A Stoic Response To The Climate Crisis. All of the hand wringing, and the Sky Is Falling rhetoric and hoarding and other human idiocy in the world will not stop the current pandemic. The Stoics can teach us a lot about controlling our own selves and actions during crisis. Control your reactions by calmly living your life, taking reasonable precautions, and knowing that whatever will happen is beyond your control. This article about a Stoic response to the climate crisis works even if you substitute global pandemic every time the climate crisis phrase is used. From Epictetus: “Our desires should only be directed towards what’s possible, because desiring what’s impossible will inevitably produce frustration and unhappiness”. It makes no sense to stop living your life because it is impossible for you to stop the pandemic. Do what is possible. Live a life that is responsible and as virtuous as you can make it. Stop worrying about things beyond your control. If it is time to die, so be it. From Marcus Aurelius, who constantly reminded himself of the impermanence of life. How can anyone be surprised that tragedies happen? They have happened throughout human existence. “The foolishness of people who are surprised by anything that happens. Like travellers amazed at foreign customs”. Stop being shocked by events. Start doing the best you can as an individual. As this author states: “Global extinction-level crises have happened before, at least five times, wiping out between 75-96% of life on Earth each time”. A Pandemic should be the least of our worries. But, we shouldn’t worry at all. Expect that horrible stuff will happen, because it will. Live anyway. Finally, Seneca, who counseled that we focus “…on the perfection of character, and cultivation of peace and strength of mind in the face of adversity”. Matthew Gindin is a former Buddhist monk who teaches philosophy to children, and who has much to teach all of us. His closing paragraph:
“So our Stoic advisors, who intended their philosophy to speak eternally across the ages for any human exigency, say: do not waste time in being shocked at human irrationality; do not be naïve about how bad things can get; and begin training for a world of lack and hardship. Restrict your desire to perfecting your own understanding and good choices, and fulfill your role as a rational animal on the Earth regardless of whether global civilisation can be saved or not”.