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Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy behind the Military Mind

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Passing in Review
"Stoic Warriors"
by M. Vince Turner
August 2005


In her recently released book "Stoic Warriors", professor/writer Nancy Sherman unpacks the ethos of stoicism popularized in Ancient Greece and for a time in Ancient Rome, bringing it forward into our contemporary history.

I first learned about Sherman's book when reading her commentary in a recent Boston Globe. Titled "When Johnny comes home" it was a superb piece questioning how do we the citizens and how do the military officers and leaders face and embrace our wounded soldiers returning home from war? How do we make them whole again? That piece so moved me that I immediately got a copy of "Stoic Warriors" completed reading it within a week.

A Vietnam War Era Veteran, I entered the United States Air Force right out of high school. While USAF was not and is not as ground-combat focused as the Marine Corps or the US Army, the Air Force still provided stoicism during boot camp (where most mili-tary personnel get their first lessons on stoicism). At the ripe age of eighteen, I learned and intuited what being stoic was about: rule out the distractions, rule out the pain of grueling exercise and marching. Stay centered and focused. Do not allow the "exter-nals" - those outside forces - to cloud, corrupt or contaminate your sense of virtue. Discipline. Virtue. Honor. Duty.

Sherman focuses on the philosophical rooting of stoicism, that classical Greek attempt to rule out the outside world - the externals - and to find and take hold of one's inner vir-tue, virtue being the highest moral value. Discipline, focus, strength, determination and the capacity to "get beyond" the outer world form the core of stoicism, as we under-stand it. Whether it is actress Demi Moore in the movie "GI Jane" or Richard Gere in "An Officer and a Gentleman", it is about getting beyond the pain, pushing the body to its limits and beyond, ruling out the rigors placed upon the body and the mind through physical and emotional strain - the externals denied.

Sherman brings ancient stoicism into our current time, using the ancient proponent of stoicism, Epictetus and his stoic philosophy as the pillar upon which even modern con-cepts of stoicism thrive. Segueing this framework of ancient stoicism into our contem-porary stoic ethos, Sherman reminds the reader that the human element cannot and must not be lost. Sherman uses Seneca frequently as the champion of humanism in stoicism, simultaneously lifting up the ancient voices of Aristotle and Cicero to guide the reader through the historical vestiges that have come to define stoicism in our modern world.

Sherman cautions us to remember our human side, just as those ancients were remind-ing their own soldiers and athletes, as their contemporaries exhorted. One idealizes stoicism as feeling almost nothing that presents itself from the outside world, the "ex-ternals". Sherman makes frequent reference Admiral James Stockdale, recently de-ceased, as the most prominent example of the stoic's stoic in our contemporary world. One will recall that Admiral Stockdale was a prisoner of war at the "Hanoi Hilton" in North Vietnam, and that Stockdale used his own unabated commitment to stoicism as his weapon to prevent becoming a victim or a trophy for the Viet Cong. Admiral Stock-dale serves the iconic prototype of the consummate stoic, demonstrating one's inner ca-pacity to remove the self from the externals of pain and torture. Sherman writes that when interviewing Stockdale, it was like "hearing Epictetus' ancient voice". "Getting be-yond self", "going to center" are phrases that come to mind.

Sherman's "Stoic Warriors" is a timely write. It is reflective of the current moment, es-pecially in view of recent terrorist attacks in London and how the Brits kept their "stiff upper lip". One frequently heard British Prime Minister Tony Blair lauding his British people for their "stoic" reaction to the terrorist assaults. British newscasters, when speaking on how Americans continued to visit London while other foreigners stayed away, often commented the Americans were "quite stoic about it all, actually."

"Stoic Warriors" is an excellent document for the reader wanting to learn about stoicism, or a reader such as myself seeking to relearn stoicism. It is a great text for research on stoicism. But more important, it is a valuable instructive piece on how we can be stoic while remaining in touch with the outer world, those externals. One is reminded of the window decal seen on the back windows of cars driven by today's young men, "No Fear!" Yet, fear exists even while ruling fear out. It is less about pretending the ab-sence of fear and more about accepting and embracing fear's reality, the world's reality if you will, and responding to it in an unemotional, logical and somewhat insular man-ner. Sherman stresses that all the externals of our world are real; they cannot be ruled out systematically as if they do not exist at all. Embrace those externals, but embrace them within their proper context so that they do not rule you, that they do not weaken you; that you keep them in proper check so that you rule them at all times. Whether walking through "the killing fields" of war or playing combative roulette found in our day-to-day competitive boardrooms and halls of industry, of academia or in our military, the stoic within us must keep those externals in proper perspective, at bay, so that they do not overwhelm or overcome us. Above all else, however, we must remain virtuous. Virtue is, after all, the highest value to be attained within the person, the self. The ex-ternal world has its constant influence, yet our internal zenith is reached through our adherence to stoicism. In today's vernacular, it is the equivalent of "getting into your zone"; rejecting the color, corruption and contamination influenced by our exterior, ex-ternalized world.

This book is interesting, and far more readable than most books on philosophy. But, for those who have actually studied Stoic philosophy, there is a problem. That problem is that the book does not do a very good job of presenting the teaching of Stoicism, and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the author does not much like Stoicism.

A major problem is that the author, Nancy Sherman, is an Aristotelian, and clearly has little sympathy for, or understanding of, Stoic philosophy. For instance, she many times criticizes Stoic teaching on emotions, such as anger, as impossible to apply to the problems of military personal. But she neglects to mention that the Stoics never claimed that Stoic philosophy was a simple pill that could quickly solve problems without the time necessary for real change, and a re-evaluation of values.

It seems, in fact, that Ms Sherman may not have taken enough time to understand Stoic philosophy in depth.

In a world of modern approaches to resiliency and coping, Dr. Sherman rightly credits and makes accessible the enduring Stoic philosophical precepts which continue to inspire and shape military culture and virtue. Like Sun Tzu's Art of War, or Musashi's Book of Five Rings, certain philosophies are indispensible to modern warriors, and decoding their belief systems. Utilizing original Stoic sources, modern military narratives and current research, this world-class Scholar (Former Distinquished Chair of Ethics at the Naval Academy) dispels many mispercetpions of what real Stoicism is and argues that a compassionate and moderate version of this proven system will continue to protect those who employ it. Particulary fascinating was this author's explanation of military bearing and custom as a form of virtue in action. As a former Special Forces soldier and Army Officer, who is qualified as a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Supervisor, I have used Stoic principles in philosophic counseling successfully for over a decade and find them invaluable as a personal philosophy and as a core element of my counseling approach. There are many applications for military counseling uses as well. I especially recommend this work to any soldier, sailor, marine or airman, who requires greater understanding of virtue and reslience in their personal development. Special Operations warriors will find much that they already relate to, and many rich sources to continue their studies. Sherman's book will remain a classic for years to come.

Thomas A. Jarrett, LCSW/BCD
Stoic Wisdom Counseling and Coaching

I picked up this book by complete happenstance; it was in the "new" shelf at the library. The subject of stoicism happened to be on my mind. The book is very fine; I read it through at two sittings.
There are details given in other reviews here which needn't be repeated. I found the insights in the book to be profound, and particularly the focus on the theraputic qualities of stoicism and how the insights of the stoics can supplement the findings of modern psychology.
The value of the book is by no means limited to its application to soldiers and the military.

John Adams once famously wrote that his generation had to study war and politics so that subsequent generations might study Philosophy and Mathematics. Adam's observation had two clear implications: first, that subsequent generations would be free of war, with leisure to study more inviting topics; second, that studying war and Philosophy in the same scope is nearly impossible, sort of like squaring the circle. Ten-plus generations after Adams wrote we know the first implication was wrong -- if we want to study Philosophy at all it will likely be against the background music of artillery explosions and the screams of the wounded. Now, thanks to Nancy Sherman's new book, "Stoic Warriors", we know that Adam's second implication was also wrong, and that a disciplined approach to the realities of war and the deliverances of Philosophy can reveal extraordinary mutual illumination. To be clear: This is not a book about war from the point of view of the state, or the Presidents and Generals who act on its behalf by sorting through issues of foreign policy, developing over-arching military strategies, or engaging in the subtle thrust and parry of diplomacy. Instead, the point of view of this book is down on the ground, where the boots are. Where the killing and the dying and the maiming take place. It asks: What motivates the soldier to fight at all? To fight with integrity or fight with wanton brutality? What values shape a soldier's actions, and what values should shape them? In prose that is elegantly precise, Professor Sherman trains her spotlight on the ancient texts of the Stoic philosophers to illuminate and evaluate modern war-fighting. Then she shifts to a close analysis of the soldier's reality to critique and show the limits of classical Stoicism. As a combat Vietnam War veteran with an interest in Philosophy, I cherish Sherman's contribution. But its relevant audience is a lot wider than folks like me. It's an essential book for any concerned citizen who wants to think clearly and responsibly about issues of war and ethics, individual and collective responsibility, and how to live as humans in (unending) times of war.

Ms. Sherman has done a supurb job of understanding and conveying one of the basic principles of military training and philosophy.

The modern training philosophy began with the Greeks, just as she says. Imagine what it must have taken to stand in your place in the phalanx and chop away with your sword or pike at another batch of soldiers just in front of you. You had to stand there while the men on either side of you, behind you, and if you weren't the front rank the men in front of you were hacked to pieces. And when the ones in front fell, you had to move up and take their place.

And the Greeks developed a training regimen that produced young men that could take their place in the phalanx.

Coming forward a couple of thousand years and the same concepts in training produced people that could step out of the woods on a mile long treck up hill with the rest of Picketts division. Or could get up out of the trenches and walk into the machine gun and artillery fire between the trenches. How could you do this other than stoicly?

The problems come when the soldiers return from the battle, when they are in control of captured enemy soldiers, and in many other areas. Ms. Sherman does a great job of understanding the military mind, and of some suggestions as to what may need to be changed as the world changes. Highly recommended!

Dr. Sherman has produced a good book on military ethics concerning conduct on as well as off the battlefield. A clear overview of Stoic thought on what was and to a large extent still is considered the correct mindset/attitude towards self and other in a military context, interwoven with modern day examples of men and women in the US military struggling with their everyday realities as members of the 'fighting' forces upon whom rests the heavy responsibility of going into the hell more commonly known as war and 'taking care' of the problem at hand. However, according to what I make of Dr. Sherman's words, the Stoic lessons are no longer completely up to the task of handing the 'warrior' the necessary tools for dealing with the realities of modern warfare. That is, there are certain shortcomings in Stoic philosophy that shouldn't be overlooked. Dr. Sherman excellently communicates these shortcomings at the end of her book, by which means she has been able to present a well-rounded argument, making this work a valuable and highly recommended addition to any military ethics library.

Great concept, as I was lured to this book while buying some Seneca and a past history of military study, but comes up a bit short on readability. Though I want to like the anecdotal pieces about Stockdale and others, for instance, the academic sections don't mesh well with the military stories and analogies.

Excellent book--Sherman does a very good job in contrasting purist stoicism with Aristotle's thought and "finding the mean". Suffice it to say that elements of this have proven their value to me at least through good times and bad, courtesy of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.

Would that I had the same exposure to this material as I did to the algebra that I flunked royally. It would have done me an immense amount of good where the rubber meets the road...

The Capacity to Govern: A Report to the Club of Rome

Crazy States: A Counterconventional Strategic Problem

This book is strongly recommended for all political leaders. Its big advantage is that the book deals with the "mind", behavior coming second. This is correct because the mind of leaders is what matters and what shapes behavior, while being neglected and also ignored by most books presuming to advise leaders.

The book focuses on issues of character and ethics in both a profound and practical way, thus being both enlightening and educational.

Based on close readings of some of the main stoic thinkers in Rome who had political experience makes the book all the more relevant to present political leaders, while demonstrating that study of some of the classics is more relevant to real contemporary issues than many "current affairs" books.

The one chapter with which I partly disagree is the last one proposing respect of enemies as human beings. This is true when "ordinary" enemies are concerned. But the author fails to address the real problem how to cope with totally evil actors, such as Nazi genocide managers and fanatics on the way to mass killings. Had the author taken up that issue than the last chapter would be deeper and more realistic.

Yehezkel Dror
The Hebrew Univesity of Jerusalem
msdror@mscc.huji.ac.il