Stoic Tonics:

Philosophy and the Self-Government of the Soul

ARCHIMEDES C. ARTICULO, M.Phil.

Dean
College of Arts and Sciences
Cagayan State University
chitocsu@gmail.com

I.
For the Stoics, what equalizes all human beings in terms of dignity or honor is their
rationality or their capacity to reason.1 The ​dignity of reason also sharply distinguishes us from
animals. The presence of reason in any creature, according to the Stoics, entitles it to respect
from others, and also from itself because reason marks humans out from other animals, as
incomparably higher, and worthy of a boundless respect and self-respect.

And so Epictetus reminds us: ​Take care, then, that we do not ever act like a wild beast.

According to Naussbaum, the first and most basic injunction addressed to any pupil
seeking the Stoic therapy will be to respect and cultivate that all-important element of himself –
the foundation of ​humanity. Whenever a Stoic pupil recognizes from others a capacity to reason,
he must honor it; for nothing else about a person is worthy of much honor. Only reason, not
wealth or status, makes man honorable.

As Seneca puts it, ​no person should take pride in anything that is not his own…suppose
he has…beautiful home, a large farm and a large income. None of these things is in him but
rather around him. Praise that in him which cannot be given or taken away, which belongs to
the man himself. Do you ask what that is? The soul, and reason fulfilled in the soul. For the

1
Naussbaum, Martha. ​The Therapy of Desires: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics​. 1994. New Jersey:
Princeton University Press p. 325.
human being is a reasoning animal.2
And so reason is something we fully own, in our own power to cultivate and to control.
The basic element of Stoic therapeutic education is to respect the dignity of reason and the
strengthening of reason – because, as Naussbaum puts it, it is fundamentally connected with
practical choice and avoidance, and the making of distinctions between good and bad in the
sphere of action.3

If reason is strengthened, we can proceed with the mazes of life carefully, choosing well
amidst the complexity of life’s choices. As the letter of Seneca to Lucilius points out: It is only
by following reason, and attending to its guidance with patient care, that we can have any hope
of finding our way through the tangled maze of human life.

But how can we strengthen our reason? Through Philosophy.

The Stoics believe that Philosophy’s medical function is, above all, the toning up of the
soul – developing its muscles, assisting it to use its own capabilities more effectively to help
man in his search for ​eudaimonia.

II.

The Stoic emphasis on reason, not wealth and status, as the measure for us to view
ourselves and other people fits well to the Filipino’s ideal way of viewing themselves and
relating to other people.

It is interesting to note that for Filipinos, wealth and status, do not necessarily confer
humanity (​ “nagpapakatao”) ​to individuals – while it is true that money and status can help
individuals to do virtuous acts – they, in themselves, cannot provide the source of
“pagpapakatao”. Money and status can instead turn people, who lack moral and rational

2
Ibid.
3
Ibid. p. 357.
sensitivity, into ‘hayop’, ​viz “mala-hayop sa pag-uugali”.

Unreasonableness, ​“hindi nakakaunawa ng dahilan”, t​ urns even the wealthy and the
powerful into lowly creatures. It seems to me that “pagpapakatao” (as affirming one’s humanity)
involves a very subjective or personal process where one tries to affirm, in his daily life, the
internal qualities that make him a ​human ​being. In this process, the value of external and
accidental goods or qualities, like wealth and status, disappears. Only the internal goods are
magnified and embodied by the individual. One of these qualities is reasonableness, ​“marunong
makinig ng dahilan o rason”. Looking at it on this way, we can see that “nagpapakatao” means
that one is living up to the ideals of “pagpapakatao” – that is, he is reasonable with his dealings
with other people. Here, the agreement between the Filipino concept of ​“pagpapakatao” and
Stoic’s ‘​dignity of reason​ becomes obvious.

Even the strong criticism of Stoics against gender discrimination is, in some way,
applicable to the Filipino concept of equality, again, in the context of “pagpapakatao”.

In the existential process of “nagpapakatao”, individuals, regardless of their sex or

gender, try to live as human beings, that is, in part, becoming reasonable. In affirming one’s
humanity, accidental and external attributes like gender disappear. There is no necessary
distinction between males and females when it comes to ​“Pagpapakatao”.​

It is a natural ability inherent to all human beings because reason, as its important basis,
resides in all people, regardless of their sex or gender.4

Observe that the emphasis on reason as basis of humanity and hence, for respect, is to
some degree characterizes the Filipinos as Stoics.

4
It is interesting to point out that the Filipino Language, and other Filipino local dialects, lends support to this
contention. Unlike the English language which stresses gender distinction, e.g. “He/She does X”, Tagalog does
not. Instead of the ‘He/She’ distinctin, Tagalog simply uses “Niya” without especial reference to gender. “Ginawa
niya ​ang X”. Local dialects, like Ybanag, Ilokano, and Ytawes share the same linguistic feature: they use “na” to
mean “niya”: ​“Ginangwa na y X”, “Inaramid na dadiyay X” and “Ginangwa na yo X”