Marcus Aurelius on Reason and Rationality

The Philosopher-King on the power of the logos

Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is a book like none other in the history of the world. Written within the last several years of his life, it can be viewed as a mental gym, a way for Marcus to speak to himself and remind himself of his philosophy and practice what he knew.

To Marcus, one of the most important things was to always use reason, learning to control one’s emotions and never let the emotions overpower the mind. Marcus himself was known to have a temper and you can see through his self-reflections his fight to maintain his anger, breaking it down and returning to reason and rationality.

He famously proclaimed in Meditations 2.1:

“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil.”

We can see him trying to prepare himself and prevent frustrations that inevitably would arise. He finishes the same entry by turning the logic back to himself to remind himself who we are, and that while we become frustrated with each other, we are but the same.

“We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions.”

Here are three additional quotes of Marcus attempting to remind himself of the need and power of reason and rationality.

Strip Bare What is Before You

“To the stand-bys above, add this one: always to define whatever it is we perceive -- to trace its outline -- so we can see what it really is: its substance. Stripped bare. As a whole. Unmodified. And to call it by its name -- the thing itself and its components, to which it will eventually return.”
-Meditations 3.11

Throughout the Meditations, Marcus will often discuss the need to create objectification.

We need to be objective in what we are perceiving, strip bare what lies before us and look at it with a different lens. What are the parts that make this? What is it that is causing my emotional ties?

Through objectification, we can begin to remove our emotion from the situation before us.

Keep Rationality at the Ready

Two kinds of readiness are constantly needed:
(i) to do only what the logos of authority and law directs, with the good of human beings in mind;
(ii) to reconsider your position, when someone can set you straight or convert you to his. But your conversion should always rest on a conviction that it's right, or benefits others - nothing else. Not because it's more appealing or more popular.
-Meditations 4.12

The logos to the Stoics was reason that was infused throughout the universe. It was the logic that governed all.

Marcus is always reminding himself throughout the Meditations of the need to re-examine his beliefs.

Too often, we have a belief about something and then never actually question that belief because it is our belief and a form of our identity.

Yet to Marcus, if logic and reason shows us that our position may not be correct, we should be willing to change it and release our previous belief.

The Rational Soul

Characteristics of the rational soul: Self-perception, self-examination, and the power to make of itself whatever it wants... Also characteristic of the rational soul: Affection for its neighbors. Truthfulness. Humility. Not to place anything above itself - which is characteristic of law as well. No difference here between the logos of rationality and that of justice.
-Meditations 11.1

Finally, in the Meditations, Marcus reminds himself of what separates us from other creatures. To the Stoics, it was that we hold rationality.

To live a good life, one must understand both themselves and life — Why we act the way we do and our place amongst others within the world.

To Marcus, the understanding of one’s self was one of the most important things in life and he clearly demonstrates this through his constant discussions with himself throughout the Meditations.