The magic notebook - a saga of Stoic teachings in modern life

The miracles of modern technology

Recently, I decided to be a practicing Stoic. Because, to paraphrase Socrates, "The unexamined life isn't worth living". And then again Aristotle's golden saying "The unplanned life isn't worth examining" is as correct and relevant today, as it was during the time of the big three - Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. And, as my latest hero Prof. Irvine, the author of the fantastic and life-changing book A guide to a good life: The ancient art of Stoic joy notes (quite logically), it is almost urgent to have a coherent philosophy of life.

NOTE: This is more of a freestyle writing on my personal experience regarding Stoicism. I wrote a somewhat more generalized and formal introduction here: http://goo.gl/2YyFN3

Last year, while I was still trapped in the vortex of narcissism, wanting to get my articles read for the joy of having my words and thoughts being heard and read, I wrote something about building a personal philosophy. And the Internet, being a miniature version of this cosmos, isn't altogether exempt from one fundamental law that determines the fabric of our existence, and pretty much everything else - Information is never lost. Put in simple language, you can just read that article here: http://goo.gl/WLXVyd

Now, before you arrive at the conclusion that I'm just another stark raving idiot out there (which, I guess I am anyway), let me stress that last year, when I wrote that article, I hadn't virtually read anything about philosophy, not even one of those popular philosophy books sold nowadays. As such, everything, that I penned down there, was but Art Brute - my own humble conclusions, put in a very crude, unpolished manner.

Now too, let me stress, things are no better with me. But I have, at least, discovered Stoicism, through the wonderful writings of Irvine, and the Stoic teachings have at least given a shape to how I view the world around me.

What's this blog for, again? 

Well, it's just another blog post. You may see that I took a 5-week long break from blogging, since I posted last time. Because I had to organize and declutter my thoughts. Unlike several other professional bloggers out there, who strive hard to grab the attention of as many folks as they can, I have no commercial interest in maintaining this blog. I've written around 300 articles so far, but the only thing that was powering that, was my availability of leisure time, combined with idiotic narcissism. I wanted my blog to be the de facto destination for information-seekers on the Internet. And thus, I wrongly assumed that my (very) limited abilities can stand up to the job, thereby raising my (otherwise crude) blog to the level of sites like Lifehacker, TheNextWeb or even OMGUbuntu! Now, I see how wrong I was!

That's why, I've decided to use this blog for its actual purpose - a tool for:

1. Storing my ideas and notes, so that I may review them later.

2. A tool for communicating my ideas to the wide, green world out there.

3. Just my personal space on the web.

And what's better than Stoicism, the very philosophy that has liberated my enslaved soul, to begin with? That's why, I'm penning down this article.

What's the magic notebook? 

Well, it's my 5'' phablet. Let me share a story with you all, Back in August, the whole of India was in a sort of frenzy. It's already the 3rd largest smartphone market in the world, after China and the US, and people always want better, bolder stuff for cheaper price tags. Naturally, being an element of the set called INDIA, I am no exception to this mindset.

So, the Chinese company Xiaomi had announced their 5 incher phablet MI3 would be sold online via Flipkart, the online megastore of India (as they call themselves anyway). But every week since July, only around 20,000 units were available for sale, while demand was high - around 2,00,000 each time. Add to add to the grief, you'd have to register previously, at least a week before the sale actually begins. Then, on the day of the sale, say it starts 14:00 hours, within 3 seconds the whole stock would be shown to be sold! And you'll have to wait for another week.

Now, this phablet is truly marvelous, especially considering the price tag. It has the features of a high-end, premium phone, but fits into the mid-range segment comfortably. So, I had to get it.

I registered on August 6th, and on my first try, on August 12th, I managed to book my phone! And the next day, when it was delivered to me, my joy knew no bounds! I began to feel special and gifted, and even the chosen one.

Notice, how illogical my behaviour was, at that time, to have expressed to much joy at having bought another device, yet another manifestation of consumerism. And naturally, the fire died down within a few days.

Why do I call it the magic notebook? 

Well, virtually any Android or iPhone is a sort of magic notebook anyway, if you think about it. You can do a seemingly endless array of stuff with it, right? How about playing some music, or streaming it online from the web? Or, wanna check that latest article on BBC? Nah, let's watch the episode of your favourite show you missed last Saturday, it's on Netflix anyway, if not on YouTube. And add all these to the note-taking, calculating, gaming, communicating and photo-shooting features of this one simple device.

Stephen West, the cheerful host of the show Philosophize This, calls this smartphone thing "something that we knew was coming". You had music players, gaming consoles, phones, cameras, PDAs - so why not combine them all? Chances are, you're reading this article on your smartphone anyway.

Yet, take a moment, fellow child of Mother Earth, have you ever stopped for a while, and considered yourself soooo lucky!!! for being the owner of such a fascinating device? Most probably, if you're like me, you hadn't, previously.

We gain so many things in our lives, and seldom do we take a moment to pause, and be thankful for all, if any, of them. In fact, the very fact that I'm breathing now, alive and awake, and taking in the aroma of the world, while absorbing the beauty of my surroundings, is a simple but profound joy, according to the Stoics. The best part of this wonderful philosophy is that, you can just be happy at any moment, because it's entirely up to you to be happy.

Count Leo Tolstoy was very correct when he remarked "If you want to be happy, be". Yes, it's as simple as that, really, once you begin to grasp the deeper meaning of his words.

Hedonic adaptation 

Although a multitude of terms have been used to refer to this feeling, this gradual and inevitable loss of the WOW! feeling after possessing something new, I believe the best one has been mentioned, if not coined, by Professor Irvine. Hedonic Adaptation is this thing, in its true essence. As for me, I got my phone, turned overjoyous and zealous for a few days, and within a week or two, the wonderful, magnificent, brand new, fastest, great value-for-money phone became my phone. And I bet you too have experienced similar things like this.

This, dear reader, is hedonic adaptation. Life has taught us, even programmed us, to adapt to our surroundings. And no matter how gloriously you live, it all loses its charm at some point of time. And then starts the melodrama, that deep sensation of dissatisfaction, unease, lack of tranquility as the Stoics call it. We begin to feel betrayed, ignored and cheated, because there's just nothing left to be cheerful about, apparently.

But this is the greatest mistake, this vortex of dissatisfaction, that results from one simple mistaken assumption - happiness and tranquility are things that can be found externally. This assumption, illogical and counterproductive, although surprisingly intuitive (thanks to consumerism and our society's dysfunctional line of thinking, as a collective being), is the root of much of our suffering.

Happiness isn't external to us, it can be generated internally. In the Indian epic The Mahabharata, there's a beautiful chapter detailing the conversations between the two characters Dharma (personification of justice, order etc) and the then-exiled crown prince and protagonist Yudhistira. There, Dharma asks Yudhistira "Who is genuinely happy and peaceful with himself?", and the latter replies "He, and he alone, who works throughout the day and enjoys the simple elegance of his frugal meal at the day's end".

Thinking about it, Yudhistira could have said "He, who's rich as Bill Gates, the ladies' man as Bradd Pitt, husband to someone resembling Kate Winslet and as powerful as the President of the US, is genuinely happy", or something like that, but he didn't. Because the ancient sages who composed the Mahabharata, were simple forest-dwellers. They had little material possession, virtually no wealth and obviously not palaces and servants. But above all, they were at peace with themselves.

They had, in my opinion, defeated the tentacles of hedonic adaptation.

The joy from within 

A painting very familiar to the Indian eyes. Lord Shri Krishna
driving the chariot of the warrior Arjuna, which beautifully
embodies the elements and essence of Stoicism.  

You may have realized by now, that this article of mine, no matter how bad and immaturely crafted it is, is not an advertisement. The magic notebook that I speak of, at the beginning, is nothing other than a secondary, if not tertiary, example - an example to justify my point.

The Stoics like Seneca, Rufus and Epictetus were very similar to the great Indian sages, some of whom developed the philosophy of Samkhya, which is but the Indian version of Stoicism. In the depths of the Bhagwat Geeta, Lord Shri Krishna, one of the most revered deities of India, speaks to the protagonist Arjuna in a similar tone.

"Act,", he says, "but detach yourself from the fruit of the action". This would be too familiar to the properly trained Stoic ear.

We have so much to be thankful for, and it is wise to realize now, that if we want to be happy, shopping therapy is not the way. That's just the manacle of consumerism, blindly chasing things that we don't have. And yet, as soon as we have them, they seem to lose their charm. This, according to the Stoic logic, justifies that happiness isn't something that can be found through the act of buying or possessing them.

The ultimate Stoic, almost a legendary practitioner of Stoic principles and virtually the embodiment of Stoic Virtue, is the Sage. And the sage, we're told, knows how to derive joy from within - from the very act of being alive. We're like machines, computers if you may, taking in data from all around and processing. And when we reduce incessant thinking and begin to look all around, we see how profoundly joyful every event is!

Simply put, just wake up early one day, if you don't do that daily. And listen, listen to the morning song of the birds! No matter how industrialized your area is, there would obviously be a bird or two in the early hours of the morning. And you'll see, once you start listening intently (without assigning any judgement or interpretation to it, as Eckhart Tolle would say), how miraculous it sounds!

Happiness, in my humble opinion, is a state of the mind. And to truly achieve it, you need a coherent philosophy. And this, in my case, is Stoicism. I'd love to hear from you guys as well, what your respective philosophies are.

Acknowledgement 

Google Images & Pixbay for the licence-free images 

A Guide to a Good Life (Irvine) 

A New Earth (Eckhart Tolle) 

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Goodness Gracious YOU! : Why being good is good

I'm not a nice guy.

And i have many people, events and conditions to vouch for it. I am usually polite, until put under duress. I give a specific amount of respect to all humans (strangers and all), until they start acting up, then it either goes up or down from there. I help out people in need and am resourceful in whatever way i can, but not often as i'd like to. Not very sunny and pleasant mostly and also have a bad habit of pedantic nitpicking and being biased on certain issues (or have strong opinions). I'm impulsive and rise to the bait in an instant if there is  aleast bit instigation (if you step on my feet,you won't get ya toes back) .

But, i'm a good guy! 

How's that you ask, incredulously! because i solemnly wish every being on the planet, nothing but the best. Because, i have good intentions behind every action of mine. Because, i not only understand but apply the law of karma ( believe it or not!) and i constantly seek and act to better myself (mentally,physically,morally and spiritually). That's enough to qualify me in the good book for myself ( doubt, there's a god's book) . 

But as far i may have come in being a good boy, its only after several cringing, embarrassing, painful and sometimes humble experiences. And it worked only when i applied them! But let it be known, that i did not become good  from finally throwing my hands and submitting to the hypocritical pangs of our society, but rather through deep spiritual introspection , intelligent empirical investigation and countless efforts trying all the tools in the shed. This wasn't an epiphany , but rather a gradual realization of the immutable and ubiquitous universal laws at work.

No, this is not a fuckin' Secret but a personal revelation. The things that i'm about to say have been iterated and proved since times immemorial, and we hear about them day in, day out (for a reason as well).  However, they do not become true for you , unless you realize it for yourself! When you do, many things (concepts,events,people) become lucid and concrete and you are overtaken by a sense of calm joy.

So, anyways ...Here's why you should be good! 

1.)  Not because THEY say so !:

Ever since infancy we are taught through a series of rewards and punishments  (words,gift,love) to be good . We not being evolved/intelligent at that age , jump through the hoops and do as instructed to get what we want (usually love,gifts,appreciation). As time passes and we get busy with other societal traps (education,jobs,family) we rarely question why and take it to be our reality. Being Good , in most cultures is being obedient (religiously follow the status quo) , and respectful/generous/loving. While i agree with the latter virtues consituting goodness i have a problem with how they are imposed upon our psyches through religion!  

The goodness is gauged and dictated by gods up above ( or his people down below..LOL) and followers are preached that if they are good , God loves them , will grant their wishes and will welcome them into paradise post-death. BUT (this is a big but) if they are bad, they will be punished for it and spend their afterlives in a burning pot of hot oil in hell,while satan watches Baywatch (according to the latest addendum). Well, i have a problem with this concept, and even though it is obviously antiquated and banal, people rarely question or revolt against it, fearing all the social backlash they'll receive.

What you should do : Well , if i was to be absolutist in my recommendation,there would be little difference in me and the institution i'm opposed to.So, here is what you may do: Be skeptical, i cannot stress this enough, be very skeptical and incredulous about what you see,hear and say, as it takes little time for what we see ,hear and repeat to become our beliefs and eventually our reality. So, screw a pinch take everything with a pint of salt!  Another thing... Ask questions, using your logic and rationale and dont stop until convinced or satiated  and then take action with volition with a condition that you may and can change your beliefs if you find a philosophy (or any other operating system) that suits your nature! 

2.) It's More Productive.... Duh! :

Of course, i wasn't going to put a schmaltzy reason as the title, so catering to your left-brain, i had to put in productivity. Let's get clear about the meaning first, being productive is completing your work/task in a quality fashion in the shortest period of time in a flow,without many interruptions or distractions.

If you're doing all that a normal ethical human does, i.e: being good. Then, your conscience will be much spotless as you are less likely to feel guilt,fear or other mentally debilitating feelings, hence allowing you to work at your optimum best. Talking about my case, whenever i do,say or even think ill of something/one i feel a feeling that is a weird cocktail of malaise, lethargy and irritation. that doesn't leave me until i get the issue sorted out. Until then, i cant seem to do merde (pardon my french) ! i keep on obsessing about the thing causing inordinate amounts of self-inflicted pain,tension and dormancy. Hence, i'm not a productive person, when i'm bad.

However, if i'm good. then i have no care in the world and so can carry on doin' my thizzle (work,for ya luddites) with all my gusto and in a continuous free flow. If i wish am at peace with all the things and people around me and wish them well in their lives. In such a case, practically no negative feeling/emotion can enter/hinder me from being productive. Harboring ill will and even the slightest of dislike can impair your productivity to a great extent and affects the quality of your work.


3.)  Affects your Street Cred:

Now, whether we like it or not, our reputation ( in your house,workplace,society) matters....a lot. This often determines the kind of human relations , future opportunities (work), support system and also your holistic development as a human. A person , who is generally perceived as bad/unpleasant is usually avoided and shunned in most social situations. Human Negativity is palpable and communicable, and very few people would like to transfer others' poison into their system. 

However, a person who is perceived as good by the society, is a social magnet and people are drawn to him due to the palpable positive vibes people intercept from him.People feel more obliged and willing to help  the good person in case of a problem.He might get an edge over others in case of opportunities and goodwill of the people.

Disclaimer:  I'm in no way implying that one should be good for social acceptance,these are however the repercussions of the goodness. Moreover,the benefits of being good for oneself far outweigh those for the society. One is able to impact and contribute as a good member of society.

4.) Law of Karma:

Now, Now..Don't get your knickers in a twist. I'm not alluding to a mystical spiritual philosophy when talking about karma. All i'm saying is that. human being is a creature of manifested beliefs. hence, whatever he believes to be true becomes true....for him! A terrorist can believe he is a good person and then do horrific inhumane things, because that was in his definition of goodness to hurt others for a higher purpose. But the immutable fact remains, that hurting (yourself/others) only brings with it bad karma, there's no two ways about it.

So, if you've committed an evil act, you are bound to be punished for it, the very same moment (not in hell,dawg!) and if you do something that is good, you're rewarded then and there.Karma is always at work, one way or another.So, all your passions,impulses and appetites must be kept under great control and supervision. Now that you know about it, might as well learn to use it in your favor. Goodness/ Virtue in your thoughts, visions and actions can help you and your cause immensely and propel you to heights of greatness in all your endeavors, if you're mindful of all your actions.

Peace.Awareness.Goodness.

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A new theology (part I): Stoic cosmology as a practicable religion

The Grand Universe - the manifestation of the Logos (in my view)

Before you, dear reader, start bombarding me with the accusation of harbouring the much despised tentacles of pseudo-science in the brief context of this article, please believe me when I say (honestly) that I am a staunch atheist. Even though I have been raised in an environment that breeds vocal, militant theists (and I have had been one, myself), I gradually learned to question the very foundation of my own, ill-informed and narrow belief system. And my humble understanding of the scientific method, something that I treasure lovingly, aided and accelerated the process. And finally, the Hegelian clash between the thesis (predominantly theistic beliefs) and the antithesis (gradually concluded agnosticism) gave birth to the synthesis, a belief system that is more open, flexible and yet better informed than its predecessor.

Big words for a rookie, you might be thinking, and I do agree. In this vast expanse of time, space, energy and matter, can we, with our laughingly limited understanding of the mysteries of the heavens, ever hope to get it all? Maybe not, but that's exactly the point here. But before I hammer you with more egotistic gibberish, let us brush up our understanding of the Logos, a well-reasoned, coherent and (logically) sound conception of the divine. 

What is the Logos? 

This section is primarily for the non-Stoic readers, or those amongst you that are new to Hellenistic philosophy. So, what is the Logos? Defining the term, or even attempting to wrap up its meaning within the finite extent of a single sentence, is a very hard task. In fact, the Stoics themselves have different opinions, as to what the Logos is, or how it can be defined, etc. But for the purpose of our article, let us get the historical background of the concept. 

Logos is a concept, originally conceived by the famously eccentric (and some would add, rude) pre-Socratic thinker, Heraclitus. Although not a very avuncular person, Heraclitus nonetheless had been hailed as one of the founding fathers of proto-Stoicism by Erik Wiegardt, the founding father of Newstoa. His Flux theory has been the subject of many controversies and misinterpretations, thanks to his rather cryptic style of documenting his philosophy. And along similar lines, the meaning of Logos has been greatly debated upon. 

But one thing is clear, the Logos was originally meant to denote reason. In other explanations, it has been shown to refer to word, more in the theistic sense of the term (usually, utterance of God, word of God, etc). In fact, the names of academic disciplines that end with logy, such as Biology, Physiology, Psychology, Metereoloy and Ornithology, have been derived from Logos. In this sense, Logos may also refer to the complete understanding, or knowledge, of something. 

Later, the founding members of the early Stoa made common cause with Heraclitus, in their physics. Logos in Stoicism, the Stoic physics to be more precise, refers to a divine reason or will, that is the inherent characteristic of Nature itself. Everything in the universe is brought into being by this Logos, and the preservation of all things happens under the custody of this divine reason. Likewise, anything that denies the Logos, or walks not in accordance to it, faces extinction. Much like Darwin's survival of the fittest. The Stoics regard the Logos as a divine, dynamic fire, that pervades and permeates the whole cosmos. Being predominantly materialistic, the Stoic physics makes room (pun intended) for the Logos by proposing, that although the Logos is material itself (i.e it needs space to exist), it does occupy the same space with the passive component of the universe, matter (which it manipulates). This is so, because the Logos and matter are inextricable. A drop of wine, argues Chrysippus, can mix fully with a glass of water, and each drop of the watery content of the glass now retains the properties of the wine, no matter how minuscule that be. 

A modern twist: what modern physics says about it all 

Personally, I feel that Stoicism is a very flexible philosophy. As such, the Stoic Physics can easily be be modified, so that it suits the taste of the modern reader. So, let us attempt to do so.

Any reader with even a passing interest in popular science, will know something about the Big Bang theory (not the sitcom, Bazinga!). Discussing it in detail is beyond the scope of this post, but to give a short, approximate and oversimplified introduction, it states that the universe (including space and time) arose out of an enormous implosion of matter and energy, some 13.8 billion years ago. It is commonly accepted that there's no before the event, because time itself started at the moment of the Big Bang. The same goes for space - there wasn't any preexisting void into which the universe was born, although this is what most people seem to conclude from this theory. Instead, space itself came into being, when time was born. It's like inflating a balloon. It's total surface area (given by 4 x pi x r^2, if it's perfectly spherical) increases alongside its volume.

The 3-dimensional expansion in space is actually a consequence of the 4-dimensional inflation of the universe. And what exactly caused this Big Bang, is not yet understood. The laws of physics begin to work from T+10^(-43) s onwards, i.e 1/10.... (43 zeroes!) seconds after the Big Bang. Before that, we face what is known as the singularity, where even the golden laws of Quantum Physics and Einstein's General Theory of Relativity begin to break down (i.,e produce meaningless results).

Does the universe need a creator?

Einstein's famous, yet infamously misunderstood (and misinterpreted) equation, E=mc^2, denotes that matter and energy are equivalent. One can be transformed into the other. And from the law of conservation of energy, we know it well, that energy can't come out of nothing! Does that mean, there must be some sort of creator, who caused the Big Bang?

Not necessarily. Stephen Hawking's pioneering research, coupled with Alan Guth's Inflationary Big Bang Theory (a theory that attempts to apply the laws of Quantum Physics onto the microscopic universe, following the Big Bang), shows that energy can, indeed, come out of, well, nothing. This is because of something known as the negative energy.

When an electrically neutral neutron decays, it can give rise to equally, oppositely, charged electron and proton, as well as another uncharged antineutrino. Likewise, the mathematical framework of the Hawking Radiation from black holes, suggests that, due to extreme gravity beside the event horizon of supermassive black holes, space itself is curved and stretched, thereby yielding pairs of particles and antiparticles. These can immediately annihilate each other, if they come into direct contact.

So, there's a strong possibility, that the energy in the universe (which created the universe itself, btw, because all matter is but the condensed form of that energy) arose out of nothing.

You may ask, then, what could have caused, rather triggered, the Big Bang? People like St. Aquinas would argue that there must have been some sort of First Mover, or First Cause, and that is God. Once again, not necessarily. Pioneering advancements in modern physics have shown, that there are causeless events in the universe. For example, quantum decays are famously causeless, they just simply happen. Ancient philosophers, no matter how intelligent they were, lacked the scientific method. Therefore, their empirical observations were based on the experiences of the macroscopic world. And it is, generally, in the macroscopic world, that we see the relationship between the cause and the event, i.e the causation.

Even Lemaitre's solutions to Einstein's relativistic equations, showed that the universe must have been truly small, at the beginning. Hubble's observations concluded that, and today, it is accepted that the early universe had been microscopic. Naturally, Guth's premise holds true - it must obey the laws of Quantum Mechanics. So, couldn't the universe have been causeless as well? While pseudo-scientists (mainly fundamentalist types) would strangle us to death, if we don't accept their 'reasoning', I believe we can safely conclude, that there's a possibility of the Big Bang having been a causeless event (but there are, I agree, disagreements. For example, M Theory's Ekpyrotic Universe model, or Hawking's No-Boundary Proposal, are different).

So, where's the Logos? 

How about understanding the Logos as this energy, that creates and manipulated the universe? Yes, Stoic Physics argues that there's a different between active Logos and passive matter, and modern physics shows that matter and energy are equivalent, but it's true, definitely, that matter continues to be mostly passive, and energy manipulates it (and from here, we're delving into philosophy once again, because science doesn't deal with theology).

Mechanics 101 tells us, that forces influence, or attempt to influence, bodies. Energy produces these forces, because work done by the force is a measure of the energy spent by the system in doing it. So, can't we take a small leap of faith, and assume that this is, analogically, similar to the basic premise of the Stoic Physics?

Obviously, there's a subtler difference to tackle. Logos is considered conscious, while the energy, that drives the cosmos, isn't so. While the gravitational interaction (one of the 4 fundamental forces in the standard model of particle physics) is strong, - it binds together the earth and heavens, gives birth to the stars and destroys them al the same, keeps solar systems in balance can can disrupt them nonetheless - it would be rather awkward to pray to it, right?

But that's where, according to me, atheism meets theism!

Theistic doctrines are primarily meant to help people live a purposeful and meaningful life, understand the nature of the universe around them, and achieve mental peace and happiness, all the while ensuring that their happiness doesn't come at the cost of others' comfort or joy.

Agnosticism, on the other hand, is a natural consequence of man's rationality, a plantling born from the seed of scepticism. It is fuelled by intuitive reasoning, and is a far more logical belief system, compared to theism. Thanks to the atrocities committed in the name of religions, and an absolute lack of verifiable evidence regarding the supernatural, atheism grew out of it (my personal opinion).

Now, it is true, that most conventional religions are of absolutely no value, when it comes to peace of mind. Why should we accept page after page of ridiculous mythologies and erotic fables, just in order to find peace? Religion remains audaciously, and overly, vocal. Each religion, be it Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Hellenism or Jainism, remains adamant that their theology is The Truth. And in this chaotic tug-of-war, man can find entertainment, false promises and superstitions, but not the peace of mind. This is where philosophies enter the scene.

Halfway between theism and atheism 

Using the term in a very loose and overly simplified sense, let us, therefore, strive to find the Golden Mean between the two extremes, a blind belief in everything supernatural, and an immediate rejection the same.

Atheism is a negative philosophical stand, and should not, therefore, be expected to provide any purpose to our lives. It is useful, though, because it helps us apply rationalism and scepticism to rid ourselves of blind, baseless superstitions (that weaken the mind, and often develop in OCDs).

Here's where Pragmatism, in general, and Model-dependent realism, in specific, come into effect. Explaining the latter would take another article, but you can read one that I wrote some years ago on my main blog, if you like (HERE). Basically, model-dependent realism gives us the flexibility to develop (and improve) theories, within the internal frameworks of which, things can be considered apparently real, this reality being subjective to the internal logic of the model. For example, quarks were first proposed mathematically, and it was only later, that they were indirectly verified.

Likewise, let us consider the Stoic Cosmology/Theology in the light of this concept. The concept, that the Logos is the energy that is apparently conscious (i.e seems to be conscious to us, although the truth is beyond our current understanding) within the framework of our theology in question, is backed by some pieces of indirect evidence. The emergence of intelligent organisms from the Logos seems to indicate a certain order that is the inherent property of the Logos, or energy. All laws of physics are indirect pieces of evidence supporting it. That there is order in the universe, is beyond question (unless you get really Cartesian). So, the only leap of faith we need to take, as part of our model, is to believe, that the order in the universe translates into a meaningful, purposeful scheme of gradual evolution of the universe itself.

May we learn to live in according, with the Logos

There's a theory, no matter how wacky it may sound, that the whole universe might be some sort of cosmic computer, that it constantly computing it's own gradual evolution. And we're but components, constituting the system. The Stoic position, that the universe is (like) a conscious organism, a sort of Superbeing, seems to resonate with this! And a similar concept arises from the Upanishads of ancient India, as well!

In accordance, with Nature 

The pantheistic cosmology of the Stoics is a very logical belief system, in my humble opinion. In fact, many ancient cultures independently developed similar models of the universe. I discussed a few of them in another article of mine, Concept of the cosmic order in ancient religions. Indeed, ranging from Rta in Hinduism to Orlog in the Norse pantheon, from Providentia of the Romans to Ma'at of the Egyptians, we see that this idea often evolves as a natural consequence of intuitive reasoning.

Therefore, I believe you won't accuse me of blasphemy or idiocy, when I admit that I worship the Logos. Stoicism has now become more than a way of life for me, it's my religion, a theology that I chose to follow. And in my humble opinion, the Will of the divine Logos is that, it may one day develop into a religion - providing purpose, meaningfulness and peace of mind, but free from all sorts of blind superstitions, shameless opportunism (by the authorities of religions) and In Agreement with the laws of science. And I don't claim that it is TRUE, I instead believe that such a system of informed beliefs and logical assumptions, may prove to be USEFUL for many of us, that are searching for answers...

NOTE: Obviously, I am not done yet. I'll write a follow-up post explaining my view in further detail. 

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