For those who are interested in leading a happy, meaningful life, but need it to have a firm and rational basis, I suggest the insights of the Stoic philosophers. They offer a pattern of living that is perfectly consistent with modern, rational thinking, and provide a structure for life that is both liberating and empowering.
I have written my own introduction to a modern Stoic approach, which I titled Meaning in a Hostile World; it is available through Amazon.com. For someone who wants to start with the classic masters of the school, I would suggest beginning with the works of Epictetus. Yes, he may sound a little boring, but only because all we have left of him are the lecture notes of one of his pupils. Ask yourself how exciting your own lecture notes from school would be if they were published!
Regularly I will add thoughts about the Stoic message, and attempt to address any comments left by my readers.
Marcus,
ReplyDeletethanks for starting this blog. I recently stumbled upon Stoicism as a talking point in Steven Covey and Breck England's "3rd Alternative". Prior to this I had only limited experience with Western philosophy, prefering to read Eastern philosophers such as Lao Tsu, Mencius, Confucius, and Edward Conze's Buddhist Scriptures.
As I read more (I also highly recommend the Wikipedia entry for stoicism for a quick study of the main points) I found a strong attraction to the ideas and tenets of Stoicism.
I will definitely start with Epictetus, and I will also pick up an electronic copy of your book as well, and check back here often.
One more post for your perusal:
ReplyDeleteI noted in the Covey book that the term "stoic" was used in the modern sense, and in a negative light: "Do we sit back stoically, with no real hope that things will ever get better?" (p. 6).
As I read more about Stoicism, I have to first ask:
1. How is Stoicism defined in modern times, and how is this modern definition at odds with (or resembles) the basic tenets of the philosophy?
As you will see from other posts, it is definitely NOT maintaining a "stiff upper lip" attitude. That quote, " 'Do we sit back stoically, with no real hope that things will ever get better?' makes the mistake of desiring that things get better, when what the Stoic teachers advocated was learning not to care about things that are commonly considered 'good or bad' or, in this case, "better."
ReplyDelete