The early Stoics believed in divination. They thought that signs from the universe could be interpreted in order to inform us of future events. I do not believe in divination, but I think that the Stoic view of the practice holds lessons that we can all apply to our lives. The most important of those lessons is this, knowledge of the future never releases us from the obligation to take virtuous actions in the present.
In the second book of Epictetus's Discourses, Chapter Seven is titled, "How should one employ Divination?" Epictetus begins this talk by saying that people tend to use divination when there's no good reason for it. The outcome of this is that, "many of us neglect many of the duties of life." He gives the example of a diviner saying that in the future you must risk your life, perhaps give your life, for a friend. Epictetus says that once you hear that, you have all the information you need. Later in his talk, Epictetus says that many people would fret about this information, or even beg the diviner to find some new signs, to change that future. He points out that all of that is both a waste of effort and a deeply unStoic response.
In Stoicism your death is indifferent, the fact of death, or life for that matter, holds no moral weight in itself. It's how you use your life, or the moment of your death, that makes it good or bad. Epictetus says that when it comes to moral actions, you don't need a prophet, you have yourself. "Have I not within me the diviner that has told me the true nature of good and evil, that has set forth the signs characteristic to both of them? What further use have I, then, of entrails, or of birds?" The diviner's art informs you of indifferent things; will the harvest be good, will you recover from sickness, will war come, or will peace remain? Morality lies in your reaction to or use of these things, and those choices are made by you alone. Epictetus gives us an aspirational example in this regard. "Wherefore, that was an admirable answer which the woman gave who wished to send a boatload of supplies to Gratilla after she had been exiled. To a man who said, 'Domitian will confiscate them,' she replies, 'I should rather have him confiscate them than myself fail to send them."
I may not believe in divination, but I do make forecasts. I have thoughts about the likely outcomes of things that I and others do, and make decisions based on those forecasts. You do as well. It is a matter of considerable importance that we do not avoid virtuous actions because we're concerned that they will be a wasted effort. Virtue is never wasted. Doing right is always right, whether or not our supplies are confiscated.
I found myself dwelling on Stoicism and Divination a bit over a week ago. I was thinking about Riot Ribs as well as the street medics that have been part of the protests here in Portland, Oregon. Riot Ribs was a mutual aid effort that provided free food to the local houseless as well as to protesters. At the same time various street medic groups have been keeping people safe by bandaging our wounds, flushing our eyes, even driving us to hospitals if necessary. I'd watch people bring donations of food, ice and such to Riot Ribs or drop of medical supplies at the first aid tents. On so many nights, the park would be overrun by Portland Police and now Federal Agents, and the cops would destroy the food and first aid equipment. They raid the tents and break things or spray chemical agents over everything; it's a common and continuing occurrence. And yet people continue to bring supplies. Just like the woman in Epictetus's discourse, Portlanders have an "admirable answer" to the whims of fortune. To add to this, Riot Ribs is no more. Some rather horrible people have made the whole effort dangerous to those who served in good conscience, so they had to shut down the project and reenvision it. Still, the kindhearted efforts of the cooks and those that donated remain the right thing to do. The end of a project does not retroactively stain their virtuous efforts.
Good planning is important. We have to have some vision of the future to guide our present actions. But no vision of tomorrow should cause us to do less good today. Virtue is, in actuality, its own reward. Epictetus had a name for those who kept asking question after question about the future, he labeled them cowards. He said they feared consequences. He pointed out that if you came to a fork in the road and asked someone which one to take, you shouldn't wish for an answer of right or left, but for the one that gets you to your destination. The Stoic destination is to do good, to be a virtuous person. There is no circumstance in which we can not enact virtue. And we must enact virtue whenever the opportunity arises. Whether we truly know the future, or only hazard a guess, our present should be focused on doing the right thing.
