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We were not built for isolation.
We are made for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. To act against one another then is contrary to nature.
There's a strain of modern Stoicism (particularly the sort peddled by masculinity influencers) that treats self-sufficiency as the goal of Stoicism. The lone wolf. The unshakeable man. Beholden to no one.
Marcus would have found this baffling.
The whole of Stoic ethics is built on our social nature. Oikeiôsis (our natural affinity toward others), the Circles of Concern, role ethics. None of it works if we're sitting alone in a room congratulating ourselves on how little we need other people.
We are prosocial creatures. Caring well for others (with attention, patience, and good character) is part of the practice.
The weekend is here. Most of us will spend it around the people who matter to us. And guess what? What’s not “time-off” from philosophy, not hardly. It’s philosophy in action; it shows we know what we’re doing! We know it’s appropriate to enjoy one another’s company.
Suggestion for the weekend: try being fully present with someone. Not solving, not advising, not scrolling. Just there. It's harder than it sounds, and it's worth more than we think.
Stay hungry. Stay wise. Eat brekkie.
