This Thing that I Am

Meditations Notebook 2, Metaphysics, and the Parts of the Whole

Last week, we read a single paragraph of the Meditations. This week, we’re going to read a bit more, but not by much. We’ll read three paragraphs — how ambitious!

We previously discussed the importance of understanding our human nature — wrongdoers, according to Marcus, are ignorant of who they are and of the nature of good and evil. In this week’s text, Marcus continues this line of thought.

This thing that I am, whatever we are to call it, is flesh, spirit, and the command center…As one on the point of death, despise the flesh: it’s just blood, bones, and a network of nerves, veins, and arteries. Then consider what spirit is: no more than air, and never constant, continually belching and gulped back in again. So that leaves the third ingredient, the command center. Look at it this way: you’re elderly; put an and to allowing its enslavement; put an end to being tugged here and there like a puppet at the prompting of selfish impulses; put an end to both complaining about your present fate and shrinking from the future.

As always, I am quoting from the Waterfield translation.¹

Here, we see a continuation of a theme — Marcus is drawing ethical and practical conclusions from metaphysical considerations. He draws a plan of action, which we will discuss below, from what he considers to be the metaphysics of the human person.

Marcus and the Stoics believed that human beings were made of three parts: body, spirit (or soul), and mind. (In this paragraph, Marcus calls the mind the command center.) The body is our material body, the spirit is the animating force in that body (which was nevertheless physical), and the mind was something like the rational faculty. Most of us would not accept this metaphysics of the human person — if we believe in souls, we tend not to believe in spirit, and many do not believe in souls at all. But I ask that we bracket that point. We’re hear to understand and interpret Marcus; critique can come later.

Importantly, the mind is not always in control of human action. Sometimes, we follow the body instead. For a Stoic, this is grievous error. And this idea is not unique to Stoicism.

Christian ascetics, for instance, speak of the passions controlling us — this is why simple living and fasting are encouraged, as they build strength against resisting the passions. Fasting is not an end in itself, but a means to a greater end: self-control, personal piety, closeness to God.

Others in the ancient world would have made similar points as Marcus, though few seemed as determined to live in accordance with this observation. Aristotle, for instance, speaks of habituation taming the passions, such that the virtuous man’s passions are aligned with correct action. Yet we do not have personal accounts of Aristotle’s daily practices (alas).

Thus, when Marcus speaks of enslavement, of being a puppet, and so on, he is speaking of the mind losing control and being dominated by body and spirit. This is an unbalanced position, according to Marcus. And it is helpful to think of a parallel between the person and universe. Which brings us to our next paragraph (which I will not quote in full here — I worry I’ll end up reproducing the entire book!)

Marcus sees the universe as one which is ordered, and I would even say that he sees a logic to the world — which is made clearer when we realize that Marcus’ conception of God is like the Greek Logos. Parts play a role in the operation of the whole, and ‘what is good for every part of nature is what is supplied by the nature of the whole and preserves the whole.’

But just after making this point about the universe, Marcus admonishes himself — he tells himself to stop despairing that he does not have access to his books. Again, a metaphysical point immediately leads to a practical one.

Understanding our role in the universe can guide our actions and can help us to see our true goals more clearly; understand the parts of ourselves can guide our actions and can help us see how we can achieve these goals. If the Stoic is to be a man of contentment, contemplation, and so on, then he must discipline his body to make room for his mind. Physical achievement is not the goal; it is a means to an end.

Let’s broaden the discussion for a moment. Let’s ask ourselves why we want to read the Meditations and other works of philosophy, and let’s try to answer it like a Stoic.

We read these works of philosophy because they either teach us something that we did not know or they train our minds. We might call this reading for acquisition and reading for discipline. Marcus read the Greek Stoics to learn about the nature of the world, which he thought was critical for understanding how he ought to live.

Marcus reads the Stoics as a true believer — he believes that what they are saying is true, and so he seeks to acquire knowledge from them. We might not read works of philosophy like that. For instance, if we are not true believers in Stoicism, we might read Marcus with a bit of a critical eye. And yet by grappling with his arguments, or even by pushing ourselves to fully understand his position, we discipline our minds. We become better thinkers.

And yet, if we do not think of the proper relation between mind and body, all of that mental discipline is for nothing. According to Marcus (and the Stoics, and many others), the body can get in the way of the mind. Thus, I must consider the role of the body, its part in the broader whole, when I consider this thing that I am.

A quick question

I consider myself a writer first and foremost — YouTube and podcasting came much later. I’d like to occasionally pen essays for this newsletter that aren’t always strictly about a specific text. Would you be OK with me sending those using this email list? I would likely send one or two posts per month. Anymore than that would be excessive.

1. As always, that is an affiliate link to Amazon, meaning I receive a small commission if you use it to make a purchase.