ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 focuses on Seneca and starts with his presentation of providence as the deliberation of god and the provision he made for the world to ‘freely advance and unfold’. The idea of a smooth, unhindered flow of life was already how Zeno characterized happiness, which requires the possession of reason and wisdom. His account explains how human nature is part of a larger divine plan for the world and the human kind to both reach their telos: curiosity (impulse towards knowledge) has been instilled in the human nature by god so that human beings can eventually become the spectators of his work. Like Panaetius before him, Seneca emphasized the political dimension of contemplation, which explains why, even when there are major obstacles preventing a philosopher from entering into politics, he can still fulfil the demands of his human nature by living a life of ‘studious leisure’ or otium. The chapter ends with a study of how Seneca uses divine providence as a model of political leadership in his On Clemency.
