M. Pigliucci: Stoicism… ‘compass of ethics’ for business

The philosophy of Stoicism, which seems to be gaining more and more business interest, can offer a different, beneficial look to entrepreneurs and ultimately work positively for modern entrepreneurship, says New York University professor and author of 15 books on Stoicism, Massimo Pigliucci, in an interview with Forbes China journalist Julie Lu, at the latter’s event in Shanghai on “Ancient Wisdom, Modern Compass”.

According to the professor, Stoicism has its roots in the 3-4th century BC. century, at a time when the Mediterranean world was in a state of great turmoil, as the death of Alexander the Great marked the end of the Hellenistic period and the beginning of the Roman Empire.

It was a period of great change at the social level, according to Professor Pigliucci, where the people had absolutely no control over the upheavals that took place. The feeling of inability to control, as the professor explains, causes stress in the person and when he feels pressured and that he loses control, he needs a point of reference. Such a frame of reference was provided by the philosophy of Stoicism.

In the view of the professor at New York University, the recent interest in the philosophy of Stoicism is due to the fact that today we are experiencing a similar state of turmoil and significant change, as then. He points out that already in the last century we experienced two World Wars that led to significant changes, while even today we face enormous challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, political unrest in various parts of the world.

So, according to Professor Pigliucci, people today feel, to a degree, as they did then, when they turn again to either religions or philosophy in order to regain to some degree control over the events and changes they face.

After all, as the professor notes, Stoicism is a philosophy of life, which means that it finds scope not only in business or in certain aspects of life, but in everything, as is the case with religion. As he characteristically states, one is not a part time Christian or a Buddhist, so one cannot occasionally follow the philosophy of Stoicism.

Professor Pigliucci even believes that Stoicism can change business for the better. And this for two reasons. The first is also related to the general idea advocated by Stoicism, which is summarized in the demonstration of solidarity. “The general idea of ​​Stoicism is to help others, to do the right thing regardless of circumstances, and more specifically to contribute to society, to the great family of humanity, to treat others as if they were our brothers,” he said.

As far as business is concerned, according to the professor, this means that entrepreneurship should not have a negative impact. As he explains, in Stoicism, of course, both competition and profitability are acceptable to shareholders, but this must be done in a way that is not harmful to society. Therefore, when entrepreneurship undermines society and has a negative impact on the planet is not acceptable.

As he emphasizes, Stoicism is in a way a “moral compass” for entrepreneurship, which prevents certain practices and encourages the adoption of others, because for the Stoics there is nothing wrong with business as long as the entrepreneur maintains the integrity of his character. “Therefore, this integrity should not be compromised, as long as it can be avoided,” notes Professor Pigliucci.

This general context advocated by Stoicism is the first reason that this philosophy can change entrepreneurship for the better. On a practical level, now, according to Professor Pigliucci, there are several ideas of Stoicism that can be applied not only in business but in all activities of life, but especially in entrepreneurship. One of them is the attitude and acceptance of the Stoics that some things depend on us while others do not.

Which means that there are specific decisions we make that have an impact and specific areas of life where we can make a difference, where we really have control over situations, but also other areas where they are not under our control.

For the Stoics, as the professor explains, a wise man focuses on the first category, that is, on things where he can make a difference, while on things he cannot control he tries to develop an attitude of “peaceful acceptance”.

This means that it is normal for a businessman to worry about the profitability of his company, but profits, as far as the Stoics are concerned, are something that is not under his control. As the professor notes, the businessman’s decisions admittedly affect the course of his company, but in the end how good this course will be depends on external factors, such as the level of competition, the development of the world economy, a pandemic, in other words things he can not control.

Therefore, as he emphasizes, he must develop this ability of “peaceful acceptance”, which means that of course he does the best he can, but in the end he must accept the development of things because he has no other choice.

At the same time, however, he must focus on the factors that can influence him, the decisions he can make and make a difference.

Therefore, by adopting Stoicism, says Professor Pigliucci, “you prepare for the worst, you accept the inevitable, but at the same time you focus on what you control, which is the best for the company in the long run, because you focus on what you are most effective at. for your psychology, because you maintain a sense of control as much as possible ”.