16: Self-Examination

     In the sixteenth letter to Lucilius, Seneca touches upon some of his favorite subjects, including philosophy. Seneca tells Lucilius that he has made progress in wisdom, but advises his friend: "Shake yourself out; check yourself over; look at yourself in different ways. Above all, consider whether the progress you have made has been in philosophy, or in life itself."
     Seneca gives a more complete example of self-examination in his treatise On Anger. As noted in my post of 11/9/17, Seneca argues in this work that anger is an extremely destructive emotion for individual humans in particular and the human race in general. As a way to make sure that anger is eliminated, Seneca has the following guidance for his brother Annaeus Novatus:
          "Your anger will cease and become more controllable if it knows that every day it must come before a judge. Is there anything finer, then, than this habit of scrutinizing the entire day? What sort of sleep follows this self-examination -- how peaceful, how deep and free, when the mind has been either praised or admonished, when the sentinel and secret censor of the self has conducted its inquiry into one's character! I exercise this jurisdiction daily and plead my case before myself. When the light has been removed and my wife has fallen silent, aware of this habit now that's now mine, I examine my entire day and go back over what I've done and said, hiding nothing from myself, passing nothing by. For why should I fear any consequence from my mistakes, when I'm able to say, 'See that you don't do it again, but now I forgive you. In that discussion you spoke too aggressively: from now on don't get involved with people who don't know what they're talking about. People who have never learned don't want to learn. You admonished that fellow more candidly than you should, and as a result you didn't correct him, you offended him; in the future consider not just whether what you say is true but whether the person you're talking to can take the truth. A good man delights in being admonished, but all the worst people have the hardest time putting up with correction.'" 
     Seneca goes on to recount other humorous instances where he let anger get the best of him: the bruising remarks of others at a banquet; a rich man's door keeper mistreating his friend; being seated in a place of less distinction than another; and giving someone who spoke ill of his talent a dirty look.
     However, in keeping with Seneca's legal metaphor, I think it makes sense to have a statute of limitations where self-examination is concerned. That is, one should not keep judging and re-judging the same actions and words. I'm not sure what the precise cutoff point should be -- a day, a week, a month? -- but there must be one. In my own case, I have to admit that I probably spend too much time ruminating about past decisions, whether of the previous day or of the previous decade. In keeping with the founding principle of this blog, I need to moderate my tendency to cover the same mental ground over and over again.
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References: 
     Seneca, Letters on Ethics to Lucilius, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by Margaret Graver and A.A. Long (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2015), Letter 16, 1-2, page 62.
    Seneca, On Anger, translated by Robert A. Kaster in Anger, Mercy, Revenge (University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 2010); Book 36, 1-5, pages 91-92.