What if philosophy isn’t about how to live—but how to see?
In an age of content fatigue and infinite scroll, the oldest wisdom often feels the most urgent. Time, after all, has always been a problem—how to spend it, what it means, and whether we’re wasting it.
Here, we explore three legendary thinkers—Seneca, Rumi, and Nietzsche—not just through their historical ideas, but through a modern lens. Each offers a radically different way of seeing time: as something to be guarded, transcended, or relived forever.
We’ll examine where they came from, how they viewed time, and—just for fun—who they might be if they lived in 2025.
Seneca (c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Roman Empire)
Full Name: Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Where: Born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba, Spain), raised and educated in Rome
Role: Stoic philosopher, playwright, statesman, advisor to Emperor Nero
Seneca was born into a wealthy and educated Roman family. His father was a famed rhetorician, and Seneca himself was trained in philosophy from an early age, with a strong emphasis on Stoicism. Despite being exiled by Emperor Claudius and later recalled to tutor the young Nero, Seneca became a powerful figure at court—until Nero turned on him and forced him to commit suicide.
Much of Seneca’s writing was done in the form of letters and essays, particularly during his later years. His experiences with power, exile, illness, and political danger gave him a grounded yet urgent Stoicism—especially about time. For him, philosophy was not abstract—it was survival.
Seneca: Time as the Ultimate Wealth
Seneca’s On the Shortness of Life is basically a manifesto about time as your most valuable possession. He warns against wasting it on trivialities, distractions, and the ambitions of others.
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it.”
To Seneca, time is not guaranteed—and most people only realize this when it’s almost gone. He sees the wise person as someone who learns how to own their time, to live deliberately, and to align each day with inner purpose.
Core idea: You don’t need more time—you need to stop giving it away so easily.
Seneca in 2025: The Mindful Minimalist with a Substack
How he’d view the world:
Seneca would likely be dismayed by our addiction to busyness, consumption, and digital distraction. Scrolling TikTok while complaining about not having time? That’s his version of a moral emergency.
He’d probably write weekly essays on Substack with titles like:
- “You Are Dying Every Time You Refresh Your Inbox”
- “Luxury Is the Enemy of Clarity”
- “On the Courage to Unsubscribe”
Seneca would see time poverty as the modern form of slavery—and would urge us to reclaim our inner lives from endless work, shallow ambition, and mindless entertainment.
💬 Modern Quote That Could Be His:
“Your calendar isn’t full. Your priorities are empty.”
Rumi (1207–1273, Persia — present-day Afghanistan/Turkey)
Full Name: Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī
Where: Born in Balkh (modern-day Afghanistan), settled in Konya (modern-day Turkey)
Role: Mystic poet, Islamic scholar, Sufi theologian
Rumi was born into a scholarly family and received a classical Islamic education. His life changed when he met the wandering dervish Shams of Tabriz, whose spiritual insight and intense friendship ignited Rumi’s mystical transformation. After Shams’ sudden disappearance, Rumi began composing poetry that flowed with divine longing and insight.
His work became the foundation of Sufism’s Mevlevi Order—known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. Rumi’s writings transcend religious dogma, blending soul, time, and transcendence in verses that remain widely read to this day.
Rumi: Time as a Spiral of Return
Rumi approaches time not as linear, but as part of a cosmic cycle. His view blends the mystical and the timeless, where moments dissolve into eternity, and every instant is a chance to reunite with the divine.
“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.”
In Rumi’s poetry, time is often portrayed as illusionary. What matters is the eternal now—presence, connection, the heartbeat of divine love. When you’re in tune with that, time becomes fluid, even irrelevant.
Core idea: Let go of time, and you fall into timelessness.
Rumi in 2025: The Viral Poet of Stillness
How he’d view the world:
Rumi would see a world starving for connection—with ourselves, with others, and with the divine. He’d probably have a wildly popular Instagram of poems, voiceovers, and slow-motion videos of rain on windows.
He’d speak to the mental health crisis, AI anxiety, and spiritual burnout—not by giving answers, but by reminding people that presence and longing are not flaws—they’re portals.
He wouldn’t fight the chaos of modernity. He’d invite us to dance with it. To return to the breath. To love what hurts. To stop looking for salvation in the algorithm.
💬 Modern Quote That Could Be His:
“The quiet you’re avoiding is where the answers are.”
Nietzsche (1844–1900, Germany)
Full Name: Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Where: Born in Röcken, Saxony (now Germany)
Role: Philosopher, philologist, cultural critic
Nietzsche started his academic career as a classical philologist—a scholar of ancient languages and literature—before turning to philosophy. He became a professor at the University of Basel at age 24, the youngest ever at the time, but had to retire early due to chronic health problems.
His key works (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, The Gay Science) challenged morality, religion, and linear views of history. He introduced ideas like the will to power, the Übermensch, and eternal recurrence. Nietzsche’s work was largely misunderstood during his life; he died in obscurity after years of mental illness, but became one of the most influential thinkers of the modern era.
Nietzsche: Time as Eternal Recurrence
Nietzsche offers a radical provocation: What if you had to live this life again and again, forever?
“What if a demon were to creep after you into your loneliest loneliness and say… ‘This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more’?”
This is the idea of eternal recurrence. It’s not meant to be taken literally but as a thought experiment: Would you be proud to live this exact life over and over again?
To Nietzsche, time is both burden and challenge. You have to live in a way that you could will it eternally. In that sense, it becomes a powerful ethical and existential tool.
Core idea: Time challenges you to live courageously enough to want to live it again.
Nietzsche in 2025: The Hacker-Philosopher Warning Us About Mediocrity
How he’d view the world:
Nietzsche would see a techno-nihilist culture—too afraid to believe in anything, and too distracted to build something worth believing in.
He’d mock virtue signaling, question every corporate “mission,” and see wellness culture as soft nihilism with a smoothie. But he’d also admire founders, artists, and weirdos who dare to will something new into being.
Nietzsche would probably run a rogue podcast with no sponsors, drop heat like “The Algorithm Has Replaced God,” and dare listeners to become Übermensch 2.0—a person who creates meaning without permission.
💬 Modern Quote That Could Be His:
“If you don’t write your own code, someone else will program your values.”
What They’d Urge Us to Do
- Seneca — Master your time, or you will be mastered.
- Rumi — Stay open. Let longing lead you to something eternal.
- Nietzsche — Stop performing. Create something worth repeating forever.
THINK IT OVER…
These thinkers lived centuries apart—but all saw time as a test of integrity. In 2025, we have more tools, more knowledge, and more distractions than ever. But the philosophical invitation remains unchanged:
Own your time like Seneca.
Transcend it like Rumi.
Wrestle with it like Nietzsche.
Not because it’s easy—but because time, if you’re brave enough, is the mirror that shows who you really are.
liproti 