STOICISM

[RevolverRob]

I read Aurelius, Epicetus, and Cicero as a young adult. I always liked Aurelius for the practical wisdom in his writings. I don't really identify as a stoic. But yet, I embrace most of the main tenets of stoicism in my personal philosophy. Propositional logic, that all things being are made of matter, that abstractions can be pondered, that some things are simply indifferent, truth can be reached by logic and investigation, that naturalism is a valid concept. I embrace the various practices proposed for the most part by stoicism, including self-reflection, contemplation of death, meditating, acceptance.

Where I break from classical Stoicism is in the acceptance of fate; I do not believe in fate. Or at least not in the conceptual "intelligent" or omnipotent form of Fate commonly described by classical stoics. Quite the contrary, the only fate in existence, to my mind, is the deterministic end of being. If you are you will die. That is the only fate, fatality.

I haven't thought too hard about stoicism in a long time. But Massimo Pigliucci, who primarily conducts research in Evolutionary Theory is a big proponent of stoicism as a modern philosophy. I'm a big fan of his professional work as a biologist and his work in popularizing and characterizing an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) is extremely well done; as in, his name will be among those cited for decades (centuries?) to come along side guys like Darwin, Wallace, Mendel, Huxley, and Haldane (to name a few). The conceptual ideas behind the EES have some basis in stoic propositional logic and are profoundly important for work going on in evolutionary biology currently. It was his work with EES that prompted him to explore various philosophical stances. Four years ago or so, he took a sabbatical from his biological work to do extended research into stoicism. In other words, I think the guy has a lot to offer on classical philosophical thoughts, while still coming to be a philosophical epistemologist from a parallel field of study (one that is fundamentally based on conceptual ideas of Nature, too).

And I think that's all I've got to offer on stoicism.

[JHC]

As noted I grew up with the philosophy without it's name. On occasion I jest with friends that my superpower is rationalization. What I mean is accepting how things broke one they broke a certain way and going forward from there. Not letting the should've would've could've narratives play in loops in one's head. That's a killer.

[Otaku.edc]

I know Massimo from when I was a part of the Stoicism Group on Facebook.

His blogs, Footnotes to Plato and How to be a Stoic were terrific. The later of which he turned into a book after an article he wrote for The Stone in the New York Times. It was cool to see him develop.

@RevolverRob if you are in New York City, he is a part of a Stoic Meeting Group every month and hosts a Stoic Camp once a year outside of NYC. last year I think they did it in Rome.

The best way these days to get his output is via Patreon, he puts out a lot of content, there. It’s worth it.

My issue with Stoicism is the Physics.

Lawrence Becker (who sadly just passed away) wrote a major work trying to update Stoicism for modern times, it is a technical philosophy work, but a profitable one if interested.

[Otaku.edc]

As noted I grew up with the philosophy without it's name. On occasion I jest with friends that my superpower is rationalization. What I mean is accepting how things broke one they broke a certain way and going forward from there. Not letting the should've would've could've narratives play in loops in one's head. That's a killer.

Jocko Willink has a similar experience when asked if he studied Stoicism. He replied that he had not.

If you saw the quote I posted in my reply to John Hearne, you can see which one Epictetus valued and who was closer to being labeled properly as a Stoic.

Given that, your sentiment is what the Stoics called the Dichotomy of Control.

It is the very first line of Epictetus’ Enchiridion:

Some things are within our power, while others are not.

[Otaku.edc]

Absolutely agree. I’ve only read Meditations though. It gave me great insight into myself and how I view/interact with the world.

I also give Frank Herbert (Dune) credit as well. Although not stoicism, it touches on many themes.

Pierre Hadot’s work, THE INNER CITADEL, might be of interest.

[Poconnor]

It looks like I just found some new books to read. Thank you

[Kyle Reese]

Failed stoic, but I dabbled in pacifism once.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[TNK]

I am a Stoic, but I am not a good one. Seneca is my preferred writer.

I will not get into personal reasons about my practice of Stoicism, but should we ever meet face to face, I am happy to discuss it.

I once signed up for the Daily Stoic but the link failed.

Perhaps the hardest aspect of Stoicism for modern Americans to entertain is Stoicism's acceptance, at least according to Seneca, of suicide as an ethical choice. There is an entire mental health industry that will have you committed, as long as your insurance lasts, for espousing such views. Be safe out there.

[Otaku.edc]

I am a Stoic, but I am not a good one. Seneca is my preferred writer.

I will not get into personal reasons about my practice of Stoicism, but should we ever meet face to face, I am happy to discuss it.

I once signed up for the Daily Stoic but the link failed.

Perhaps the hardest aspect of Stoicism for modern Americans to entertain is Stoicism's acceptance, at least according to Seneca, of suicide as an ethical choice. There is an entire mental health industry that will have you committed, as long as your insurance lasts, for espousing such views. Be safe out there.

How the Stoics dealt with “the open door” and when it could/ought to be used is something very different from modern sensibilities. Cato being a prime example.

Seneca is my favorite Stoic writer, as well.

The Daily Stoic is a good popular introduction to Stoicism. Stephen Hanselman, one of the two founders, is a great guy and very knowledgeable about Stoicism.

[TNK]

Cato was a hero in the Early American Republic. He will be again when our current one fails. I am a fatalist in that mode.