The Metaphor of the Stoic Archer: We Must Do All That We Can; And That Is All We Can Do - Deepstash
The Metaphor of the Stoic Archer: We Must Do All That We Can; And That Is All We Can Do

The Metaphor of the Stoic Archer: We Must Do All That We Can; And That Is All We Can Do

Curated from: psychologytoday.com

Ideas, facts & insights covering these topics:

7 ideas

·

752 reads

11

Explore the World's Best Ideas

Join today and uncover 100+ curated journeys from 50+ topics. Unlock access to our mobile app with extensive features.

On The Ends Of Good And Evil

The metaphor of the archer features in Cicero’s De Finibus Bonorum Et Malorum (On the Ends of Good and Evil), a Socratic dialogue dedicated to Brutus, murderer of Caesar, in which Cicero, through a number of mouthpieces, expounds and critiques the central tenets of the three main philosophies of his day: Stoicism, Epicureanism, and a version of Platonism.

Cicero puts the metaphor of the Stoic archer in the mouth of his contemporary and ally, the Stoic statesman Cato the Younger (although it is, in fact, older than both of these men).

16

173 reads

The Metaphor Of The Archer

Take the case of one whose task it is to shoot a spear or arrow straight at some target. One’s ultimate aim is to do all in one’s power to shoot straight, and the same applies with our ultimate goal. In this kind of example, it is to shoot straight that one must do all one can; none the less, it is to do all one can to accomplish the task that is really the ultimate aim. It is just the same with what we call the supreme good in life. To actually hit the target is, as we say, to be selected but not sought. (On the Ends of Good and Evil, III, 22)

17

119 reads

The Arrow, The Archer And The “Externals”

The metaphor of the archer encapsulates the essence of Stoic action. The archer does everything he can to shoot accurately: his bow is well strung, his arrows are carefully calibrated, and he has taken full account of the prevailing wind and other variables.

Even so, the arrow may not hit the bullseye, or even the target. As soon as it leaves him, the arrow, and with it the success of his action, is no longer within the control of the archer, but subject to outside forces such as a sudden change in wind speed or direction.

17

89 reads

Correctness And Success Or, Intention And Outcome

Similarly, having decided upon the optimal course of action, the good Stoic carries it out to the best of his/ her ability. But whether the enterprise is ultimately successful is subject to unpredictable and uncontrollable external factors (or “externals,” as the Stoics called them). Thus, the good Stoic bases her self-worth and happiness not on the success of her actions, but on their correctness.

18

97 reads

SENECA

The wise person considers intention, rather than outcome, in every situation. The beginnings are in our power; the results are judged by fortune, to which I grant no jurisdiction over myself… Death at the hands of a robber is not a condemnation.

SENECA

20

94 reads

Outcome Does Not Reflect Intention

Chance, says Seneca, has a great deal of power in our lives, “necessarily so, since it is by chance that we are alive.” When it comes to things over which we do not have complete control, we should play our part, we should do our best, like the Stoic archer, but we should not fret over the outcome—which, if we have done our best, is no reflection on us.

20

90 reads

We Should Seek To Control What’s Within Our Control

Thus, we should seek to be loveable, not to be loved, because the one is within our control whereas the other is not. Or, we should seek to write well, not to become a bestselling author, because the one is within our control whereas the other is not.

So long as we focus on the things that are within our control, we will be calm and happy. But if we start concerning ourselves with things that are outside our control, we will become anxious and angry and miserable, and all on false grounds.

19

90 reads

IDEAS CURATED BY

xarikleia

“An idea is something that won’t work unless you do.” - Thomas A. Edison

CURATOR'S NOTE

An archer can shoot as accurately as possible and still miss his or her target. But this is no reflection on the archer. This is not quite saying that we must do our best, but that our best is the most that we can do—and is therefore all we need concern ourselves with.

Xarikleia 's ideas are part of this journey:

Ask for a Raise

Learn more about philosophy with this collection

How to close the deal

How to handle objections

How to present your value to your employer

Related collections

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Personalized microlearning

100+ Learning Journeys

Access to 200,000+ ideas

Access to the mobile app

Unlimited idea saving

Unlimited history

Unlimited listening to ideas

Downloading & offline access

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates