#philosophy becomes more convincing when it’s subjected to the test of extreme adversity. In order to gain wide acceptance, theoretical discussions need to be validated by experience, preferably on multiple occasions. #seneca came up with a compelling recipe for achieving #peaceofmind in times of turmoil; he told his readers to accept the inevitable, and deploy steady efforts to ameliorate the factors that can be influenced. The problem, of course, lies in the difficulty of correctly categorizing problems as solvable or unassailable. Seneca, like many people nowadays, erred on the side of defeatism. He was too willing to rate problems as unassailable, and too weak in his efforts to find workable solutions. Seneca’s philosophical framework leads to praising people who, due to irresistible threats, must go into exile and build a new life from scratch. The praise is well deserved, especially if we consider the severe inconveniences of exile in antiquity. The remarkable adaptability of #anaxagoras (500-428 BC) and of Seneca himself, during his long exile in Corsica, earned my admiration. However, their misadventures may not impress many people in our century, where emigration has become the common lot of vast numbers of people. In his 68th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca defines peace of mind as an achievement independent of external circumstances. The philosophical individual, says Seneca, carries #tranquillity in his own soul. He does not need to draw it from the tangible world. Let us see now how Seneca’s philosophy fares when faced with appalling circumstances. The life of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) presents the ideal testing ground. On the one hand, Pico was well acquainted with Seneca’s works and with ancient #stoicism in general. On the other hand, Pico endured extreme adversity in his life. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/seneca-tranquillity-in-extreme-situations/