Literature on stoicism

[poo]

Recommendations welcome - particularly on stoicism and the modern world. Also interested in related philosophies and critiques of stoicism. Ta.

[madhair60]

Not Now Bernard

[Endicott]

Not Now Marcus Aurelius

[bgmnts]

...

[shoulders]

https://haynes.com/en-gb/volvo/v60/2010-2013-20-diesel-367317

[Terry Torpid]

Do you want to read stoicism or just about it?

[Mister Six]

"Be a real man and hope it goes away."

There, sorted. What's next?

[Glebe]

"Be a real man and hope it goes away."

There, sorted. What's next?

🫤

[poo]

Do you want to read stoicism or just about it?

Yes

[buttgammon]

Perhaps not what you're looking for but in the 'about stoicism' category, Donna Zuckerberg (yes, his sister) has done some interesting stuff about the abuse of stoicism by dodgy blokes on the internet.

[sevendaughters]

Recommendations welcome - particularly on stoicism and the modern world. Also interested in related philosophies and critiques of stoicism. Ta.

Jordan Peterson

[poo]

No not that cunt

[poo]

Interesting that some people associate stoicism with that kind of shite because it has nothing to do with philosophical stoicism.

[bgmnts]

Yes

Ah.

My only readings so far are Aurelius' meditationa and Seneca's epistles, and they seem rather modern and common sense enough. I think the ancients - even cunts like the Romans - still have a lot to teach us.

Had no idea stoicism had been co-opted like it has. Boooo.

[Bartholomew J Krishna]

A couple of recent articles about Stoicism:
Stoicism Just Won't Go Away
its current 'pop philosophy' interpretation:
Naive Stoicism
and why Nietzsche is better:
3 Reasons Not To Be A Stoic

[Terry Torpid]

Yes

In terms of the original stuff, your main ports of call are Epictetus' Enchiridion and Discourses, Seneca's Letters to Lucilius, and Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. I say "original", but all the actual original stoic works are lost (it was 300 BC), so you'll have to settle for the later texts.

A decent modern book is William B Irvine's Guide to the Good Life (The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy).

Beware any book that's marketed towards wannabe Gordon Gekko business pricks. Anything that uses "stoicism" and "success" in the same blurb is to be avoided.

There's no point reading books "about" stoicism. If you just want the history of it, the Wikipedia page has it covered. It's an inherently practical philosophy, so it's best to read books "of" stoicism and decide if you like it or not.

Other philosophies to consider would be stoicism's main rival epicureanism, and the unrelated but quite similar Zen Buddhism.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Deleuze's The Logic of Sense is a work of modern stoicism

[FredNurke]

Just hang around a porch and pick it up by osmosis.

[jamiefairlie]

I've always been drawn to Stoicism and I see a lot of crossover with Buddhist ideas of self control and letting go off things outside your control.

[Mr Vegetables]

I read one of Seneca's ones a long time ago: all I really remember is that he stoically accumulated a lot of money and stoically lived in a very big house. So that made it sound pretty good

[chuckles]

one all-powerful emperor resists noncing concubines and thousands of years later he's still getting pats on the back you're an absolute legend mate

[bgmnts]

I read one of Seneca's ones a long time ago: all I really remember is that he stoically accumulated a lot of money and stoically lived in a very big house. So that made it sound pretty good

Obviously all philosophical espousers are open to hypocrisy but I don't think stoicism centred on being poor or rich.

Here, even poor people practising such ethics and striving for virtue probably also be accused of such hypocrisy, as we are relatively extremely privileged ourselves.

[The Crumb]

Chekhov's Ward no. 6 is about a Stoic doctor having his beliefs confronted by a patient

Online Pdf

[madhair60]

stoic the hedgehog

[Terry Torpid]

I read one of Seneca's ones a long time ago: all I really remember is that he stoically accumulated a lot of money and stoically lived in a very big house. So that made it sound pretty good

I think the idea is that a stoic would be largely indifferent to their living conditions, whether opulence or poverty. Some well-off stoics would occasionally sleep on the floor, maybe one night every few weeks or so, just so they wouldn't get too accustomed to comfort. The weren't all-out ascetics though, so as long as he understands that he doesn't need a big fancy house, and would theoretically be perfectly fine with nothing, then it's okay to have it. In fact, it would be un-stoic to feel averse to nice surroundings.

[Twonty Gostelow]

♫  It's literature on literature on stoicism on stoicism on I on I on Hellen on Hellen

Seriously though, CaB's favourite stoic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannia

[Oh, Nobody]

[Astronaut Omens]

I read one of Seneca's ones a long time ago: all I really remember is that he stoically accumulated a lot of money and stoically lived in a very big house. So that made it sound pretty good

On the other hand, one of the other main stoic writers, Epictetus, was a slave until he was 18, and was never rich after he was freed.

I'm not a stoic. So much great art, writing and music is essentially singing the blues. It's a product of people refusing to heroically, silently endure their suffering and instead openly expressing it, and finding original and eloquent ways to express it. A stoic attitude would deny us that. 

[bgmnts]

I think people focus on the notion of being emotionally 'stoic' and I'm not sure that is what the philosophy of Stoicism is really about.

I don't think a Stoic would necessarily be against expressions of suffering in art.

[Terry Torpid]

Yeah it's not like being Spock. The word stoic has changed a lot since then.