“Study Death Always”: Seneca’s advice for living centered on dying

Does Stoicism rationalize suicide?

And for the same reason, it's BS to say "it's just the present" for humans as well. For animals, maybe.

>But remember the principal thing, -that the door is open. Do not be more fearful than children; but as they, when the play dues not please them, say, " I will play no longer," so do you, in the same case, say, "I will play no longer," and go; but, if you stay, do not complain. [p. 1081]

A detailed analysis can be found here: https://people.creighton.edu/~wos87278/Stephens/Ancient-Phil...

Aurelius as such (Meditations, book V):

>As thou intendest to live when thou art gone out,...so it is in thy power to live here. But if men do not permit thee, then get away out of life, yet so as if thou wert suffering no harm. The house is smoky, and I quit it. Why dost thou think that this is any trouble? But so long as nothing of the kind drives me out, I remain, am free, and no man shall hinder me from doing what I choose; and I choose to do what is according to the nature of the rational and social animal.

(and in book X):

>For to continue to be such as thou hast hitherto been, and to be tom in pieces and defiled in such a life, is the character of a very stupid man and one overfond of his life, and like those half-devoured fighters with wild beasts, who though covered with wounds and gore, still intreat to be kept to the following day, though they will be exposed in the same state to the same claws and bites. Therefore fix thyself in the possession of [virtues]: and if thou art able to abide in them, abide as if thou wast removed to certain islands of the Happy. But if thou shalt perceive that thou fallest out of them and dost not maintain thy hold, go courageously into some nook where thou shalt maintain them, or even depart at once from life, not in passion, but with simplicity and freedom and modesty, after doing this one laudable thing at least in thy life, to have gone out of it thus.

In short: leaving life on one's own terms is fine, provided they are rationally considered (so not on the spur of a moment).

This is in complete agreement with what I've said. I am merely pointing out that when you make plans, when you are aware of a long series of present moments to go through, you are doing so, right now.

Never any other time.

Again, this isn't a philosophical position as is stoicism - this is based on personal experience. If you ask yourself when anything ever happens, it is only from the present moment that you can make any claims. Because the thought of what you did yesterday or what will happen tomorrow is going to always happen in the now.

> If there's "only the present moment", then knowing you have 2 weeks to live because of some sudden severe illness (with no other symptoms except death), would be just as well to anybody.

This is an excellent point. The folks who are in tune with there only ever being the present moment - would have a very different reaction from those who have a thousand and one concerns because there's the future to look forward to.

This is not to say they will not be affected - there are very deep rooted instincts in the human experience, that don't want to experience dying. The subtle point is that there is another part to the human experience that doesn't mind living or dying - the part that is very well aware that there's only the present moment, and hence no living or dying from that perspective.

It's not one perspective or another that one has to accept as 'right' - it's just recognizing that there are many aspects to life, and being aware of 'easy come, easy go' of moment to moment, as well as 'no pain, no gain' of planning your life out, is good, because then, there is balance in between the two.

The hippies are stuck in 'it's all one maaaan' and the average person is stuck in worrying about tomorrow, so the hippy would benefit from a little planning, an average person from a little oneness :)