Summary of Awakening from the Meaning Crisis by John Vervaeke, Chapter 15: Marcus Aurelius and Jesus
As introduced in the last chapter, Stoicism was a brand of “therapeutic” philosophy which examined the process by which people get attached to events beyond their control. They contended that this process usually happens mindlessly, automatically, and reactively, leading to distortions in worldview. Their remedy consisted of two fundamental prescriptions: prosoche and procheiron.
Prosoche essentially means to pay attention to the mind, so that events can be separated from their meaning. The core of the wisdom of Stoic philosophy is differentiating what is in one’s control vs not. Whereas meaning is almost always in one’s control, it is usually not possible or necessary to control the event, and trying to do so is often a symptom of modal confusion.
Procheiron refers to the practices that enhance one’s understanding of meaning formation. Some of the common practices include:
- Detachment: let go of things or events that you have become attached to, do this proactively
- Premeditatio: recognize that you or someone you love may die at any time, appreciate the time you have
- Elevated perspective: utilize the Solomon effect by viewing your life and problems from a perspective outside of yourself
- Internal questioning: practice the Socratic dialogue on oneself (what do I really want, what do I mean by failure/success?), disentangling truth from salience
Meditations is best understood as a spiritual manual of Stoic practices, rather than a set of propositions. It is essentially Emperor Marcus Aurelius's attempts to exemplify Stoicism in his own life, “to be happy even in a palace.”
Let’s look at the question of mortality from the Stoic lens. According to the Stoics, what we fear is not mortality, but fatality, i.e. that something we value so deeply is not nor ever was in our control. Death is merely the final proof that the meaning of life is separate from the physical event. If we actually had immortality, we might realize that we would eventually be bored of life, and at some point even wish to let it go. Rather than an extended duration, what we are really looking for is depth, i.e. a fullness of life. To quote Marcus Aurelius, “Everyone dies but not everyone has lived.”
Outside of the Hellenistic world, another revolution was taking place in the Mediterranean. Arising from the Axial tradition of the Hebrew religion which identified God as the organizing principle of creation and progress, this revolution is centered around Jesus of Nazareth. Religious beliefs aside, Jesus can be considered the archetypal kairos, a means by which God intervenes in one’s life to invoke a turning point: an experience of profound conversion or metanoia, a transformation of salience landscape.
The principal force of this conversion according to Christianity is agape, or selfless love (contrasted with eros and philia). A central tenet of Christian philosophy is that agape is what transforms non-persons into persons via the grace of God, giving each individual intrinsic moral worth regardless of station or circumstance.
