The Role of Stoicism in the Evolution of Law

The author Ria Menon is a second-year B.A. LL.B. student from Shri Navalmal Firodia Law College under the Pune University.

MEANING OF STOICISM

“Of all people, only those at leisure who make time for philosophy, only they truly live. Not satisfied to merely keep good watch over their own days, they annex every age to their own. All harvest of the past is added to their store.” - Seneca

Stoicism is one of the new philosophical movements of the Hellenistic period. It is an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens, by Zeno of Citium. This school taught that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge; that the wise live in harmony with the Divine Reason that governs nature: Fate and Providence, and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain.

Hence, it can be said that: stoicism is an age-old practice, for maximization of happiness. It is a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and views on the natural world. According to it, the path to eudaimonia (happiness or blessedness) is found in accepting the moment as it presents itself, and by not allowing oneself to be controlled by the desire for pleasure or fear of pain. It advocates using one’s mind to understand the world and to do one’s part in nature’s plan, and by working together and treating others fairly and justly.

The Stoics are especially known for their teaching that “virtue is the only good” and the external things like health, wealth and pleasure are not good or bad in themselves (adiaphora), but have value as “material for virtue to act upon.” They say that we may not always have control over the events affecting us, but we can however, control our approach towards them. To quote the renowned Stoic Epictetus, “We suffer not from the events in our lives, but from our judgment about them.” The concept focuses on personal improvement and the idea is that people who have cultivated virtue and self-control in themselves can bring positive changes in others.

Modern Stoicism covers the revival of interest in the Stoic philosophy and the philosophical efforts to adjust Ancient Stoicism to the language and conceptual framework of the present. Modern Stoicism is a way of living that focuses intensely on reality instead of fantasy or idealism. Today we colloquially use the word stoic for someone who remains calm under pressure and avoids emotional extremes. The teaching of Stoicism can best be put today as, “It is what it is.”

Very famous personalities like Gautama Buddha, George Washington, Nelson Mandela, Thomas Jefferson and Mahatma Gandhi were known to be Stoics. They believed that while injustices in the past could not be changed, people have the capacity to deal with them in the present for a better and more just future.

CARDINAL STOIC VIRTUES

Stoicism is therefore, a philosophy for minimizing the negative emotions in your life and maximizing gratitude and joy. It includes mind-ful practices and value-based living. It acts as a tool to amplify human experience, both internally and externally. The four virtues of stoicism are:

1. Wisdom – the ability to navigate complex situations in a logical, informed and calm manner.
2. Courage – not just in ordinary circumstances but also facing daily challenges with clarity and integrity.
3. Temperance – the exercise of self-resilience and moderation in all aspects of life.
4. Justice – treating others with fairness even when they have done wrong.

IMPACT OF STOICISM ON LAW

The origin of the basic principles of any law can be traced back to the school of thought propounded by Stoicism, wherein the ideals of logic and reasoning towards the formulation of law had been upheld. Stoicism provided the theoretical basis to law because ethical teachings of the Stoics could easily be adapted to the practical needs of the general population. The idea was that the rights of a citizen are the primary category vis-a-vis the rights of the State. The principles of stoicism were rightly used as platforms while codifying and creating laws for the simple reason that stoic natural law was indifferent to the natural or divine sense of law. Stoics asserted existence of a rational and purposeful order in connection to the universe and the way such a rational man would live in the world. Logic had a great value here.

A perfect law is that law which, from an axiological disourse, is based upon internal value and virtues, instead of upon the power of state coercion and authority. A law as a whole is stagnated behind Stoic theories when it makes difference between free people (status liberatis) and the slaves (status servitutis) something evil.

Even a civil law, through its basic ideals of equity, justice and other relevant principles, is backed by reason and logic. The basic doctrine of human rights, i.e., the idea of natural rights of human beings greatly owes its origins to the stoic principles which regulate human behaviour and conduct. It is thus, extremely interesting to see how ideas of stoicism of basic rights ultimately aim at upholding human dignity.

The Stoic law had elaborately come up with a detailed discussion on the ideals of equity, equality before law, supremacy of law, justice and good conscience, all of which are integral and indispensible parts of our laws today.

The concept of “due process of law” was also a gift of stoic natural law, which was first developed by the English laws and later adopted by countries in their own laws.

We see that the philosophy of Seneca, a Stoic, has been incorporated into various laws like the labour law, when he argued for humane treatment and dignified of slaves. He made a positive difference between the wealthy and the slaves, as is seen in most of our laws today.

Stoicism has contributed to various civil and common laws alike. The Stoic principle of naturalism has been heavily relied upon during the formulation of numerous laws, envisaging sound legal logic and judgement. The use of naturalism has made the law so sound and scientific that even today, we effectively depend on and apply laws which were made a few hundred years ago.

STOIC LAWYERS

Lawyers are essentially in the business of moving resources from one column into another.

Wisdom

Stoicism influences the priorities of a lawyer and the stoic reason dictates that one spends time focusing on taking the right approach. By focusing on those things which are in one’s control, instead of focusing on uncontrollable things, not only gains a person virtue but also tranquillity.

It has a number of perks like:

1. Not distracting the jury by unprofessionalism.
2. Making the opponents or third-parties more receptive.
3. Making the clients will well-represented and discouraging them from complaining of indiscipline and malpractice.
4. Developing a network of colleagues who genuinely respect and connect.
5. Seeking one’s professional integrity over money.

Courage

Note that courage starts with wisdom. Courage is the particularization of wisdom to matters of endurance. By reminding oneself that the circumstances that one has faced, is facing, or will face cannot be changed, a lawyer can summon courage and shift focus from reaction to productivity in that particular situation.

As Marcus Aurelius noted, a person will either survive his circumstances or will not. To a stoic lawyer, the mere fact of survival or defeat from those circumstances is indifferent. Courage assists a lawyer to carry when things get difficult.

Courage is the wisdom to choose between when to keep trying the same thing, when to try something else, or when to stop trying at all. It is also the wisdom to understand when the result is indifferent and when it is good to keep trying anyway.

Temperance

Temperance is wisdom applied to matters of acquisition. Temperance is the search for more, but also the measurement of what is already obtained. A stoic lawyer is indifferent to wealth and power, focusing only on seeking what is good. They are influenced to sacrifice the pursuit of these, although they are acceptable to having both wealth and power, if available. They keep virtue above everything else. And hence, temperance is a guard against temptation.

Justice

Justice is the wisdom of distribution of money, time, influence, or other resources. Even though lawyers may try to produce a just outcome, serving of justice is often out of their control. And this keeps them away from disappointment.

CONCLUSION

The concepts of stoicism are so profound and universal in nature, that they still continue to serve as a valid source of law and general principles in contemporary world.

“The Brahmans had no cattle, no gold, and no wealth. They had study as their wealth and grain. They guarded the holy life as their treasure.” – Gautama Buddha

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