What Would the Stoic Do?

In our Internet Age, it is easy to ask any and every question right then and there, and to receive dozens of responses right then and there.

Like the kindly but curmudgeonly old fellow who insists he walked to school uphill both ways, barefoot, and in the snow, I am often tempted to remind younger folks that we used to have to go out of our way for answers, and that we actually had to figure things out for ourselves.

But that is not the solution. Neither old folks nor young folks are any better. The internet is a medium, and it is not the source of the problem. The medium will only be as good as the message.

And the message for me has been, over and over again, that I should never seek the quick fix, or the cookie cutter explanation. Let me use whatever means are available to me, but let me also learn to think for myself, choose for myself, and act for myself.

Instead of facing all of the circumstances one by one, I can reflect upon a principle to guide me. When confronted with a particular, I will then have a universal to show the way. Life isn't about color-by-numbers. It is about creating your own masterpiece.

That is what makes wisdom different from merely having information. The former has meaning, while the latter is just a laundry list.

Most of the social media buzz on Stoicism involves clever memes, the selling of products, or the grind of lazy questions such as these:

"What would a Stoic do in situation x?"

"Is it okay for a Stoic to get involved in y?"

"If a Stoic is stranded on a desert island, can he choose z?"

I have gathered the following from social media over the last few years. I'm not putting the questions down at all, but I am rather wondering if we're all starting at the wrong end:

"Can a Stoic still be a Republican?"

"Should a Stoic change his own oil, or take the car to a mechanic?"

"Is it okay for Stoics to marry, or to have children?"

"My mother puts me down, and I wonder if Stoicism says I should forgive her?"

"Am I still being a Stoic if I do yoga?"

"I was raised a Christian, but I also want to practice Stoicism. Is that acceptable?"

"How much money should I have if I want to be a Stoic?"

"Can I enjoy sex if I'm trying to be a Stoic?"

"Does Stoicism allow having hobbies?"

"Do I need to build my own house if I am a Stoic? Can I eat processed food?"

"Is it true that a Stoic has to be a vegan?"

"Should Stoic parents immunize their children?"

and so on. . . 

I'm still waiting for this one:

"If a Stoic farts in the woods, and no one is there to hear or smell him, is he still a Stoic?"

By all means, let us ask the questions, but let us also look to the rule first, before worrying about the application.

My response to each and every one of such questions is always the same, time after time:

Whatever may happen, and whatever you may do, is it helping you to live with wisdom and virtue? If the answer is yes, then follow through. If the answer is no, then stop right there. Everything else is secondary, or indifferent. Your preferences should be subject to your character.

"But what is wisdom, and what is virtue?"

Thank you! Now you're asking the sort of questions that need to be asked! You have started thinking, instead of only mimicking. Proceed!