In a letter titled On Consistency, Seneca wrote to Lucilius, “Adopt once and for all a single rule to live by, and make your whole life conform to it.” Do you have a single rule to live by? Are there any maxims running in the background of your mind as you navigate daily life?
The notion of maxims came up in my conversation with Prof. Karen Stohr, the author of Choosing Freedom: A Kantian Guide to Life. According to Kant, we should “act only on that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”
Prof. Stohr explains,
The formulation instructs me to determine my maxim and then see if I can universalize it. To do that, I imagine that everyone else has the exact same maxim that I do. Kant thinks that maxims for immoral actions will fail the universalizing test.
Short clip from my conversation with Prof. Stohr,
The point is this, our maxims, or rules to live by, matter a great deal. They can add value to our lives (and the lives of others) or do the opposite. Stohr asks us to imagine that our maxim was to cut in line at the coffee shop whenever we’re in a hurry. Now imagine that everyone has that as their maxim, including everyone in line with you. This maxim would quickly lead to chaos...
21 Short Rules for Modern Living
“No one ever became wise merely by chance.” — Seneca
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” — Pablo Picasso
“Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.” — Chuang Tzu
“Well-being is attained little by little...” — Zeno of Citium
