Few philosophers in history have analysed the advantages, disadvantages, and consequences of solitude. Seneca is one of those few. I regard his observations and advice in this area as particularly worthy. Seneca wrote the essay “On the Tranquillity of the Soul” precisely to explain how to achieve peace of mind. Solitude is one of his prescriptions, but we must first grasp how to benefit from it. We must first learn to employ solitude to increase our self-reliance and self-confidence. Modern readers may find the format of “On the Tranquillity of the Soul” somewhat annoying. It’s a philosophical essay, but Seneca wrote some parts of it in quasi-dialogue format. Those resemble a conversation he had held with his friend Serenus. Why did Seneca employ partly a quasi-dialogue format? Because it was fashionable at that time and easier to write. I regard Seneca’s choice as generally sound. On the one hand, Seneca was imitating the dialogue format employed by Plato (427-347 BC). Although his style is more concrete and less poetic than Plato’s, Seneca cannot escape the artificiality that ensues from imaginary conversations. I find, however, that the fact that Seneca chose to name his conversation partner “Serenus” renders their exchanges on the subject of serenity somewhat artificial. On the other hand, the dialogue format enabled Seneca to put his ideas in writing fairly quickly. He didn’t need to devise a careful, structured progression of consistent arguments. Seneca addressed one point after another, rather disorderly and repetitively, like in real-life conversations. The result is not philosophical clockwork, but covers the subject well enough. In the essay, Serenus complains about anxiety and worry like people nowadays often complain. He describes himself as disoriented and unable to make decisions. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/why-seneca-praised-solitude/