generally the wrong way.

There are plenty of people who are chasing real rabbits, like doctors, poets, artists, and teachers. ... If you are not chasing the right rabbit, then make sure to find the right one. – John Bogle

The Stoic rabbits

How about us? Are we chasing the right rabbits or the wrong ones? The Stoics taught us that there are only four rabbits worth chasing: wisdom, courage, justice, and moderation. No other rabbit is worth chasing.

There is nothing inherently wrong with wealth, fame, and power. But when we pursue them at the expense of ‘real rabbits’, our life stops flowing smoothly.

Chasing the right rabbits is not just a matter of intention, It is also a matter of developing the skills required. Translating knowledge into skills is not an easy task.

Knowing vs. acting

We can read all we want about Stoic wisdom. But, when rubber meets the road, when we are actually facing a life situation, how do we apply the wisdom that we learned? This is nowhere near as simple as it may sound. The gap between what we know and how we act can be wide.

Can Stoic skills help?

Consider situations like these:

• When we see an ad that goes something like, “Introducing the iPhone XYZ-154353 Ultra: the newest way to call, text, and take pictures,” do we recognize in ourselves a surge of desire that clouds the fact that we already have a phone that does all these things? How do we counter our desires that are on auto-pilot? How do we identify the fallcies in our thinking?
• Because of Covid, we are confined to our homes, where diversions abound. How do we concentrate on our work and help our children concentrate on theirs?
• There are so many things clamouring for our attention. What do we do? When do we do them? Did the Stoics say anything that will help us here?
• We want to practice virtue. But then we face many impediments to practicing virtue. How do you turn impediments into opportunties for practicing virtues?
• Diet seems to have become an obsession with us. Vegetarianism? Veganism? But is the diet we choose anything to do with Stoicism?
• Many of us are worried about dying. We are afraid of death. How do we develop the skill of lving until dying?

If we view Stoicism as a guide to living the good life, we should also expect Stoicism to provide some guidance in situations like the ones described above. Even though we are familiar with the principles of Stoicism, when we read an ad and get carried away with desire, do we have the skill to recognize it for what it is and moderate our desire? This is where the Stoic skills, the main theme of this issue of THE STOIC, come in.

Skills require practice

We cannot develop Stoic skills by reading about them. We need to practice them. So the purpose of this issue is to draw your attention to the relevance of Stoicism to the problems we face in our daily lives.

Stoicism is a rational way of thinking. Stoic skills are not a set of rules to live by. but a means of appplying Stoic principles to everyday situations.

For example, should you be a vegan or not? There is no single Stoic answer to this question although there is a Stoic thought process to guide us in making our decision. What we end up doing may depend on our motives and the context. What is expected of us is the rational application of Stoic prinicples.

Only one thing matters

It does not matter what your actual action is. Whatever it is, by itself it does not matter. What does matter is why you made the decision. Your judgment matters. Your rationality matters. In the final analysis, Stoicism is resting on your own rationality, not on external things. No action in and of itself is good or bad. What matters is our interpretation of the impressions we receive, the skill of judging them the right way.

You should never praise or blame someone for an action that may be good or bad, but for the reasons for his action – their judgment about it. Judgments are unique to each individual and they are what make one’s action good or bad. – Epictetus, Discourses 4.4 (lightly paraphrased)

Only one thing matters: your judgment. As long as it is rational, the right actions follow. This is the most basic of all Stoic skills.

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Dr. Chuck Chakrapani, Editor-in-Chief

 

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