MEDITATIONS: SUN TZU’S THE ART OF WAR, CHAPTER FOUR

Tactical Dispositions

The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by our enemy himself. (Sun Tzu 40)

Herein Sun Tzu speaks stoic wisdom: one ought to know what is his responsibility, what is in his control, and what is not.

Securing oneself, that is to say, not placing oneself in a precarious position or in a set of circumstances, is indeed under one’s own control. This is the same sentiment as “thoughts-precede-emotions.” While human emotion swells suddenly and overwhelmingly, human beings possess the ability to contemplate a future time. People possess the ability to prepare for the eventual moment, and in this way, they can take action to sway how they will react when the emotion comes.

On the other hand, life does guarantee results. There is an arbitrary and random element to the distribution of opportunities and options. Doors open, and they close, and one’s only control is to be ready to move when the opening presents itself.

Therefore, the right attitude to strategic mastery over one’s life is first for him to establish proper discipline and habits which will firstly protect him from destruction and secondly facilitate his own action.

The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success. (43)

He wins battle by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes, is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.

Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy. (42-3)

To cultivate the moral law is to rally one’s morale—whether internally or among those he leads—toward a singular objective. This is a kind of consistency and balance. It is consistent in that all motivations are aimed in the same direction and action in harmony with one another. It is balanced in that it is not an excess in one direction or another.

Balance is of higher priority than consistency in this regard. This is because it is possible to be perfectly consistent, to make no mistakes, and yet to fail to defeat the enemy. Security alone is not sufficient; one must also be close enough to the source of risk as to strike at the necessary moment. One must know how far he ought to extend himself.

If, however, one overreaches, his discipline will break. Setting goals too high dooms the goal-setter to eventual failure, and having failed once, one becomes more vulnerable to positive feedback loops in a downward spiraling direction. This is as true in war as it is in politics, art, and business. Any competitive enterprise operates under this principle—the pareto distribution: to the victor goes the spoils which can be used to secure additional victories; therefore, one competes not with the average, but with those on the upper tail of the distribution.

Only the most disciplined of competitors make it to the upper limits. They are not making mistakes. They are not failing. They may fall short of victory, but such results are determined by fate, chance, and circumstance—not by negligence on the part of the competitors. Why does this matter? Because such individuals do not second guess or blame themselves. If one knows he has acted properly and that failure to obtain victory was not his responsibility, he can continue on. If one can continue on, then he is not defeated; and if one is not defeated, then victory remains obtainable so long as one is patient and disciplined. This is what it means to put oneself in a position in which defeat is impossible.

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory. (43)

Sun Tzu. The Art of War, translated by William Ridgeway, Sweetwater Press, 2008.