The Stoic Cop: Why Stoicism and Police Work Are Incompatible

By Scot DuFour  |  06/04/2024

The hit movie “Gladiator” starring Russell Crowe depicted the story of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his son, Commodus. Aurelius, the humble emperor, and Maximus, his stalwart general, exude many desirable qualities that are especially appealing to public servants like law enforcement officers and military personnel. These qualities include being indifferent to pain, enduring hardship without complaining, and pursuing abstract goals like justice.

While the movie made many people familiar with Marcus Aurelius, he is well known for publishing a journal called Meditations, which contains a mixture of stoic aphorisms and personal stories. In fact, Marcus Aurelius is considered one of the most prominent examples of the philosophy of stoicism.

What Is Stoicism?

Stoicism is a philosophical school of thought that promotes the idea that wise people should aim to be indifferent towards pleasure and pain and be completely submissive to the laws of nature. Stoicism’s goals require a great deal of self-discipline and a resolute demeanor from those who adhere to its tenets.

The Use of Stoicism by Police Officers

During my career as a law enforcement officer, I have heard many police officers talk about the “stoic cop” as a personal philosophy to which they adhere. While I think there are lessons to take from stoics, I also think stoicism is incompatible with police work. I highly doubt that law enforcement should always remain emotionally detached.

The philosophy of the stoic cop explains how officers remain calm and collected, which is valuable for people who have to navigate department politics. By maintaining their composure, the most seasoned officers can handle conflicts and power struggles more effectively and make objective decisions without being swayed by emotional reactions.

However, that belief system can cause issues in high-pressure situations and interpersonal conflicts because it encourages emotional detachment. That detachment can lead to difficulties in recognizing and addressing their own personal character flaws, which can ultimately impact their decision-making processes and their interactions with the community they serve.

The Foundations of Stoicism

Zeno of Citium founded the stoic school of thought in the 3rd century B.C. and laid out some of its important foundations. Bertrand Russell details these foundations in his book, The History of Western Philosophy.

For example, Russell explains the stoic’s belief that all of nature and the universe is a holistic system in which everything is predetermined – there is no such thing as chance. Additionally, according to Frederick Copleston’s A History of Philosophy, the only thing to aim for in life is virtue, which means to act in accordance with nature.

Virtue is the greatest good and really the only thing good in itself, according to the stoic philosophy. Virtue, in this sense, means the will of each person. Their will refers to their personally determined choices or their disposition to adhere to natural laws. A person’s will is not changed by their health, happiness, sorrow, relationships, or possessions; these things are irrelevant.

Marcus Aurelius differed from Zeno (another philosopher) in some respects, but he agreed strongly with these important tenets. Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Whatever may happen to thee, it was prepared for thee from all eternity.”

These two aspects of stoicism mean accepting the world as it is and recognizing that everything that occurs in the world is predetermined. It has to occur; there is no other option. It’s a thought journey to find inner peace amid the daily stress and chaos of human life.

Why Determinism Clashes with Tenets of the Criminal Justice System

Philosophical literature contains extensive arguments on whether people and actions are predetermined or if free will actually exists. Stoicism clearly places immense stress on determinism over free will, which challenges a significant tenet of the criminal justice system: that people deserve punishment for wrongs they commit freely.

For example, if bad acts committed by a mass shooter were predetermined and outside the rational choice of the actor, then how do we as a society justify punishing that person if he could not have chosen to do otherwise?

There are other philosophies that justify that sort of punishment, but stoicism is not one of them. Some stoics, like Seneca, stress benevolence and claim that the most effective punishment to reform people must be mild punishment. As Marcus Aurelius said, “The wickedness of one man does no harm to another” and evil people “do wrong through ignorance and unintentionality.”

Stoicism teaches use that punishing criminals is irrelevant because of determinism, and stoics ultimately view wrongs committed by individuals as harmless because it does not take away the victim’s virtue. Being victimized should be irrelevant to stoics because it does not change their ability to adhere to the natural laws, and it should create no sorrow or pain in their lives. Plus, being victimized must have been predetermined, so it was therefore necessary.

This concept also extends to the idea of sacrifice and the pursuit of noble goals and qualities we admire in professionals like doctors, police officers, and military servicemembers.

People who choose such professions strive to make a positive change in society by combating illnesses, diseases, crime, oppression, and tyranny. But if the whole universe is deterministic, then nothing can change because it is already determined.

The sacrifice is meaningless because those people could not have chosen to be something other than a doctor, police officer, or soldier. Those sacrifices are valuable when people freely choose to make them. So what are the lessons of the stoics that we find so valuable?

Stoic Attributes and Professional Endurance

When individuals are described as being stoic, they are often thought of as calm, even-keeled, less emotional, and disciplined. These attributes are certainly valuable for doctors, police officers, soldiers, or leaders, who often need some detachment in their jobs for their emotional survival.

However, stoics take this idea to the extreme and turn these attributes into an exercise of endurance, rather than a tool or a practical skillset by which to make positive changes in our world.

Stoicism’s Indifference and Its Implications for Virtue

British philosopher and author A.C. Grayling wrote that stoicism wants individuals to cultivate indifference to the things they cannot control while gaining self-mastery of their own fears, passions, and hopes. On the surface, these are good goals to aim for, but the stoic says all things must be accepted as fate. As a result, the stoic should not feel sympathy “when his wife or children die, he reflects that this event is no obstacle to his own virtue, and therefore he does not suffer deeply.”

Stoicism, Crime, and Justice

If virtue is the only good to which individuals should aim and criminals are predetermined to conduct their bad acts, what can be the argument against crime and injustice?

If stoics want us to worry only about things we can control in a world where everything is predetermined by fate, then we are powerless to control anything except our acting in accordance with nature. This way of thinking, however, does not demonstrate the attributes of a virtuous police officer or the goals society has set for its justice system.

I define police officers and others in the service professions as those who freely choose to work towards the goal of justice – they want to overcome the odds to change the world for the better. Our justice system requires either a belief in free will or a compelling argument that determinism is irrelevant.

The Practical Value of Stoicism in the Law Enforcement Profession

The value we get from stoicism comes in striving to cultivate our self-control, self-mastery, discipline, and ability to see through the false facade of things like money or notoriety. These qualities help to steer the proper mindset of police officers, who require well-developed analytical skills and investigative skills within the chaos of law enforcement cases.

Stoicism in Law Enforcement

If you're an active law enforcement deputy, you shouldn’t be a stoic. The law enforcement profession needs people who recognize their free will to act in response to the needs of a community and can reap the benefits of health, happiness, hope, and equality of opportunity.

Developing yourself and your virtue should not prevent you from sharing your gifts with the world. Police officers need to be a conduit through which positive change can occur.

The Philosophy Degree at AMU

American Military University (AMU) offers an online bachelor’s degree in philosophy, ideal for police officers and other students interested in stoicism, intellectual thought, behavior, and ethical reasoning.

This online program discusses the philosophical movements and fundamentals of Western cultures, covering the history of Western philosophy, logic, ethics, philosophy of science, and metaphysics. The degree emphasizes practical skills such as comprehension, philosophical inquiry, analytical reasoning, creative problem-solving, and communication. It's particularly suitable for students seeking roles in ethics, education, business, or social justice.

Author’s note: If you’re interested in other reading material that explores similar concepts, check out Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Nietzsche’s thoughts on self-mastery, or Buddhism’s Middle Way. These publications are great learning tools.