Every Stoic philosopher understood peace on the same grounds that it is deeply connected with the mind or our mindful nature. In this article, we will look at three key Stoics, who can show us how to attain peace.
In Stoic philosophy, peace was considered inseparable from reason. The more reasonable you are, the more peaceful you will become. When our reason is inhibited or not working properly, our sense of peace will also deteriorate.
Finding peace is very important from a Stoic perspective, because its presence leads to tranquility of the mind, which further enables us to act morally. Our mind depends on our perceptions, and so does our peace. Peace is not something we can find outside ourselves, because even the brightest places can become meaningless to a darkened mind. This is why we must strive to find peace within ourselves.
Stoic Philosophers’ Perspective on Peace
Epictetus
Finding peace within us can preserve our wellbeing in any situation. However, sometimes it is hard to discern the difference between our internal perceptions and the external world. For this reason, the Stoic philosopher Epictetus emphasizes the dichotomy of control, which can help us free ourselves from external things and potentially disturbing thoughts about them. If we value externals too much, then we will become anxious to preserve things that don’t lie in our power and our peace will be lost to us.
Value doesn’t reside within things, but within ourselves. We build our own personal worlds from our perceptions, so they should be approached with care and mindfulness. If you refuse to value external things more than your inner being, then peace will be restored to you.
“Keep constant guard over your perceptions, for it is no small thing you are protecting, but your respect, trustworthiness and steadiness, peace of mind, freedom from pain and fear, in a word your freedom. For what would you sell these things?”
Epictetus
Marcus Aurelius
Peace is a harmony of the soul, which is found in the tranquil connection between oneself and the universe. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, among other Stoics, emphasized our connection with the universe and our own nature, which is the reflection of ourselves in the greater universe.
While Epictetus can show us how to find the peace following the dichotomy of control, Marcus Aurelius brings us closer to a pantheistic view, which is the belief that the universe or nature is equatable to divinity.
“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.”
Marcus Aurelius
A peaceful mind is a natural mind that holds an objective perspective on external things and events. In order to attain peace, one should find peace within oneself. As the emperor emphasized that we should retire from our troublesome society into the comfort of our own souls.
“For nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul, particularly when he has within him such thoughts that by looking into them he is immediately in perfect tranquility; and I affirm that tranquility is nothing else than the good ordering of the mind.”
Marcus Aurelius
Tranquility is the quality of a disciplined mind that is submitted to order. Marcus Aurelius thought that natural events follow from this tranquility, although natural laws are inevitable and irrefutable. If our mind follows this path, it will inevitably become peaceful, because the core of distress and suffering comes from refuting things that are out of our control and certain to happen. We can’t change or control certain events; we can only accept them in order to remain peaceful.
Seneca
A virtuous mind is naturally peaceful. Stoics believed that a fulfilled mind is also balanced one, as the philosopher Seneca put it:
“The mind is never right but when it is at peace within itself.”
Seneca suggests that decisions that are triggered by strong emotions are never right, because they are the result of reckless decision-making and may cause harmful consequences. If a decision is not reflected upon, then the consequences are prone to being unjust and undeserving. The only way to properly reflect on our decisions is through a mind that is at peace with itself. This same mind will never blame uncontrollable external forces, because a mindful will is naturally at peace with itself.
