Can a Stoic be joyful? This question is a nod to an important book, A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William Irvine. For many people it has been a landmark work on our way to Stoicism. Moreover, the phrasing of the question captures an inherent dilemma: can a Stoic be joyful? What that joy is? Or maybe “Stoic joy” is a contradiction in terms and the true Stoic ideal is that of a cold-blooded, stiff-upper-lip figure? Based on my extensive experience in studying, writing, and teaching Stoicism I can tell this is one of the most common questions (or even the most common question) asked. And rightfully so, for it appeals directly to the innermost subtlety of Stoic teaching. Stoicism: A therapeutic philosophy Stoicism is often viewed as a “therapeutic philosophy” which shields us against, as Hamlet put it, “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Stoicism is often utilized as means for dealing with the challenges, hindrances, and pains of human life. No need to explain more, I guess. The Stoics teach us how to deal with loss and pain, with disappointment of life and unpredictability of fate. They arm us against evil happenings and unpleasant turns of events. But what, in turn, about pleasures of life and joyful pastimes? Removing sorrow = removing joy? We can state this question in terms of a “trade-off ”. Stoicism imposes a certain uniformity on the human soul. It’s best to be understood through the concept of the things within and outside of our power. We are to focus on the former and remain indifferent to latter. Once the outside problems are labelled as “not ours,” we won’t be hampered by them. The downside is that, consequently, all the ordinary joys and pleasures are also “not ours”, and hence we should be indifferent to them. This is the mentioned trade-off. For the luxury of freeing ourselves from misery, we pay the price of not being able to enjoy the everyday things (at least in the usual sense of the Do we need to pay this price? It’s no wonder this raises eyebrows and questions. First, do we need to pay this price? Second, do we wish to do it? These are legitimate concerns! One orthodox Stoic answer is that this is all a conceptual confusion. It might be – and has been – stated that the truly Stoic joy is something other than the ordinary, earthly joys of life. The profound joy of a Stoic is much more subtle, more detached, and “philosophical”. It is a joy of making a proper decision, upholding one’s values, developing one’s character. In short, it is not the ordinary joy of carnal pleasures, but the moral joy of cultivating one’s virtue. Indeed, the Stoic teaching might be framed that way. And yet, it doesn’t nullify the persisting question: what about those ordinary joys? Do we really have to renounce them to be Stoics? Eating the cake and having it too I explained the orthodox answer – what about reformed Stoicism? On some level we might be drawn to the concept that while an advanced Stoic is able to keep all the negative outside influences at bay, she may still be able to embrace and cherish the positive ones. After all, in Stoicism the choice about what we accept and what we reject is only ours to make. Be indifferent when it’s necessary; relax when it is not In other words, it is not unreasonable to think about the Stoic promise the following way. On the entry level, as regular, pre-Stoic humans, we are worried and hampered by the outside miseries. Then we turn to Stoicism and we learn how to practice the renowned indifference to outside things. To all of them alike, so this is when the price tag hits us. If we want to be indifferent to suffering, we must be equally indifferent to the joys of life. So, maybe, on an advanced level we may get to manipulate this? We may learn how to hold on to the adamant, indifferent attitude when it’s required, yet relax a bit in more pleasurable circumstances. Is that even doable though? Pragmatism over theoretical purity Surely, it’s inconsistency – pragmatical, and pre-programmed inconsistency, I’d say. Personally, I haven’t reached this level yet, so I don’t know for sure. Is it a sustainable attitude? Can it hold? This might be one of the questions that joyful people simply don’t care to ask!

Dr. Piotr Stankiewicz, Ph.D., is a writer and philosopher, and promoter of reformed Stoicism. He authored Manual of Reformed Stoicism, and Does Happiness Write Blank Pages?

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