What Causes Anger?
“Scratch the surface of any regularly angry person, and you will find a wild optimist. It is, in fact, hope that drives rage. Think of the person who screams every time they can’t find their house keys or every time they get stuck in traffic. These unfortunate characters are evincing a curious but reckless faith in a world in which keys never go astray, the roads to mysteriously traffic-free. It is hope that is turbocharging their rage.” - Alain de Botton
Welcome to the second article in this three-part series! The first article was called “What Is Anger?” This time we will be exploring causes of anger, and what we can do about such an emotion. All quotes herein are from Seneca’s second book in De Ira.
What Causes Anger?
“...anger can venture upon nothing by itself, without the approval of mind: for to conceive the idea of a wrong having been done, to long to avenge it, and to join the two propositions, that we ought not to have been injured and that it is our duty to avenge our injuries, cannot belong to a mere impulse which is excited without our consent.” Pg. 13
According to Seneca, a mind where reason is present is the only place where anger can exist. This idea is because when logic understands an attack upon us as wrong or an injury done toward us, then violence seeks revenge. It is fueled by emotion, or passion and thus is uncontrolled and often leads to its demise.
“...wherefore the first confusion of a man’s mind when struck by what seems an injury is not more anger than the apparent injury itself: it is the subsequent mad rush, which not only receives the impression of the apparent injury but acts upon it as true, that is anger, being an exciting of the mind to revenge, which proceeds from choice and deliberate resolve.” Pg. 14
It seems like anger may have been installed into our survival hardware. If we become injured and immediately go on the offense, perhaps this is a protection mechanism. After all, we humans have a strong sense of self-preservation. If the self becomes injured, then one might think to avenge that perceived wrong is a method for survival. However, Seneca suggests that the converse might be right. If we are hot under the collar, then we will act out of passion and brashness. By throwing reason aside, it makes sense that an attack based on anger will be a feeble one at best.
“...stout and daring intellects are liable to anger before they are tamed by discipline… In like manner, dispositions which are naturally bold produce irritability, and, being hot and firey, have no mean or trivial qualities, but their energy is misdirected, as happens with all those who without training come to the front by their natural advantages alone, whose minds, unless they be brought under control, degenerate from a courageous temper into habits of rashness and reckless daring.” Pg. 19
Here, we are faced with someone who, for quite some time, was given an advantage by having a “naturally bold” disposition. If we have such a personality and it has benefitted us thus far, it makes sense that we would not be driven to change it. Rarely do humans change pre-emptively. Degeneration due to a lack of discipline is like placing a crab into a pot of water and slowly turning up the heat. Eventually, the boldness that once was beneficial will be reduced to “rashness and reckless daring.” It’s this very lack of engagement with discipline that makes anger a choice, or not.
Can We Become Wretched?
The acknowledgment that we all have the proclivity to do evil deeds is something of paramount importance. As Jordan Peterson has said, if we were in Nazi Germany, we would most likely have been a prison guard. If we were a prison guard, we would have probably been some of the more wretched of the bunch. This notion is because we as humans have the capacity for evil and will take that characteristic on if we are not careful, aware, disciplined, and self-defining. This aspect of a human’s capacity for evil is exacerbated when anger is experienced over long periods.
“We must also enquire whether those whose cruelty knows no bounds, and who delight in shedding human blood, are angry when they kill people from whom they have received no injury, and who they themselves do not think have done them any injury … This is not anger, it is ferocity: for it does not do hurt because it has received injury: but is even willing to receive injury, provided it may do hurt. … This evil takes its rise from anger; for anger, after it has by long use and indulgence made a man forget mercy, and driven all feelings of human fellowship from his mind, passes finally into cruelty.” Pg. 14
This argument is not to say that we will become evil, based on enduring anger, however, denying the fact that we could is what is dangerous. Because we can deploy reason, unlike animals, we can bite the hand that feeds.
“...it is like a society of wild beasts, save that beasts are tame with one another, and refrain from biting their own species, whereas men tear one another, and gorge themselves upon one another. They differ from dumb animals in this alone, that the latter are tame with those who feed them, whereas the rage of the former preys on those very persons by whom they were brought up.” Pg. 15
Is Anger A Choice?
“The question before us is whether anger arises from deliberate choice or from impulse, that is, whether it acts of its own accord or like the greater part of those passions which spring up within us without our knowledge.” Pg. 12 - 13
It seems in the modern-day and age; we do not speak about anger and whether we can, or cannot control such a temperament. Instead, it looks as though we categorize people as either angry or not. It makes sense that anger is on the rise, especially in the United States, due to a lack of discipline and a culture cultivated by outrage. It feels good to be angry. It is also easy, because once we have been attacked, then we can band together to get revenge with no need to work toward a disciplined mindset. Seneca suggests that anger affects weak and feeble-minded. If we practice discipline, then anger does become a choice.
“Now we ought to fight against the first causes of evil: the cause of anger is the belief that we are injured; this belief, therefore, should not be lightly entertained. We ought not to fly into a rage even when the injury appears to be open and distinct: for some false things bear the semblance of truth. We should always allow some time- to elapse, for time discloses the truth.” Pg. 22
How Do We Confront Anger?
“We need a long-breathed struggle against permanent and prolific evils; not, indeed, to quell them, but merely to prevent their overpowering us.” Pg. 17
The prevention of anger from overtaking us is much like the path of mindfulness. We must always be keeping practice to come into the present moment. So then, we must continually combat the proclivity of anger to overtake us. To help guide us, we can aim at virtue instead of vice since violence is a product of vice and virtue is a product of joy.
“...virtue will never be guilty of imitating vice while she is repressing it; she considers anger to deserve punishment for itself since it often is even more criminal than the faults with which it is angry. To rejoice and be glad is the proper and natural function of virtue: it is as much beneath her dignity to be angry, as to mourn: now, sorrow is the companion of anger, and all anger ends in sorrow, either from remorse or from failure.” Pg. 15
So it seems as though the road to virtue is one that we are capable of traveling upon. It might help to compel us down this road to keep in mind that all anger ends in sorrow. If we do not wish to fall victim to a feeble mind filled with stormy emotions, then we can aspire to have a calm mental space. Although it is not our natural state, it is something that is within our grasp if we take the responsibility to make a choice and stick to the path of virtue.
“The evils from which we suffer are curable, and since we were born with a natural bias towards good, nature herself will help us if we try to amend our lives. Nor is the path to virtue steep and rough, as some think it to be: it may be reached on level ground… the road to happiness is easy; do you only enter upon it with good luck and the good help of the gods themselves. It is much harder to do what you are doing. What is more restful than a mind at peace, and what more toilsome than anger?” Pg. 18
Expectations
“Men think some things unjust because they ought not to suffer them, and some because they did not expect to suffer them: we think what is unexpected is beneath our deserts. …” Pg. 26
It’s been my long-standing belief that much of our suffering is due to our expectations. I try to be careful when it comes to what I expect. Who am I to assume that anyone else does anything at all, good or bad? We cannot control others, so to think that I would get upset with someone for say, not calling me back is absurd. It also makes sense that this comes from a seat of great self-importance. We, after all, think that we are the very center of the universe when, in reality, that is far from the case.
“… It is because we did not expect those particular injuries, or, at any rate, not on so extensive a scale. This is caused by our excessive self-love: we think that we ought to remain uninjured even by our enemies: every man bears within his breast the mind of a despot, and is willing to commit excesses, but unwilling to submit to them. Thus it is either ignorance or arrogance that makes us angry: ignorance of common facts; for what is there to wonder at in bad men committing evil deeds?” Pg. 26
Here it seems as though Seneca is welcoming us to see things as they are, not as we want them to be. It makes sense that this is another facet that causes anger. If we look out onto a world and see what it is that we want and when it does not bear fruit that we are looking for, then we will become disappointed or angry. It is unwise to have these sorts of delusional expectations, yet it seems as though we as humans are wired to make them. This most likely stems from the fact that we create a mental image of reality that includes many assumptions and simplifications. We rarely see the truth for what it is.
Forgiveness
“Among the other misfortunes of humanity is this, that men’s intellects are confused, and they not only cannot help going wrong, but love to go wrong. To avoid being angry with individuals, you must pardon the whole mass, you must grant forgiveness to the entire human race. If you are angry with young and old men because they do wrong, you will be angry with infants also, for they soon will do wrong… What is it that puts a stop to the wise man’s anger? It is the number of sinners. He perceives how unjust and how dangerous it is to be angry with vices which all men share.” Pg. 16
This word, forgiveness, seems to have a great facility but is challenging to implement. We are all perfectly flawed, and becoming angry at another for their wrongdoings is not useful. We, after all, do wrong all of the time, yet getting mad at ourselves is not healthy to any degree.
“Yet we are not able to warrant ourselves even to come under that first narrowest definition of innocence: we have done what was wrong, thought what was wrong, wished for what was wrong, and encouraged what was wrong: in some cases, we have only remained innocent because we did not succeed. When we think of this, let us deal more justly with sinners, and believe that those who scold us are right: in any case let us not be angry with ourselves (for with whom shall we not be angry, if we are angry even with our own selves?), and least of all with the gods: for whatever we suffer befalls us not by any ordinance of their but of the common law of all flesh.” Pg. 24
If we keep at the forefront of our mind that we are far from perfect, perhaps forgiveness can come more naturally. It’s much like Carl Jung has said, we learn what we most need to be looking where we least want to view. If we take the time to examine our lives and the amount of sin that we partake in, then we can realize that we are not different from those around us. Additionally, if we understand that what a baby does is cry, then why do we become angry when it does so?
“We have other men’s vices before our eyes, and our own behind our backs: hence it is that a father, who is worse than his son, blames the latter for giving extravagant feasts, and disapproves of the least sign of luxury in another, although he was wont to set no bounds to it in his own case; hence it is that despots are angry with homicides, and thefts are punished by those who despoil temples.” Pg. 24-25
If we keep forgiveness in mind, then perhaps we can become more like bamboo. This type of wood is durable yet flexible. This notion means that we can become lasting, yet yield to others when they inflict perceived injury to us. If we can bend without breaking, then we will not fuel the mutually felt anger. This idea is much like trying to punch water. Yet water, after an extended period, can cut vast valleys into rock.
“If anyone is angry with you, meet his anger by returning benefits for it: a quarrel which is only taken up on one side falls to the ground: it takes two men to fight. But suppose that there is an angry struggle on both sides, even then, he is the better man who first gives way; the winner is the real loser. He struck you; well then, do you fall back: if you strike him, in turn, you will give him both an opportunity and an excuse for striking you again: you will not be able to withdraw yourself from the struggle when you please.” Pg. 28
Patience
“Shall not we then call in the aid of patience, we whom such a prize awaits, the unbroken calm of a happy life? How great a blessing is it to escape from anger, that chief of all evils, and therewith from frenzy, ferocity, cruelty, and madness, its attendants?” Pg. 18
Patience, like forgiveness, is a useful word, yet much more challenging to implement in reality. We can learn here that one way to confront anger, is to give it time, to not act upon it quickly. With time the emotions fade, and we can allow our faculties of reason to take over. This approach takes both patience and discipline.
“The greatest remedy for anger is delay: beg anger to grant you this at the first, not in order that it may pardon the offense, but that it may form a right judgment about it: - if it delays, it will come to an end. Do not attempt to quell it all at once, for its first impulses are fierce; by plucking away its parts we shall remove the whole.” Pg. 25
Contemplation
Interestingly, we as humans are so quick to believe something that is told to us. Perhaps this comes from a necessity. We need to make assumptions at some point to function in the world. However, if we keep that in mind, it might help us to question much more of this thing that we call reality. We can add to that by noticing our faculties for interpreting the world; in other words, our senses are very limited. We only receive a small amount of information as compared to what is present in our reality. This idea could help us not to believe so easily and take things for face value.
“Readiness to believe what we hear causes very great mischief; we ought often not even to listen, because in some cases it is better to be deceived than to suspect deceit. We ought to free our minds of suspicion and mistrust, those most untrustworthy causes of anger. … Suspicion will never lack grounds: what we want is straightforwardness and a kindly interpretation of things. Let us believe nothing unless it forces itself upon our sight and is unmistakable, and let us reprove ourselves for being too ready to believe, as often as our suspicions prove to be groundless: for this discipline will render us habitually slow to believe what we hear.” Pg. 22-23
It’s also important to note here that there are several overlapping realms within which we live. We have the scientific arena, which can tell us what there is based on collected data and reason. There is also the philosophical realm where we contemplate what should be. At the seat of these two interpretations of reality is a third, namely psychology. This last one is the lens through which the other two are interpreted. Therefore, whatever we experience is a result of our psychology, which is driven by our biology and social aspects.
Discipline
“Yet there is nothing so hard and difficult that the mind of man cannot overcome it, and with which unremitting study will not render him familiar, nor are there any passions so fierce and independent that they cannot be tamed by discipline.” Pg. 18
We can become disciplined and overcome tremendous obstacles. However, it’s much like going to the gym. We cannot on day one show up and expect to lift four hundred pounds. The same can be said with discipline. This aspect is a character trait that is developed through practice and by facing adversity. If we never face something that challenges us, we become weak and flaccid.
“When pleasures have corrupted both the body and the mind, nothing seems endurable, not indeed because it is hard, but because he who has to bear it is soft … Nothing, therefore, nourishes anger more than excessive and dissatisfied luxury: the mind ought to be hardened by rough treatment so as not to feel any blow that is not severe.” Pg. 23
The critical part here is to start. We must take responsibility and then get going. Because we all die, there should be some sense of urgency here. We can ask ourselves, do we want our legacy to be one of belligerence and anger?
Conclusion
From what Seneca has told us, anger is the result of an untrained mind that perceives a wrong being done to us. Once the wrong has been done, then the injury is taken as truth, and we seek to obtain revenge. It is our choice as to whether we want to lead an existence of an emotional tumbleweed. We can refine ourselves into well-formulated individuals.
“A man ought to be neither robber nor victim, neither tender-hearted nor cruel. The former belongs to an over-weak mind, the latter to an over-hard one. Let the wise man be moderate, and when things have to be done somewhat briskly, let him call force, not anger, to his aid.” Pg. 20
If we become disciplined enough, we can practice patience, forgiveness, critical contemplation, and realization of the shortcomings of our expectations. When we get to that point, we can allow our adversary to do wrong to us, and as a point of ultimate revenge, we can choose not to retaliate and, as such, become a warrior in a garden.
“It is the part of a great mind to despise wrongs done to it; the most contemptuous form of revenge is not to deem one’s adversary worth taking vengeance upon. Many have taken small injuries much more seriously to heart than they need, by revenging them: that man is great and noble who like a large wild animal bears unmoved the tiny curs that bark at him.” Pg. 27
Next week’s article will be on how to “drive out anger from our minds.” Thanks for taking the time to read! Leave a comment.
Further Contemplation
https://www.thelifeodyssey.com/blog/self-understanding/2019/5/19/are-we-the-poisoning-the-well
https://www.thelifeodyssey.com/blog/self-understanding/2017/8/10/problems-as-opportunities
https://www.thelifeodyssey.com/blog/self-understanding/2019/10/13/expectations
https://www.thelifeodyssey.com/blog/self-understanding/2020/2/25/what-is-anger