Prosochê as Stoic mindfulness

Abstract

This chapter notes that the West has produced a number of techniques that can reasonably be classified as contemplative; e.g., Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits) developed a set of spiritual exercises based on Epictetus’s Enchiridion, a fundamental text in ancient Stoicism. Modern Stoics and cognitive behavioral therapists (with roots in early Stoicism) have built on early Stoic techniques to develop many meditative practices based on a range of evidence-based techniques. This chapter examines Stoic meditative techniques, their purpose, and how they fit in the broader scheme of Stoicism. One, described by Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius, is “prosochê” (attention), which, interestingly, involves mindfulness, but not exactly as “mindfulness” is understood in popular usage. This chapter identifies ways in which prosochê differs critically from the increasingly popular practice of mindfulness. The analysis supports the claim that certain Western types of meditation count as forms of philosophical doings, thereby satisfying one criterion many analytic philosophers use to differentiate philosophy proper from merely having a philosophy – engaging in philosophical doing: argument, analysis, etc. If so, Stoic meditation is a form of philosophy. However, to the extent Stoic meditations are cogitational, advocates of Asian forms of meditation might not consider them “meditation”.