Wednesday Wisdom

Who?

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Younger, was born Cordoba Hispania (now Spain) which at the time was a Roman province.  His father, known as Seneca the Elder, was a Spanish-born Roman knight who rose to prominence as a writer and rhetoric teacher in Rome. Among the Roman philosophers, Seneca stood alongside Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius in the pursuit and teaching of Stoicism. Seneca lived through the often tumultuous reigns of Caligula, Claudius, and then Nero. Accused of conspiracy, Nero ordered Seneca to take his own life in 65AD. Pauline, the wife of Seneca, chose to accompany him in death but was later spared by Nero. His death has been immortalized through literature and art, most memorably in Jaques David's oil painting.

What?

Seneca wrote 124 "Letters" in which he opined "On" virtue, hardship, morals, and nature. The Letters were written to Lucilius, the procurator of Sicily, but are believed to be delivered for a wider audience. The letters were written in the last 3 years of his life and are sage advice on how to live a more devoted Stoic life.

In his Letter "On the shortness of life"( De Brevitate Vitae), Seneca championed the notion that it's not that we have a short time in this world, but we waste so much time. Building on Roman poet Horace and the idea of "Carpe Diem"( Seize the day), Seneca proposed seeking actions of virtue over worldly pursuits. We forget we are mere mortals and put off living until tomorrow, forgetting that tomorrow is not guaranteed. Life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present and fear the future.

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Why should you care?

Seneca, through his "Letters", provides a framework for living and organizing your time by prioritizing what's important. He lived in tumultuous times yet he didn't fear the future. He lived for the present because only that is guaranteed.

Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch summarized it well in his "Last Lecture" at Carnegie Hall. " We don't beat the reaper by living longer. We beat the reaper by living well." 

And now you know;

Philosophy is the art of thinking, the building block of progress that shapes critical thinking across economics, ethics, religion, and science.