Kant vs. Seneca

I picked up a collection of stories by Heinrich von Kleist, a German writer of the early 19th century, which includes a summary of his life. Kleist bought into everything the Enlightenment had to offer -- that truth is knowable, that one's life should have a plan, that progress is possible -- only to be psychologically damaged and consumed by doubt after reading Kant. Coincidentally I am rereading some of Seneca's letters, which make me think that if philosophy had simply stopped at him the world would be a better place. Seneca believed that philosophy should help make you a better person, and that being a better person, by and large, means living in accordance with nature. The letters are full of practical advice on matters like friendship, wealth, death, dress, and so on. Had Kleist never picked up that volume of Kant, his stories would probably not have been be as weird and ahead of their time as they were, but he also probably would not have blown his brains out at age 34.