Order and Chaos
“We control our reasoned choice and all acts that depend on that moral will. What is not under our control are the body and any of our parts…” - Epictetus
It would be tragic if it was not such a cliché. The organic eating vegan who works out daily, never smokes and does not drink alcohol comes down with some rare form of cancer or some other horrible illness while the overweight, beer swilling, bacon loving, cigar smoker gets a clean bill of health and a long happy life.
No, I do not wish ill on the cigar smoker. Truth be told, my lifestyle is probably closer to that cigar smoker than the vegan. I am heavier than I should be, I do like beer (and scotch) but not bacon and I have been seen enjoying a good cigar on occasion. I normally work out at least four times a week and under normal circumstances I avoid sweets. I guess I exist somewhere in the middle. What does this mean for my overall health and the likelihood of enjoying a long life? Who the hell knows?
All I truly know at this point is that so most of life is beyond my control and even my understanding. Good things happen and bad things happen and it does not seem to matter if you are a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ person - bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. It is all just random and I am really uncomfortable about that. The great Greek philosopher Epictetus offered us some advice in the first century when he put forth that we may be in charge of our actions, or ethics, and our morality, but beyond that we are powerless. In term of our bodies and our ailments we are utterly powerless and at the mercy of the random chaotic order of the universe, and at this point I have very little doubt in the randomness of the universe. I do not believe that I have a greater right to life or recovery from illness than any other person because of how I live my life. The fact that I try to always be kind to people and help them when I can has no impact whatsoever regarding my ability to not get Covid or recover from it when I do get it. Whether I am a saint or an asshole, I have the same chance of survival.
Once we realize how little we actually control, then what? What do we do with this knowledge? Some of us will continue pretending that there is some order to the universe or that there is a grand plan that has been put in motion by a higher power - though maybe ‘pretend’ is not the right word as I have no doubt that many people truly believe this. Others will have to find some way to cope with the randomness of life, the universe, and cosmic order. Perhaps there is hope in randomness itself? If so much is beyond my control, what is the point of worrying? Does this realization allow us to live a more free Epicurean life, defined by a devotion to simple rather than hedonistic pleasures? It is, of course, the simple pleasures that make life worth living so it would make sense to do everything we can to enjoy as many of them as we can for as long as we can.
Epictetus’ acknowledgement that we have no control over the ills of our bodies (and minds) seems more revolutionary today than perhaps it was in his own day. His society was not defined by an attempt to control the natural world but rather trying to find ways to live within that natural structure - after all the Stoics were among the first nature loving hippies. Our lives consist largely of trying to harness and control the natural world from our rivers and oceans to our own bodies. We try to mold nature to our own will whether it be with the building of a dam or changing the course of a river in order to build more condos, to getting face lifts or hair implants in order to appear younger than we actually are. To be clear, I am not judging these actions, only observing that we seem to have a tendency to try to control that which we cannot control.
Epictetus attempts to guide us to a place of acceptance of what has come and what is to come. My hair began falling out when I was in my mid twenties. What did I do to deserve this? Nothing. It just happened. Neither Epictetus or Epicurus is saying that we should live recklessly or throw away all cares, to do so would be foolish. Instead they are telling us to concede that we control very little and that finding reason in all this chaos is impossible. Epictetus tells us that we should always work to improve our moral selves, this is he called the Eudaimonia - the flourishing of the human mind for the sake of humanity. He guides us to work to improve our ethics and moral understanding for each other so that we can better enjoy the time we have here rather than prepare for whatever is or is not next.