Food for Thought – The Proper Use of Stoicism

Paul-Henri Moinet
A graduate of École Normale Supérieure, columnist for Le Nouvel Économiste, editorial director at Sinocle, an independent media outlet on China, Paul-Henri Moinet has also taught at Sciences Po Paris and held strategic planning leadership roles in major advertising agencies such as Publicis Groupe and Havas Media Group.
An idea, a book, a concept—a “matter for reflection” that we share to spark thinking, explore new subjects, and encourage seeing things from a fresh perspective.

We have all heard about Stoicism. It is one of the most exploited—and often misused—ancient resources in management, coaching, and personal development. Master Stoic principles and you will become an outstanding leader, a charismatic entrepreneur, an admirable person, a role model for employees and perhaps even the world, while enjoying an inspiring and happy life!
Countless videos parade gladiator torsos and ancient statues to illustrate the power and depth of ancient wisdom. They claim that self-mastery, courage of soul, temperance, perseverance, serenity in adversity, integrity, simplicity, focus on the essential, selective indifference distinguishing what depends on us from what does not, gratitude, and benevolence will make you a model of excellence. What else, Doctor?
None of this is false, yet it is often blended into a contemporary conceptual soup aimed at making us simultaneously happier and more productive—happier because more productive, within the great neoliberal machinery.
However, Stoicism offers at least three particularly valuable ideas to tackle some of our era’s ailments: cognitive overload, intellectual distraction, and human unavailability. These are: the inner citadel, the art of temporalisation, and katalepsis.

The Inner Citadel
The inner citadel is not a spiritual fortress to retreat into in order to escape the world’s adversities, nor a secret base to reclaim, repair, or redeem the world. It is an invisible realm where each individual reigns as sovereign, fully present to themselves, their actions, others, and the world.
The inner citadel is the commitment to construct oneself so as not to be unworthy of shared humanity. Not “Be yourself” in the consumerist sense, but rather “Try more than yourself”, “Be beyond yourself”, or at the very least “Don’t be beneath yourself”.
The Greek term hegemonikon is often misunderstood today as implying dominance over others. Stoically, it refers to self-mastery through one’s relationship with time. To possess oneself, to establish oneself as a subject and be present, one must have pacified their relation to time.
“Everything is alien to us, only time belongs to us. This fleeting good is the only one of which nature makes us master,” wrote Seneca to Lucilius. Time is thus the supreme good, the lens through which other goods are accessed. Building the self depends on how we handle time.

The Art of Temporalisation
The second valuable Stoic idea is the art of temporalisation. How do you relate to time: endure it, choose it, master it, schedule it, evade it? Is it friend, foe, or indifferent passerby? Baudelaire called it “this greedy player who always wins fairly”. Ignore it, and it catches you; schedule it, and it overwhelms you; try to possess it, and it escapes.
Temporalisation is cultivating a balanced, pacified relationship with time. Distinguish the instant from the present: the instant is the spatio-temporal mark, devouring itself endlessly, over which we have no control. This leads to powerlessness, often breeding morbid melancholy or vengeful resentment.
The present, by contrast, is a crack in the wall of time, allowing the self to emerge, asserting initiative, authority, and the power to begin. Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Remember, it is neither the future nor the past that is your burden, but only the present.” By shaping the present—dilatatio rather than dilatio—we exercise our freedom: think, decide, act, create, love.

Katalepsis
The third Stoic idea is katalepsis, an image of knowledge as the hand gradually enclosing an object until it is firmly grasped. Philosopher Pierre Caye comments: “The closed hand symbolises the mind’s grip on representation and its object, like taming a wild animal.” When the second hand encloses the first, we see the image of science. Modern usage, however, has largely lost this original meaning, reducing katalepsis to a mere physiological rigidity.

Only time belongs to us. The rest is up to you.

References
Pierre Caye, Seul le temps nous appartient
Pierre Vesperini, Droiture et mélancolie. Sur les écrits de Marc-Aurèle
Pierre Hadot, La Citadelle intérieure
Sénèque, Letters to Lucilius
Michel Foucault, Le souci de soi & Le courage de la vérité
Maël Goarzin, Vivre en stoïcien
André Comte-Sponville, Petit traité des grandes vertus
Ilaria Gaspari, Petit manuel philosophique à l’usage des grands émotifs
Marcel Conche, Temps et destin
Lucien Jerphagnon, L’absolue simplicité
A summary note by Paul-Henri Moinet