Who Are The Stoics?

[WolfDreamer]

 

 

Who here is familiar with Stoicism? The three most familiar are Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. These philosophers have inspired warriors, soldiers, commanders, kings, emperors, teachers, students, politicians, entrepreneurs, and many more for a few thousand years. The essence of stoicism is accepting life as it comes and not complaining about any circumstances. So, basically, you are content with life "as is" rather than longing for something better or complaining when things are bad.

 

I'm reading Marcus Aurelius's Meditations right now and...wow:

 

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”

“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together,but do so with all your heart.”

“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...”

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”

“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.”

 

I am amazed by how relevant these words are, even though removed by over almost 2000 years.

 

Have you read any of the Stoics? Who is your favorite? What do you think?

 

[Kalixtus]

I haven't read the books (yet, I have bought them hehe) but I've learned a lot about stoicism and it's main ideas from diffuse sources, like internet articles (lots), art, movies, and even practicing sports and training (martial arts), and consider Stoicism to be one of my main "beliefs" and life guiding philosophy.

To add something to this thread, I'd like to share a favourite (and very well-known) "Stoic poem":

 

Invictus -  by William Ernet Henley

 

Out of the night that covers me, 

      Black as the pit from pole to pole, 

I thank whatever gods may be 

      For my unconquerable soul. 

 

In the fell clutch of circumstance 

      I have not winced nor cried aloud. 

Under the bludgeonings of chance 

      My head is bloody, but unbowed. 

 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears 

      Looms but the Horror of the shade, 

And yet the menace of the years 

      Finds and shall find me unafraid. 

 

It matters not how strait the gate, 

      How charged with punishments the scroll, 

I am the master of my fate, 

      I am the captain of my soul. 

 

and:

http://zenpencils.com/comic/aurelius/

http://zenpencils.com/comic/epictetus/

 

Sometimes tough I worry about becoming "too detached", about not even caring about bad things happening (i.e. not crying if a relative dies) and being ostracized for it, so I try to remember myself to not ignore or desentize myself to emotions, but just to try to rationally remain "in control"...

 

Trying to find the balance between "accepting life as it comes" and  having the drive to hustle for good things and to avoid undesirable things...

[IslandGirl_Becks]

I really enjoy reading stoic philosophy. I'm re-reading Seneca's "Letters to a Stoic", which are great daily meditations. Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations" are a good read, also! 

[Nomad Jay]

I'm familiar with the stoics. I've read Epictetus' Enchirdon and I'm working my way through The Discourses. I'm struck on how remarkably similar the principles he espouses are to the Pauline epistles in the Christian Bible.
 

[Severine]

This is a super old topic so hopefully you don't mind me zombifying it. I was just so delighted to see other people talking about stoicism that I had to comment.

 

My undergrad degree is in Latin and Ancient Greek language and literature and I took a lot of inspiration from the Stoics back when I first encountered them in classes and through translation. I still use ancient writers, including the Stoics, as inspiration and recreation, and my previous challenge was actually organized around that idea.

 

@Bookish Badger recently read a book called 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck' (which has been recommended by NF Steve) and said that she believes many of the ideas therein are basically Stoic ideas repackaged for a modern audience with a generous smattering of profanity and attempts at humour. I think it says a lot about the timelessness of the advice that it is still blowing people's minds centuries later.

 

And often when @Owlet talks about Buddhist practice, I see similarities between the two ways of thinking about life. I think it means that there are attitudes or ways of thinking that cater to some of our most basic human needs and problems, and so those ideas keep coming up over and over in different philosophies and cultures in different parts of the world over time.

 

On 4/19/2017 at 2:50 PM, Nomad Jay said:

I'm familiar with the stoics. I've read Epictetus' Enchirdon and I'm working my way through The Discourses. I'm struck on how remarkably similar the principles he espouses are to the Pauline epistles in the Christian Bible.

 

The similarities are there for good reason! Christian philosophers drew heavily from the Stoics for a lot of their ideas. Again, another manifestation. Super cool stuff.

[MaD MaLKaV]

Bumping an old topic.  It's still on the first page of the forum, after all.

 

I'm a big fan of stoicism.  I agree there are some similarities between it and Buddhist thought.  An upcoming book More Than Happiness: Buddhist and Stoic Wisdom for a Sceptical Age (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1785781332/?coliid=I2NPF7F5RSD57R&colid=1NRTFY1K40LCD&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it), promises to explore those similarities more.  

 

I've read Massimo's "How to be Stoic", Irvine's "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy", and Robertson's "Stoicism and the Art of Happiness", in addition to reading Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations" and Epictetus' "Discourses".  I started reading Seneca's Letters, but somehow got distracted and never came back to it.  I recall thinking they were quite good, so I'm not sure how I ended up not finishing them.   I've recently started re-reading Meditations along with making plans to re-read the Discourses and read Seneca's Letters as party of my "30 Minutes Daily to read Classics" that I'm working into my most recent challenge.  I'll probably re-read some of those other books that are more recent sometime soon too, as I remember they were all pretty good about updating the philosophy for modern times, but they don't count as classics, so I'll have to read them on my own time.

 

Massimo in particular has a neat blog at https://howtobeastoic.wordpress.com/  He's started sort've a Stoic themed self-help column where he answers various questions with support for his answers drawn from Stoic authors.

 

I've never read 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck' .  I'll add it to my non-classics reading list.