The Daily Stoic - What Is Sympatheia? (And Why It’s So Damn Important)

Episode Date: November 26, 2018

In Book Six of Meditations, Marcus gives himself (and us) a command to keep an important idea in mind. “Meditate often,” he writes, “on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the universe.” He is speaking of the Stoic concept of Sympatheia, the idea that “all things are mutually woven together and therefore have an affinity for each other.Why should we think about this? What will it do?Well according to Marcus, understanding how we are all connected and dependent on each other will prompt us to be good and do good for each other. He almost sounds like a broken record considering how much he repeats it:“Revere the gods and look after each other.” (6.30)“The universe made rational creatures for the sake of each other, with an eye toward mutual benefit based on true value and never for harm.” (9.1)“Human beings have been made for the sake of one another. Teach them or endure them.” (8.59)“You've been made by nature for the purpose of working with others.” (8.12)This idea of Sympatheia is such an important one because it is so easy to forget. It’s just simpler to think about and care about the people immediately around you. It’s tempting to get consumed by your own problems. It’s natural to assume you have more in common and the same interests as the people who look like you or live like you do. But that is an insidious lie—one responsible for monstrous inhumanity and needless pain.When other people suffer, we suffer. When the world suffers, we suffer. (What’s bad for the hive is bad for the bee, Marcus said). To the Stoics, we are all part of the same larger organism. We are all unified and share the same substance. We breathe the same air. We share the same hopes and dreams. We are all descended from the same long chain of evolution—and this is true no matter what race you are, no matter where you come from, or what you believe.At Daily Stoic, we think this idea is so important that we spent the last several months developing a way to turn it into a physical reminder. Which is why today we are announcing our newest creation: the Sympatheia Medallion.The front shows the famous 1972 “Blue Marble” earth, which instantly changed man’s perspective on himself See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoke podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com. What is sympathy and why it's so damn important. In book 6 of meditations, Marcus gives himself and us a command to keep an important idea in mind. Meditate often, he writes, on the inter-connectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the universe. He is speaking of the stoic concept of sympathy, the idea that all things are mutually woven together and therefore have an affinity for each other. Why should we think about this? What will it do?

Well, to mark us understanding how we are all connected and dependent on each other will prompt us to be good and do good for each other. He almost sounds like a broken record at times with how much he repeats it. Revere the gods and look after each other. He says, the universe made rational creatures for the sake of each other with an eye towards mutual benefit based on true value and never for harm. Human beings have been made for the sake of one another, teach them or endure them.

You've been made by nature for the purpose of working for others. The idea of sympathy is such an important one because it's so easy to forget. It's just simpler to think about and care more about the people immediately around you. It's easier to think about yourself. It's natural to assume you have more in common in the same interests as the people who look

like you or live like you do. But this is an insidious lie. When other people suffer, we suffer. When the world suffers, we suffer. What's bad for the hive is bad for the bee, Markus said. To the stoics, we are all part of the same larger organism. We are all unified and share the same substance. We breed the same air, we share the same hopes and dreams. We are all descended from the same long chain of evolution. And this is true, no matter what race you are, no matter where you come from, or what you believe.

At Daily Stoic, we think this idea is so important that we spent the last several months developing a way to turn it into a physical reminder, which is why today we are announcing our latest Daily Stoic creation, the Sympathaya Medallion. The front shows the famous 1972 Blue Marble Earth, which instantly changed man's perspective on himself. The image is a prompt to zoom out of your own bubble and to see the world as a whole, to understand the interdependence of everyone on it. The back features Marcus' timeless wisdom, revered the gods and look after each other. Life is short. The fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good. We created this coin so that you can carry a reminder with you every day that you are

not alone, that you are part of something bigger than yourself, that there is a greater good to which we all owe a duty above and beyond our own selfish concerns. The medallion is a prompt in your pocket to ask yourself, who am I? What am I doing? What is my role in the world? Are my problems really that big of a deal? Or are they pretty small in the bigger picture? Once this has been internalized, it changes how you behave for the better. Please check out the Daily Stoke Store where we sell products that we ourselves use that are designed to take these Stoke lessons to the next level. Just go to DailyStoke.com slash store.

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