Be a Better Man: Socrates, Seneca, and Samwise Gamgee.
The Avalanche of Advice
It’s impossible to open up Instagram, TikTok, or X (formerly Twitter) without getting fire-hosed with dozens of different opinions about who you should be and how you should live. “It’s okay for men to be weak!” “Women belong to the Man.” “What is a woman?” “Why do you care, Man?” Everyone has often seen these “Influencers” and commenters and thought, “Who the hell is this guy? How did he get onto my feed?” It’s also difficult to distinguish who to listen to when popular, and not necessarily authoritative, voices appear in our feeds.
Even after you filter through the nonsense, the substantive information you’re left with can be overwhelming. The morning routines, the studies, the stats…they’re impossible to implement as quickly as we discover them. “Keep your house in order. Do these seven things to reshape your life. Treat women in these five vague ways, and you’ll never be alone.” If we try to do every helpful thing we see, we’ll end up doing none of them, finding ourselves no better off than if we had never opened these apps up in the first place.
The Fundamentals
A Greek, a Stoic, and a Hobbit walk into a bar. What do these three have to do with each other? Not much, but when tackling such a broad question as “What should a man be?” It’s helpful to find a wide range of answers. However, they have a bit in common: they are all revered as intelligent, relatable, and admirable people. So, when looking for some simple, fundamental answers to how we should act and who we should be, these three seem to be as good a start as any.
Comparing the viewpoints of Socrates, Seneca, and Samwise, Gamgee offers us a basic understanding of human virtues and responsibilities from distinct perspectives and eras: Greek, stoic, and literary. With his focus on ethical living and self-awareness, Socrates represents classical Greek philosophy’s pursuit of moral truth. Seneca, a leading Stoic, provides insights into the virtues of resilience and rationality, reflecting a pragmatic approach to life’s challenges. Although a fictional character, Samwise Gamgee embodies qualities like loyalty, bravery, and simplicity, offering a relatable and inspirational model of steadfastness and good nature in the face of adversity. Simplicity is the common thread here.
So what should a man be?
Socrates: A man should be self-reflective, pursuing knowledge and virtue.
Socrates believed that the foremost responsibility of a man was to be virtuous and to live a life of moral and ethical excellence. The philosopher famously asserted that “Virtue is knowledge.” This statement underlines his belief that knowledge leads to correct action. Therefore, Socrates posits that pursuing knowledge was not just an intellectual exercise but a moral duty. Socrates is often credited for the quote: “Know Thyself.” He argued that self-awareness was crucial for understanding one’s beliefs and motivations, leading to a virtuous life. He encouraged critical self-examination, arguing that an unexamined life is not worth living. According to Socrates, these responsibilities are interlinked: Knowledge and self-awareness will inherently lead to a virtuous life.
In “The Trial and Death of Socrates,” (2000) Plato describes the final scene in Socrates’ life, as his friends are with him in his cell, urging him to escape his death penalty and flee Athens. They try and try, and they fail. Socrates was convinced that facing death was the right thing to do. This “right thing” would bring about the worst possible outcome for him. If there was ever a temptation to do the wrong thing, it was at this point. But Socrates stood fast, willingly drinking his hemlock poison.
Socrates stayed true to his philosophy and practiced what he preached: The importance of self-reflection and virtue.
Thankfully, there are more appealing ways to emulate Socrates other than consuming hemlock. Living humbly and thirsting for knowledge is entirely feasible. Especially with the internet, where knowledge is so accessible, we can pursue knowledge and live better.
Seneca: A man should be calm, gathered, and sound.
Seneca, a prominent Stoic philosopher, articulated specific views on the responsibilities of man grounded in Stoicism. He believed that the primary duty of a person is to live in harmony with nature, which includes understanding and accepting the world’s natural order. According to Seneca, this involves acknowledging that certain things are beyond our control and focusing on what we can influence – our own thoughts and actions.
And, of course, Seneca is revered today for his advocacy of controlling one’s emotions. He saw passions, like anger or envy, as disturbances to the soul. Thus, he saw a key responsibility of man to cultivate emotional resilience, equipping oneself to deal with adversity with calmness and reason.
Easier said than done. Losing your temper can feel good. It might be addictive, if at least habitual. We don’t have to be Giga-Chad; we don’t have to be the ultimate sigma male. However, to practice calmness and emotional resilience, we should intentionally subject ourselves to stress, discomfort, and adversity.
Samwise Gamgee: a man should be steadfast and optimistic, even in the most trying times.
While Sam Gamgee isn’t a philosopher, he is a character who displays some of the most desirable characteristics that a man can have. Since he is so widely beloved, it’s safe to assume that we can learn a thing or two about how he acts and implement a bit of Sam into ourselves.
“The Lord of the Rings” (Tolkien, 2009) shows various aspects of Sam’s character. Near the story’s beginning, when the hobbits still don’t quite know what is ahead, we see Sam’s cheerful mood. As the story evolves and grows more grim, so do many of the Fellowship of the Ring. But almost all the way through, Sam exudes an optimistic outlook. And in the most trying of times, Sam remains loyal and steadfast to Frodo. He’s not a bastion of valor and heroics or a repository of knowledge and concepts. But as simple as he may seem, he is pure of heart.
The Starting line
One of the most frustrating misconceptions of masculinity on the internet is that with masculinity comes this “Can’t touch me, I don’t care” attitude. It’s never explicitly said, but there is a very present mindset that kindness is the opposite of strength, and therefore men shouldn’t be kind. Of course, this isn’t true. Everyone hates a complainer. Everyone hates a pessimist. Everyone hates it when people are rude to them. No one looks at a man being kind and thinks, “I hate that man.” Alright, we sometimes see an optimistic man and say, “I hate that man.” But we groan at someone else’s optimism because we know we should be that way, too.
The next time you see a bald guy in a black T-shirt telling you this and that about manhood, or you see a girl on TikTok screaming in her car about her ex, stick to the good stuff, the classics. These are all fundamental ideas. A man should be knowledgeable, humble, and stick to his morals. He should be calm and control his temper. He should be kind, loyal, and optimistic. Let’s just start with that and move on from there.
Works Cited
Plato, et al. The Trial and Death of Socrates (Third Edition). Hackett Publishing, 2000.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, the Return of the King. HarperCollins UK, 2009.
Leave a Reply