Post No. 19: Gifts from Greeks, Part 3, Martin's Maxims 2

The last post described a synthesis of Greek thought that I named "Martin's Maxims". This post explores some of these maxims in more detail. The maxims in this post are:

. You are the Captain of the Ship

. The search for "being" or "essence" is a fool's errand.

. You go as you come

Although these maxims were my synthesis of ancient Greek thought, we might get a deeper appreciation of them by looking at some more recent philosophers. The existentialist writers were compelled by the inevitability of death. Much of their musings were on the implications of this fact for how humans might live their lives. They would surely agree with the maxim "You go as you come". We have no control of how we come into or go out of this life. To get more detailed, let's focus on two writers, Camus and Sartre. Both wrote about the absurdity of a life where we have no control over the fact of our death. Sartre and Camus, who at one time were good friends, agreed that one must exercise one's freedom and responsibility in facing the absurdity of life. They would surely agree with the maxim, "You are the captain of the ship". Sartre described how some people act in "bad faith" by not being aware of their freedom to act because of imagined negative consequences. People who act in bad faith are unaware that they have relinquished their role as "Captain of the Ship". For example, playing the victim is the opposite of what Sartre and Camus suggested, and is a good example of acting in "bad faith".

Although these two major twentieth century thinkers agreed on a basic existentialist/absurdist philosophy, they disagreed vehemently on one very important area of life. For example, Sartre was attracted to the idea of a socialist utopia that quite a few after World War II found appealing. Sartre suggested the violence of Stalin's gulags was a justified means to achieve utopian socialist ends. Camus adamantly disagreed and wrote his book-length essay "The Rebel" partly in response to Sartre. Camus felt that believing in a utopian idealogy such as Communism was opting out of the absurdity of life. Instead "the rebel" rejects the injustices of the world and tries to improve conditions but does not succumb to a revolutionary idealogy that seeks a utopian "essence" or way of "being" for society. Sartre did not realize that "searching for essence or being is a fool's errand". Perhaps he was caught up in his own fame and the then, supposed, progressive view that revolutionary Soviet socialism would result in a new, utopian society. A good example of Camus' "Rebel" is Martin Luther King. He rebelled against the current injustices of society toward African Americans and took non violent actions to create change. In contrast, there were several African American leaders who advocated a revolutionary upending of white society through violence. MLK vehemently disagreed with this approach. The country now regards him with great affection for bringing needed change that greatly benefits people of all colors. He did this only after tremendous effort and suffering, and in the end paid with his own life. Through his life's actions, MLK clearly demonstrated he was "Captain of the Ship".

It is interesting that Sartre himself was born into a wealthy, French family. In his relatively unknown novel, "The Road to Wigan Pier", George Orwell observes, "The truth is that, to many people calling themselves Socialists, revolution ... means a set of reforms which 'we' the clever ones, are going to impose upon 'them' the Lower Orders". He might have been referring to Sartre when he writes "It is strange how easily almost any Socialist writer can lash himself into frenzies of rage against the class to which, by birth or by adoption, he himself invariably belongs." [Full disclosure, I was born near the town of Wigan in England and am the son of an Irish father who at the time was a coalminer, so I might be somewhat biased]. Perhaps the differences between the two existentialists might also be understood by Camus' short story, "The Myth of Sisyphus". As a punishment for trying to cheat death, the gods condemned Sisyphus to an eternity of rolling a large rock up a hill only to have it roll back down, and for him to repeat this sequence endlessly. Camus likens Sisyphus' situation to the absurdity of human life. There is no "being" or "essence" (or utopian idealogy) to be had. Camus concludes his short story writing "I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one's burden again ... He (Sisyphus) too concludes that all is well ... The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart." Camus, unlike Sartre, would agree with the maxim, "The search for 'being' or 'essence' is a fool's errand."

Barry Magid, a psychoanalyst and Zen Roshi, has written extensively about the search for "essence" or some fantasy of achieving a perfect state of peace, fulfillment, happiness, etc. (Revolutionaries search for this utopia for society, rather than the individual). In his book, "Ending the Pursuit of Happiness", Magid calls this utopian search a "curative fantasy". Instead of searching for some imagined cure that will bring us peace and fulfillment in an imagined future, we should simply pay attention to the ordinary and imperfect aspects of our lives. Like Camus' Sisyphus, we should appreciate life as it is and conclude that "all is well" right now, with all its imperfections.

The search for an imagined happiness seems to be in vogue at present. Recently a Harvard "Study of Adult Development" received a lot of press that heralded it as a study of happiness. It actually was a longitudinal study of Harvard graduates that started over eight decades ago which attempted to discover factors leading to success in life, satisfaction and health. The new study delved deeper into the data with in-depth interviews to see if any additional conclusions could be drawn. The new study confirmed the initial conclusion that having good relationships and a network of friends leads to a more fulfilling, healthier and successful life. Epicurus was correct; having friends is necessary for a sense of well-being in life. There is no magic cure, despite how much the media might hype a study like this. But there are things one can do (if one is Captain) to make life more enjoyable.

In a future post, I will take a deeper dive into a few other maxims, with special attention to the Epicureans, Stoics and other ancient Greek thinkers.