The Moral Leader Topic 14 / Lesson 13

The Moral Leader Reading Assignment: Ethics for the Military Leader pages / 2nd edition Fundamentals of Naval Leadership pages to and 24-1 to 24-4

The Moral Leader Reading Assignment (continued): Ethics and Moral Reasoning for Military Leaders Lesson 28, pages through Case Study:TBD Naval Leadership Voice of Experience pages

The Moral Leader Who is Epictetus? What did he do to contribute to moral ethics and leadership?

The Moral Leader Meditation (Stoicism) 1. “…all things are both familiar and short- lived” 2. “The things which are external to my mind have no relation at all to my mind. …To recover thy life is in thy power. Look at things again as thou didst use to look at them; for in this consists the recovery of thy life.”

The Moral Leader 3. Be more critical of your self than others 4. Get the full Picture 5. Realize your own limits 6. Don’t focus on glory 7. Be not ashamed to be helped 8. Let not future things disturb thee 9. There is a unity and order to the universe 10. Everything material soon disappears

The Moral Leader 11. …the same act is according to nature and according to reason. 12. Be thou erect, or be made erect 13. …you should love and respect all other rational beings 14. …unless I think that what has happened is an evil, I am not injured. 15. …you are responsible for your own character

The Moral Leader 16. …no outside influence can force your soul to suffer or be disturbed in any way unless you allow it… 18. …people tend to fear the unknown and be comfortable with the familiar 22. …love even those who do wrong 24. A scowling look is altogether unnatural

The Moral Leader Epictetus’s articles tell us many things. What do the following extracts from his articles mean to you? “The body is to everyone the proper measure of its possessions, as the foot is of the shoe.”

The Moral Leader “Everything has two handles one by which it may be borne, another by which it cannot.” “Never proclaim yourself a philosopher, nor make much talk among the ignorant about your principles, but show them by actions.”

The Moral Leader “Whatever rules you have adopted, abide by them as laws, and as if you would be impious to transgress them; and do not regard what anyone says of you, for this, after all, is no concern of yours.”

The Moral Leader What did VADM Stockdale mean, as he parachuted from his A-4, “I am leaving the world of tech- nology and entering the world of Epictetus”? How does the world of Epictetus, on Stockdale’s account, differ from the world of technology?

The Moral Leader What does life in this world have to teach us about ourselves and about our attitudes and behavior in the world we normally inhabit?

The Moral Leader What does Stockdale mean in saying “that the thing that brings down a man is not pain but shame”? How does this square with the teaching of Epictetus?

The Moral Leader VADM Stockdale viewed his exper- ience in prison camp as a kind of “laboratory test” of the relation between our ethics and our fate, because… - “standing naked” - no distractions - no support - ordinary rules and principles - pivotal element

The Moral Leader As a prisoner of war, what things are in your power, and what things are not in your power? It matters not how strait the gate How charged with punishment the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. Dave Hatcher (Vietnam prisoner of war)

The Moral Leader Stoic’s Goals: - inner serenity - our will / external world - desires / actuality - indifference in matters

The Moral Leader Stoic Indifference : Think of what is not within your power; events in the past, movements of the stars; it is these things to which we are morally indifferent.

The Moral Leader Stoic Self-mastery : How do you achieve this? - by understanding the working s of the universe (using your reason) - if you really understand the world, you will reach the conclusion that all nature tends to the good, and that all events are causally determined: this will extinguish your desire for things to be other than they are.

The Moral Leader Stoic philosopher vs. the ordinary person: The ordinary, average person supposes that happiness is possible only when the natural world comes up to his or her expectations; The Stoic philosopher knows that this condition rarely exist, and that if we build our hope we are doomed to endless sorrow, envy and strife. So we should try to bring our desires to the level of actuality...

The Moral Leader Stockdale’s observations on how to survive in a “leverage world” or an “extortion environment”: - rudiments of civilization - power of guilt - don’t compromise - avoid self-deception - directness in your dealings

The Moral Leader (Continued) - recognize emotion of hate - don’t rely on ideology - be educated already - “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” -

The Moral Leader Select three well-known historical figures who in your opinion come closest to being moral exemplars. Are these figures generally thought to be near ideal? What features make them exemplars?

The Moral Leader We face hazards in focusing on ideal models. For example, the moral ideal encourages dedication to that person. This may curtail moral autonomy. List some other dangers and explain how they could be avoided.

The Moral Leader Case Study: “In Harm’s Way” - How does this apply to Epictetus and his articles ?

The Moral Leader Case Study: “Finding My Heritage” How does this relate to Epictetus and his articles?

The Moral Leader Questions?

The Moral Leader