Stoicism and the Warrior Philosopher
Stoicism is a very well-defined, well documented philosophy. Stoicism is a philosophical school of thought which originated in Ancient Greece, around 300 BCE, attributed to Zeno of Citium. Along with Aristotle’s ethics, and the Rationalists in general, Stoicism forms one of the major founding approaches to virtue ethics. The Stoics are known for teaching that virtue is the only good for humans, and external things, such as wealth and pleasure, are not good or bad in themselves but only have value as material for virtue to act upon.
Conversely, the idea of the warrior philosopher is not well-defined or well documented in-and-of-itself, and is not a formally named school of philosophy. It is a more of an implied ideal, however, despite being more nebulous, it is nevertheless well documented in concept throughout many cultures (e.g., Sun Tzu’s The Art of War). The foundation of the warrior philosopher’s outlook is very well encapsulated by Plato, who wrote…
He who is only an athlete is too crude, too vulgar, too much a savage. He who is a scholar only is too soft, too effeminate. The ideal citizen is the scholar athlete, the man of thought and the man of action. — Plato
Similarly, Socrates, noted primarily for his philosophy, also asserted…
It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. — Socrates
And one of the most direct examples of the virtues of the warrior philosopher was written by Thucydides…
The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools. — Thucydides
In all three cases, they tell us we must balance intellectual excellence with physical prowess. We must strive for equality in both, as one without the other is neither virtuous nor wise.
More relevant to this writing, all the classical Stoics from Epictetus, to Seneca, to Marcus Aurelius, all of whom respected and strove for intellectual and emotional virtue, equally respected and aspired to physical health and physical prowess in many activities. The stoics strongly believed in a healthy body to strengthen the mind and to provide physical resilience against hardship.
To better understand the relationship between Stoicism and the warrior philosopher lifestyle, the warrior philosopher must be defined. The warrior philosopher lifestyle is a duality, striving for equality and balance between two seemingly opposing concepts. The warrior embodies the traits of strength, martial prowess, physical discipline and fitness, victory through conflict, and trains daily to improve in these regards. The philosopher embodies the traits of intelligence, knowledge, education, empathy, compassion, reason, victory through discourse, and studies daily to improve in these regards. In most cases, these traits are disparate, and sometimes in direct opposition to each other. However, the warrior philosopher expertly blends these traits into a single philosophy and a single approach to life. Stoicism is the “glue” that holds it all together.
Stoicism teaches inner-focus and self-discipline, classic traits of the successful athlete and warrior, as well as the academic. Stoicism requires the acceptance of nature, so we must take some things as given, and work within the bounds of nature. This is an approach taken by all successful warriors, to look at terrain, opposition, and circumstances and take them as given, before deciding what, if anything, to do about them. Similarly, nature is a study of all academicians. The Stoics espoused a strong mind-body connection, asserting that the two influence each other profoundly and cannot be separated. So too does the warrior philosopher need a strong mind-body connection to both learn and execute the art of conflict and combat. This connection can only come from training both equally, the mind in academics, the body in physical training. Resilience and endurance feature predominantly in Stoic writing, and this is the cornerstone of the warrior mindset, to endure what is endurable, and to be resilient to hardship. The Stoics strongly focused on virtue, and for no person is virtue more needed than for the warrior. As an inherently dangerous individual, the warrior must be tempered by virtue or fall into villainy. So too must the academic strive for virtue, as academic integrity is central to the learning process. Finally, and most importantly, the Stoics adhered to emotional restraint. Not that they resisted or suppressed emotions (a common misconception), but that they did not become reactionary to emotion and instead used reason and logic to guide all actions, particularly in the face of strong emotion. For the warrior, this is of utmost importance, as victory in conflict is seldom achieved when driven by anger, jealousy, rage, and reactionary behaviors. For the academic, this is of equal importance, as the truth is seldom what we wish it to be, and personal desires must give way to logic and reason for the academic to be virtuous and true.
A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough. — Bruce Lee
By adhering to Stoic values, the warrior becomes the philosopher, seamlessly blending the traits of both. Warriors learn that through intellectual study, they become more dangerous; through mastery of emotions, they become more strategic; through the acceptance of nature, they become more aware of their surroundings; through temperance, moderation, and self-discipline, they become more fit and physically capable. The warrior philosopher is born from Stoicism. To paraphrase Plato…
The warrior is too much of a savage. The philosopher is too soft and weak. The ideal is the warrior philosopher, the person of thought and the person of action. — Sweaty PhD
With that said, while Stoicism is the foundation of the warrior philosopher mindset, the warrior philosopher does not and cannot strive for perfection in Stoicism. Rather, warrior philosophers use Stoicism as a guide to bridge the two worlds. By definition, the warrior philosopher cannot be a perfect Stoic and does not try to be. For example, like the true Stoics, the warrior philosopher must acknowledge truth to be the highest ideal, striving to be honest in all things. However, the warrior also knows that all conflict necessarily involves deception. Therefore, for the warrior philosopher, truth lies in victory over an enemy, and deception in conflict is a means to that victory. That is the warrior’s truth. Similarly, while a true Stoic will rise above any disrespect, knowing that injury is suffered only when we perceive injury to be suffered, the warrior philosopher does not always have this luxury. For the warrior, some disrespect must be answered swiftly and decisively, lest others think it is a show of weakness and seek to exploit that weakness. A true Stoic will master all emotions, and although feeling them fully, will never let emotion rule. A warrior philosopher must for the most part do the same; knowing there is a time and place to unleash rage and let it rule, if only very briefly, when it suits the warrior’s purpose and when done with focus, control, and discipline.
To echo one of the greatest warrior philosophers of the modern era, pure Stoicism is not an achievable end for the warrior philosopher in-and-of-itself, but rather it is a guiding light on the path, illuminating the way. It is a standard which always points you in the right direction, but not necessarily as a goal to be reached in-and-of-itself. The warrior philosopher who fails to follow this guiding light will degrade to an unthinking, unvirtuous brute, possibly capable of winning battles, but never capable of winning wars. Conversely, focus too hard on the light itself, and not on the path, and the warrior philosopher becomes the pure academician, a person of thought without action. Therefore, Stoicism for the warrior philosopher is the guiding and binding quality of both thought and action, adapted to suit the duality of the warrior philosopher lifestyle. The warrior philosopher does not serve Stoicism, but rather Stoicism serves the warrior philosopher.
A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at. — Bruce Lee
The relationship between Stoicism and the warrior philosopher lifestyle is undeniably strong. Clearly, without Stoicism the warrior philosopher cannot exist because the duality cannot be reconciled. However, while the true Stoic will ever strive for perfection in Stoicism, serving Stoicism, the warrior philosopher walks with Stoicism more as a friend, confidant, and advisor. We more often than not take the advice of our friends, but we also sometimes, even if only rarely, walk our own path.
