Let’s talk about the premeditation of adversity

Premeditatio malorum is Latin for premeditation of adversity, one of the most well known, potentially misunderstood, and very useful of all Stoic techniques. It seems, therefore, like clarifying its scope and use would be a good idea.

In this essay I’m going to do the following: (i) present the concept of premeditatio in modern Stoicism and its roots in ancient Stoicism, as treated by two leading contemporary authors, Don Robertson and Bill Irvine; (ii) discuss a potential tension between the premeditatio and the Stoic advice of focusing on the here and now, ignoring both past and present on the ground that they are not under our control; and (iii) introduce a new way (so far as I know) of actually carrying out the premeditatio, using the technique of concept mapping.

I.1. Don Robertson’s treatment of premeditatio

Don writes extensively about the premeditation of adversity in his Stoicism and the Art of Happiness, particularly in chapter 7 (of the 2013 edition, there is a new edition dated 2018). He begins by quoting Epictetus:

Keep before your eyes day by day death and exile, and everything that seems catastrophic, but most of all death; and then you will never have any abject thought, nor…