Quit the gym, cancel your health insurance, and don’t worry if you can’t walk to the mailbox: advice from the Stoa

A reader objects that Epictetus does not counsel the neglect of externals that I have characterized as extreme and dangerous.

I want to revisit an early chapter of the Discourses to show, first, that progress for Epictetus is nothing but progress in ceasing to desire and pursue externals misperceived as goods, and in ceasing to be averse to and flee externals misperceived as evils. Ceasing to pursue and avoid externals, we spurn and disvalue and neglect them, as we shall see in detail in a minute. I also wish to show that Epictetus’ condemnation of externals rests on a double fallacy concerning failure and unhappiness.

Let’s return to the beginning of Discourses I. 4 “On Progress.”
[ Ti ouv prokoptei ; ]
That man is making progess who has learned from the philosophers that desire is for things good and aversion for things evil, and who has learned that peace of mind and serenity can only be achieved by a man if he attains what he desires and avoids what he does not want to fall into. Such a man has rid himself completely of desire or put it off to another time, and feels aversion only toward things in the sphere of choice. For if he should act to avoid anything outside the sphere of choice, he knows he will fall into it sometimes despite his aversion and be unhappy.

Let us remind ourselves of some things NOT in the sphere of choice. Such externals include disability and ill-health, poverty, persecution, exile, and bad reputation. Epictetus is telling us that the man who is “making progress” has rid himself of any aversion to these conditions and has ceased to act to avoid them. Think about that! The man who is making progess doesn’t care about ( has no aversion to ) becoming disabled and indigent and persecuted and held in opprobrium. And he does nothing to prevent these things from happening to him, because sometimes these things will befall him anyway and he will be disappointed at his failure and unhappy. He will not pursue fitness. He will not seek good medical care. He will not pursue a livelihood that will keep him out of poverty. He will do nothing to secure and preserve a good reputation. This is why I call Epictetus’ position on externals extreme and dangerous.

As the passage above makes quite clear, Epictetus’ injunction to avoid externals rests on these premises:
(1) happiness is essentially an inner tranquility undisturbed by what happens in the world.
(2) Tranquility cannot survive in the face of failure to achieve what you desire and avoid what you are averse to.
(3) Our lack of control over externals guarantees ( or virtually guarantees) that we will fail in our desires and aversions if we desire and are averse to externals.
I have (1) discussed in several previous posts and will content myself with some remarks on (2) and (3).

I call (3) the assumption that we will fail. This kind of pessimism is certainly understandable in people whose experience of the world has been one of failure and subjugation -- see some very insightful comments by Oldfather on page xvi of his introduction to the Loeb edition—but we must not credit this as the universal and general experience of mankind. Some men pursue externals like wealth and fame and celebrity and succeed admirably. Their lives are rich and rewarding, despite hollow Stoic protests. The recipe for failure seems to be overreaching, and not reaching for externals. Men of modest ability and timorous natures should very definitely not pursue fame and wealth, but those who are able may do so. As a point of fact, the failure to achieve the externals we desire is a possibility, not a (virtual) certainty.

Premise (2), I think, misunderstand human psychology and the pursuit of success in the world. We often must fail to succeed, and all success is partial and qualified. Yet if we are able and confident, we persevere and endure and eventually achieve a level of success we are satisfied with. Almost always. On the hand, failing to pursue the externals that we need and desire is a certain guarantee of a life we despise and don’t want. The Stoic counsel is not to try because we may or almost certainly will fail, but not to try is an absolute guarantee of failure. Tranquility and happiness are not dividends of neglecting our health and circumstances and the success we desire in the world.