A Stoic Take on Mental Health: Soul & Flesh

Although many stoic philosophers, the practice as a whole, and even Marcus Aurelius would not directly argue for practicing religion within stoicism, there’s no doubt that they recognize a greater “god” as a role within stoicism. With religion in mind, we see a startling similarity between Christianity and Stoicism with “body, soul, and spirit” within the bible and “flesh, soul, and intellect” within Meditations. 

Why in the world are we talking about religion, Ethan? – you may be asking yourself. From dissecting On the River Gran, Among the Qiadi (the second chapter of Meditations), I’ve found some particularly useful philosophical ideas in regard to flesh, soul, and intellect that can be, hopefully, impactful as you cram for midterms as I am. 

Similarly designed to Marcus’s first chapter, the chapter is broken into numbered snippets of introspection to himself. 

2. Whatever this is that I am, it is flesh and a little spirit and an intelligence … Instead, as if you were dying right now, despise your flesh … Think of it this way: You are an old man. Stop allowing your mind to be a slave, to be jerked about by your selfish impulses, to kick against fate and the present, and to mistrust the future. 

Despise your flesh? Marcus, that’s a little intense. At first glance, this 2nd idea of 17 from the chapter seems obstinate and blunt, but he is coming from a place of care and understanding; At the beginning, he is defining the components of himself and all others, but then stating that our flesh is the least of our importance – in which he refers back to with “stop allowing your mind to be a slave” and “kick against fate and the present”. 

Out of frustration, Marcus is writing to himself that there is an divide, within ourselves, of how we interact with the world around us. In that, if we act as if we are an “old man” we are not enslaved to our peer pressures and struggles as young college students. 

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What this means, from my interpretation, is that Marcus is demanding himself to categorize himself separately into three: flesh, soul, and intellect. In that, you can grow individually within any of these areas, but also disregard it as well … 

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6. Yes, keep on degrading yourself, soul. But soon your chance at dignity will be gone. Everyone gets one life. Yours is almost used up, and instead of treating yourself with respect, you have entrusted your own happiness to the souls of others. 

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To me, as it may to you, entrusting my own happiness to the souls of others sounds extreme but very accurate to what happens in our present world today. We entrust our happiness to social media, our friends, and the world around us. This is why we seek constant external validation. Marcus in thought #8 goes on to state: …But if you won’t keep track of what your own soul’s doing, how can you not be unhappy?

Marcus’s introspective perspective on flesh, intellect, and most importantly soul are foundational components of what stoicism truly embodies: comprehensive self-accountability for your relationship with yourself and the world around you.

Take this into your life, reflecting on stepping away from our flesh and acknowledging our soul’s place in the world 

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by Ethan McCarthy | Penn State University Student | 9/28/23

#2 A Stoic Take on Mental Health: The Mirror 

We are all dealing with something.

Whether it’s impeding anxiety for a deadline, family issues, or even more long-term issues like depression. With that, everyone deals with these emotions and interactions in different ways. Our coping mechanisms are straightforward and easy to recognize, such as physical exercise,  meditation, drugs, and parties. In stoicism, the question of what vantage point to analyze your emotions is much more important. In struggling times, therapists, counselors, and most stoic philosophers would argue to look introspectively to understand. Yet Marcus Aurelius, the author of Meditations, would argue otherwise. 

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In this blog post, we will look to break down the chapter of Marcus’s book titled: Debts & Lessons. But more importantly, we will ask ourselves how this chapter can be applied practically to the unusually high stress from that upcoming economics exam. 

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The beginning of Debts & Lessons opens with a list of names of individuals important to Marcus such as his grandfather, mother, teachers, notable philosophers, siblings, and even god. Under each name, pinpoints what qualities he has taken into his own life; in the process “thanking” each individual indirectly. 

4. My Great-Grandfather  – To avoid the public schools, to hire good private teachers, and to accept the resulting costs as money well spent

Going from #1 his grandmother to #17 to the gods, he develops an interesting picture of himself, yet looking externally at the world around him. We have developed, as readers, a stronger understanding of the qualities Marcus strives to possess but more important the roots of them in his life. 

15. Maximus  – Self-control and resistance to distractions Optimism in adversity – especially illness A personality in balance: dignity and grace together …

If we were to create a list in a similar fashion to Micheal’s it would develop an interesting conversation and questions; What qualities, and unfavorable tendencies, have you gained from your family? What does your circle tell you about yourself? Are there struggles from that are parallel with you and your list? 

How has the people around us become a mirrored reflection of ourselves? 

With this in mind, without Marcus directly providing any philosophical ideas, we can begin the process of understanding ourselves through the world around us. In my personal life Instead of looking for medical alternatives for my struggles with anxiety, I’ve started to look back on my relationships with my father and other figures to see where they could stem from.

As we enter into this journey exploring stoicism from Marcus’s unique perspective, Debts & Lessons invites us to understand the roots of what makes us ourselves – in all of its beauty and ugliness – to understand how to continually improve it. 

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Written by Ethan McCarthy, Student at Penn State University. Quotes taken from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by Gregory Hayes

A Stoic Take on Mental Health: Navigating the modern mental health crisis through Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. 

Hello there! My name is Ethan McCarthy, currently a freshman at Penn State University in Schreyer Honors College and the Sapphire Academic Leadership program. I’m from Bentonville Arkansas, and I know … It’s far away and no, it’s not just cornfields, country music concerts, and cowboys. Why pick a college 18 hours away from my friends and family you may ask?  An integral component of my college choice was Penn State’s opportunities to individualize my college experience through the opportunity to share passions, as I am here today to introduce my passion blog. Through this process, I hope you learn a bit about me, philosophy, and yourself; But most importantly, that you can apply this blog to life experiences as these concepts continually help me as we explore them together. 

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Stoicism: “the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint” – Oxford Dictionary

Stoic philosophy is much more intricate than this generalized Google definition; Stoicism is a form of philosophy originating in ancient Greece by an individual named Zeno in 300 BC. Zeno’s teachings and other following Stoics agree that the philosophical overarching theme of Stoicism is developing an introspective relationship with our thoughts, interactions, and emotions. Following Zeno’s origination of Stoicism, a multitude of notable philosophers followed his lead by writing philosophical essays and theoretical principles.

Yet in 161 AD, Marcus Aurelius took an unconventional approach with his practice, perspective, and structure of his philosophical ideas. Amidst military strategic meetings and duties as emperor of Rome, Marcus began to habitually journal daily thoughts and emotions through his own personal journal; These private notes, oftentimes heavily self-examination and analysis,  later became publicized to the world by breaking the ideas into 12 books called the Meditations.

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The purpose of the writings is an ongoing stream of self-reflection and introspection, rather than an external exposition of stoicism, providing a uniquely authentic approach to the practice of stoicism. Furthermore, Marcus’s writings often provided a unique perspective of the experience as emperor, struggling with decisions and dilemmas in such a powerful position.

Yet, you may be asking yourself, what does ancient philosophy have anything to do with my barrage of Canvas assignments, stress from impending deadlines, and transitioning to college? With an exponential increase in suicide and depression among college students, It’s imperative to find alternative ways to combat this national mental health crisis. In our world today, stoic philosophy has been translated strictly into the self-improvement genre through recent books and articles – I believe this is a misinterpretation of stoicism.

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Through this passion blog, I will argue that Marcus Aurelius Meditations can be applied as therapeutical to struggling college students like ourselves. Most philosophers take a third-person theoretical use of philosophy, but Marcus takes a more pragmatic approach by focusing on its day-to-day application. Through dissecting Meditations through a modern lens, as Marcus did thousands of years ago, each blog post will provide actionable concepts to utilize with an objective to become more stoic in our lives today.

Written by Ethan McCarthy. email: eam6451@psu.edu