How would you introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
I’m on the Modern Stoicism team, founder of the NYC Stoics, co-founder of The Stoic Fellowship, co-facilitator of Stoic Camp NY, and was co-organizer of Stoicon 2016, where I presented a workshop on Stoic versus Buddhist mindfulness and wrote an article for Stoicism Today on the topic. I also presented at Stoicon-x Toronto 2017 on the whys and hows of starting your own Stoic community.
How did you become interested in Stoicism?
I’ve always had an interest in philosophy, but somehow missed the Hellenistic period during my studies. I volunteered for, and ultimately became president of, SMART Recovery NYC. There, I was trained in aspects of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy and discovered that its founder, Albert Ellis, was heavily influenced by Stoicism. I decided to fill the gap in my philosophical knowledge, and discovered online communities, like the New Stoa (now The Stoic Registry) and The International Stoic Forum that were attempting to practice this philosophy in the modern world. Given the lack of in-person meetings about Stoicism at the time, I decided to start one in New York City to help myself and others learn more about Stoicism and how it could be applied in the modern world.
What do you think is the most important psychological technique or piece of practical advice that we can derive from Marcus’ Stoicism?
That keeping your own Meditations-style journal is a powerful Stoic technique. It can be easy to slip into the mindset that Marcus is speaking to you as a reader in The Meditations. But if you keep in mind that it was his personal diary, the techniques he was using there, and why he was writing what he was writing, become more apparent. Framing The Meditations in this way can unveil Stoic techniques that Marcus was using, and that you can attempt to mimic. Marcus’ entries follow several patterns, including reminding himself of basic Stoic theory, arguing with himself, and reframing situations. If you carry your own journal or writing app around with you, you can do the same and see how it works out!
Do you have a favourite quote from The Meditations?
I find “Let no act be done without a purpose” (Meditations, 4.2) is useful to keep at hand.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn more about Marcus Aurelius or Stoicism?
In terms of books, my favorite overall intro to Marcus and The Meditations is currently William O. Stephens’ Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed. It gives a solid biography of Marcus along with a useful analysis of themes within The Meditations. After having taken your online course on Marcus, I suspect that your upcoming How to Think Like a Roman Emperor will be very worthwhile, too. But since it’s not out yet and I haven’t read it, that’s not a kataleptic impression, so I’ll withhold judgement. š
Do you have anything else that you wanted to mention while we have the chance?
Stoic community is very important for practicing Stoics in my view. If you’re looking for an in-person Stoic community in your area, or want to start your own, check out The Stoic Fellowship. We’ll also help you throw your own Stoicon-x if you want a homegrown Stoic conference near you! Or, if you like supporting Stoic things, sign up to volunteer or throw a few tax-deductible bucks our way.
Also, if you’re in New York City, feel free to check out the NYC Stoics.
In addition, I’ll be at Stoicon 2018 in London on September 29th giving a (hopefully practical) workshop on prolepseis, or “preconceptions”. This is a core concept in Stoic psychology, and a major theme in Epictetus’ Three Disciplines, but it doesn’t get much press. If Epictetus is to be believed, though, the misapplication of preconceptions is at the core of all human ills, so it’s kind of a big deal!
Finally, Massimo Pigliucci and I are co-writing a book tentatively entitled A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Controlā52 Week-by-Week Lessons. It’s expected to be released in Spring 2019 by The Experiment.
Cleanthes, the second head of the Stoic school, once said that while its philosophical doctrines may well be contrary to popular opinion they are surely not contrary to reason. He was speaking of āparadoxā, which literally means contrary to opinion in Greek. Stoic philosophy, like the philosophy of Socrates, was known in the ancient world both for its famous paradoxes and for its rigorous appeal to reason. Itās worth clearing up from the outset that the word āstoicismā (lower case) denotes a personality trait, having a stiff upper lip, whereas āStoicismā (capitalized) is an entire school of Greek philosophy. The relationship between these two things is pretty tenuous, although theyāre often mistakenly conflated. Stoicism was meant to shake things up by challenging its followers to swim against the tide and embrace a moral worldview radically at odds with the values implicitly accepted by the majority of ordinary people. In doing so, it explicitly cast itself as a form of psychological therapy (therapeia) and self-improvement. Itās experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent decades because its emphasis on āphilosophy as a way of lifeā appeals to a growing number of people as an alternative to Christianity and other religions. However, Stoicism is a philosophy not a religion. Its conclusions were based solely on reason rather than faith, tradition, or revelation. Massimo Pigliucciās How to be a Stoic provides a restatement of Stoic philosophy and practices that takes the form of a self-help guide but one that attempts to update Stoicism in terms of a contemporary scientific worldview.
The Author
Pigliucci is professor of philosophy at City College of New York but he also holds PhDs in genetics and evolutionary biology. He credits his background in both philosophy and science as explaining the desire to find a rational philosophy of life and worldview that, in turn, led him to ancient virtue ethics and eventually to Stoicism. He says he was raised a Catholic but abandoned belief in Christianity as a teenager and like many others today was left looking for something else to replace religion as a guide to life. Pigliucci found that Stoicism satisfied the same needs as religion in that it could provide him with a practical philosophy of life. However, it was also fundamentally rational and science-friendly. The Stoics were materialists who believed in a God that was synonymous with Nature, a forerunner of the philosopherās God of Spinoza and subsequently Einstein. Pigliucci found this appealing as a scientist because it allows us to find a place for spirituality, alongside reason, and without any form of superstition. The final thing that drew him to Stoicism was the way it directly engages with the existential problem of our own mortality. The Stoics neither reassure us with the promise of an afterlife nor simply turn away from the problem and ignore it, burying their heads in the sand. āA man cannot live wellā, said Seneca, āif he knows not how to die well.ā Having recently turned fifty, Pigliucci found himself, midway upon lifeās journey, re-evaluating things and turning to Stoic philosophy as a way of coming to terms with the crude fact of his own mortality. He found himself in agreement with the core tenets of Stoicism but was also reassured that as a rational philosophy it was open to revision in areas where modern science or philosophy has made progress. So he states quite frankly āI have decided to commit to Stoicism as a philosophy of lifeā.
The Journey
The book opens with an account of Pigliucciās personal journey. It describes how, faced with a bewildering array of religions and philosophies to help us make sense of life, he chose to become a Stoic. He immediately explains, for readers unfamiliar with the philosophy, that this does not mean being unemotional like Mr. Spock from Star Trek. Stoics have feelings too. They just seek to reduce the hold unhealthy and irrational ones have over the mind and to replace them with more healthy and rational ones. One of its central practical components is the habit of distinguishing rationally between what is under our direct control and what is not in any given situations, especially ones that might be expected to upset us. Stoics learn to take more responsibility for their own thoughts and actions not to accept the reality that other things in life are not entirely under their control. Ancient Greek philosophy refers to the state of mind someone has when they fulfil their potential and live in accord with reason as āvirtueā (arete). That word can sound overly pompous and moralizing to some modern readers but it can also be translated using the slightly broader term āexcellenceā. Pigliucci says he was drawn to Stoicism because of its emphasis on trying to flourish by living rationally and virtuously. He emphasizes from the outset that although Stoicism involves cultivating a special kind of indifference (apatheia) and acceptance toward external events, beyond our direct control, that does not make it passive or apathetic, in the modern sense of the word. The very thing that attracted him most was the way it attempts to square this circle by combining emotional acceptance with a commitment to positive action in the world. He does readers a service by making these simple points in the opening pages because itās a common misconception that Stoics are unemotional and passive or disinterested in external events. Nothing could be further from the truth, though. Pigliucci was raised in Rome and says that since high school, where he studied Greek and Roman history and philosophy, he had an awareness of Stoicism as part of his cultural heritage. Many other people who ādiscoverā Stoicism today have a kind of deja vu experience as they notice its ideas seem strangely familiar. Traces of its influence crop up throughout Western art and literature. In some ways, Stoicism is also the great grandaddy of the modern field of self-improvement.
Pigliucci is a member, along with me, of the multidisciplinary team that run a non-profit philanthropic organization called Modern Stoicism. Each year, Modern Stoicism puts on a free online course called Stoic Week, which helps people to try out different Stoic practices each day. Itās grown rapidly over the last five years and last Fall about seven thousand people from all around the world took part. Pigliucci cites this as one of several pieces of evidence pointing toward the conclusion that Stoicism is suddenly gathering popularity again. He rightly stresses that the data collected from Stoic Week and other research projects are tentative. These are merely pilot studies, nevertheless they consistently provide evidence that following Stoic practices can have a beneficial effect on mood and life satisfaction, as shown by results from established psychological measures.
What is Stoicism?
Stoicism is a school of ancient Greek philosophy, founded at Athens by a Phoenician merchant called Zeno of Citium around 301 BC. For many years, Zeno had studied different schools of Athenian philosophy before founding his own. Heād embraced the austere lifestyle of a Cynic philosopher as well as studying in the Platonic Academy and with the dialecticians of the less well-known Megarian School. The Cynics and Platonists were often contrasted insofar as the former embraced a simple but extremely demanding approach to philosophy as a way of life whereas the latter were somewhat more, well, āacademicā and scholarly. Zenoās Stoicism tried to bring together the best of both traditions. Whereas the Cynics eschewed bookish studies, Zeno introduced a threefold curriculum for his Stoic students encompassing Ethics, Physics and Logic. However, like the Cynics, the Stoics remained wary of study or debate that did not serve the fundamental goal of life, defined as āliving in agreement with natureā. As Pigliucci explains, this didnāt mean hugging trees but rather fulfilling our natural potential as animals gifted with language and reason. For Stoics this ultimately equates to living in accord with virtue, and the love of wisdom. The Cynics had taught the austere view that everything except virtue should be seen as indifferent whereas the Platonists had recognized a variety of things as contributing to the good life. Zeno adopted a compromise position by arguing that though virtue is the only true good, other things in life naturally have some value albeit of an inferior sort.
In 155 BC, the head of the Stoic school at that time, Diogenes of Babylon, went from Athens to Rome on an ambassadorial trip, along with two other philosophers. While he was there he also lectured on philosophy, introducing Stoicism to the Roman Republic, where it quickly took root as it resonated with traditional Roman values. Over the following centuries many influential Roman statesmen became associated with Stoicism. The last famous Stoic we hear about is the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose Meditations survives today. From Zeno to Marcus, therefore, the history of the Stoic school as a living tradition spanned nearly five centuries, before it was gradually eclipsed by Neoplatonism and then by Christianity. Pigliucci begins by surveying the history of the school for those unfamiliar with the subject, although the main focus of his book is how Stoicism can be reprised in the modern world by providing us with a modern-day philosophy of life compatible with the current scientific worldview. He weaves his account of Stoic theory and practice into anecdotes drawn from his own life experiences, showing how the philosophy can be applied to everyday challenges.
Pigliucci was a relative newcomer to Stoicism when he began writing this book so he takes the famous Roman Stoic Epictetus as his guide along the way. Like Epictetus, he divides Stoicism into the three ādisciplinesā of desire, action, and assent. The main part of the book is divided into three sections. These deal respectively with training in mastering our desires and emotions, organizing our actions around a coherent moral goal, and learning to withhold our assent from initial misleading impressions.
Pigliucci next appeals to modern biological science to explain the Stoic definition of the goal of life, āliving in accord with natureā. This was meant as a call to fulfil our human potential as inherently social creatures, capable of reason. He argues that itās a serious mistake for modern scientists and philosophers to reject the concept of human nature. Although Darwinism dealt a deathblow to the assumption that humans are somehow essentially unique compared to other animals nevertheless, Pigliucci argues, our capacity for complex grammar and reasoning is special enough to justify speaking about it as a defining characteristic of human nature. The Stoics also argue that although nature has given us instincts, like those of other animals, weāre capable of reflecting on whether we actually want to act in accord with them or not. Children with chickenpox feel a desperate urge to scratch their itching blisters. However, if theyāre old enough to understand then reason is capable of stepping in and telling them thatās a bad idea and that their natural instinct should be resisted. Thatās why the Stoics called reason the āmaster facultyā and believed that we had a duty to protect and cultivate our ability to apply it in daily life. Their goal was to learn the art of living wisely. However, they believed that human nature is both rational, meaning capable of reason, and social. Human infants are born relatively defenceless compared with those of other mammals. We have evolved a powerful parental instinct toward our offspring, which the Stoics called ānatural affectionā. They believed that when this pro-social aspect of human nature is developed in accord with reason it becomes the basis of social virtues such as justice, fairness, and kindness. Pigliucci explains that the Stoics believed reason guides us to extend this natural familial affection to others on the basis of their humanity, and capacity for reason. Stoics learn to care about humanity in progressively widening circles through a process called oikeiosis, which is notoriously tricky to translate but means something along the lines of metaphorically bringing others into our household. This leads to the famous ethical cosmopolitanism of the Stoics, who viewed themselves, like Socrates and the Cynics before them, as citizens of the whole world, and the rest of humanity are their fellow-citizens. This moral vision preceded the Christian notion of the ābrotherhood of manā by four centuries.
Epictetus also said that external things are indifferent but how we handle them is not. The Stoics compared the way we deal with even the most serious life events to playing a ball game: death, bereavement, exile, poverty, etc. Itās not the thing itself that really matters, in other words, but the way we choose to deal with it. Thatās what they mean by virtue. The ball is relatively worthless, in itself, but the game consists in handling it well. However, as weāve seen, some external things are naturally āpreferredā over others, according to Stoic ethics. Pigliucci explains the tricky Stoic concept of the value (axia) assigned to āindifferentā things by comparing it to the concept of ālexicographic preferenceā in modern economics. People are willing to trade money for a holiday because they place them both on the same lexicographic level but you probably wouldnāt trade your daughter for any amount of money or holidays. For the Stoics, health is preferred to sickness, wealth is preferred to poverty, and life is preferred to death, but wisdom and virtue should never be sacrificed in exchange for any of these external things because their value is of an entirely different order.
The discipline of desire is believed to be related to Stoic Physics and theology. The Stoics were basically pantheists and some aspects of their theology are unappealing to modern readers. The majority of modern Stoics, perhaps surprisingly, are atheists or agnostics. However, Pigliucci argues that Stoicism makes room for both religious believers and unbelievers. The founders of Stoicism leaned heavily on the Argument from Design, which holds that because the universe, in all its complexity, looks like it was planned by some divine craftsman it therefore must have been. Fewer people are persuaded by that argument today because Darwinās theory of natural selection provides a plausible explanation for the diversity of animal life, which is simpler insofar as its based largely upon observable physical phenomena. Modern astrophysics likewise explains cosmological phenomena without reference to a divine creator. However, most modern Stoics find its central principles to be justifiable without reference to theology. Indeed, the ancient Stoics actually appeal quite seldom to the existence of God in the philosophical arguments they provided for their ethical doctrines. Moreover, they employed an argument based on agnosticism known as āGod or atomsā to show that whether one believes in divine Providence or that the universe is created by the random collision of atoms, either way the core doctrines of Stoicism would still be justifiable. Marcus Aurelius actually refers to this ten times in the Meditations but Seneca and Epictetus also mention it in passing so itās acknowledged by all three of the main Stoics whose works survive today. As far as we know, all of the ancient Stoics believed in God, and placed great value on piety, although they nevertheless disagreed about many important aspects of theology. What matters from a modern perspective is that Stoicism is, and always has been, flexible enough to accomodate atheists and agnostics as well as pantheists. Itās a philosophy, at the end of the day, and not a religion.
The Discipline of Action
Stoics were trained through the discipline of fear and desire to master their feelings, facing external misfortune without becoming upset. However, the discipline of action taught them to balance this emotional acceptance with vigorous moral action in the service of humanity, their fellow world-citizens. Pigliucci describes it as āhow to behave in the world.ā The word āstoicismā (lower-case S) has come to mean something like being unemotional and having a stiff upper lip, which doesnāt even do justice to the discipline of desire. However, it really falls short when it comes to the rest of Stoicism (capital S) as weāll see.
Stoicism is all about virtue. Pigliucci explains this by referring to the importance of improving our character. For example, before he gained his freedom, Epictetus was a slave owned by the Emperor Neroās secretary. He lived through the madness, corruption and tyranny of Nero. He also witnessed the Stoic Opposition to Nero, the criticism and resistance toward him and other autocratic rulers from principled republican Stoics, who were frequently exiled or even executed for speaking truth to power. Epictetus told his students anecdotes about several of these Roman Stoic heroes, who he appealed to as moral exemplars and role models. Pigliucci, while acknowledging that no role models can be perfect, refers to modern-day examples of principled individuals such as Malala Yousafzai. He also mentions the psychological research on virtues carried out by Martin Seligman, Christopher Peterson, and their colleagues, which shows a surprising amount of consistency in the values of different individuals around the world in this regard. Their model incorporates the four ācardinal virtuesā of Socratic philosophy: wisdom, justice, courage and temperance. This fourfold model provides Stoics with a broad template for understanding the character traits that define human excellence.
Another of the Socratic paradoxes embraced by the Stoics is that no-one does evil knowingly, or willingly. Pigliucci explains this tricky concept by introducing a very crucial word: amathia. It denotes a form of moral ignorance, the opposite of genuine wisdom. Someone can be very intelligent yet still exhibit moral ignorance or amathia. The Stoics liked to point to Euripidesā Medea as an example. However, Pigliucci draws upon Hannah Arendtās concept of the ābanality of evilā to show modern readers how itās possible for ordinary people to do evil things through moral stupidity. Arendt coined the phrase while covering for The New Yorker the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi lieutenant-colonel and one of the organizers of the Holocaust. Like Socrates and the Stoics before her, Arendt argued that the evil of such men consists in a kind of moral ignorance or thoughtlessness. Eichmann wasnāt evil in his own eyes; he genuinely believed he was just ādoing his jobā. Whereas Christian forgiveness depends on faith, Stoicism achieves something similar by interpreting all evil as due to moral ignorance. As a consequence, Stoics place more emphasis on reforming those who do wrong rather than punishing them for the sake of retribution.
The role of positive role models in Stoicism is further explored by introducing readers to one of the most important examples of a modern-day Stoic: James Stockdale. Stockdale was a US Navy fighter pilot shot down over North Vietnam at the start of the war. Heād been introduced to Stoicism at college and as he ejected over enemy territory the thought flashed through his mind that he was leaving his world and entering the world of Epictetus. He spent over seven years as a prisoner of war in the so-called Hanoi Hilton where he was repeatedly tortured and found himself making more and more use of ancient Stoicism as a coping strategy. After the war Stockdale wrote and lectured about Stoicism and his experiences in Vietnam. Pigliucci sets his example beside that of Cato of Utica, the great Stoic hero of the Roman republic, who opposed Julius Caesarās rise to power.
He then turns to a discussion of how Stoicism has helped people more recently to cope with disability and mental illness. Larry Becker, a retired professor of philosophy, is the author of a highly-regarded academic book on Stoic ethics. Heās been suffering for decades from the effects of polio but Stoic philosophy has helped him to cope with some severe physical limitations. His strategy focuses on the need to reclaim our agency, focus on our abilities, develop a life plan, and strive for internal harmony. He also cautions us to beware of brick walls and to know when to quit. Pigliucci likewise provides examples of two more contemporary individuals who have used Stoicism to help them cope with clinical depression and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) respectively.
The Discipline of Assent
The disciplines of desire and action deal with our feelings and behaviour. The discipline of assent, however, is about our thoughts. It teaches us to suspend value judgements in response to our initial impressions and how to apply reason to evaluate them instead. Pigliucci describes it as āhow to react to situationsā. Stoics believe that by coming to terms with our own mortality and learning to adopt a philosophical attitude toward it, we overcome many other fears in life. Zeno of Citium, the founder of the school, opted to die by the traditional method of euthanasia, refusing food, when he was very elderly and concluded his health was too poor to continue. Pigliucci notes the value that Stoic perspectives on death have in relation to modern questions surrounding the ethics of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
There are many other aspects of life, though, where our initial reactions can be unhelpful. When Epictetusā iron lamp was stolen from outside his home he told his students about it and used it as an example of something to be shrugged off with indifference. Pigliucci compares this to his experience of being pickpocketed on the subway in Rome. His initial impression was one of shock and anger, naturally, but Stoicism had taught him how to take a step back from these automatic impressions. He told himself instead that what happened to him was not under his direct control but how he chose to respond was, and it was no longer worth getting angry about. In relation to anxiety, Epictetus says that we should always consider how itās typically fuelled by placing too much importance on things beyond of our direct control. He also taught that the wise man is prepared to endure solitude without complaint as sometimes being a natural part of life.
This leads into Pigliucciās discussion of love and friendship. The Stoic wise man prefers to have good friends but doesnāt absolutely need them. Itās more important to be capable of acting like a friend, something under our control, than to have lots of friends, something thatās partly in the hands of fate. For ancient Greeks, the line between friendship and love was more blurred than we tend to assume today, and the Stoics, indeed, viewed friendship as a kind of love. A good friend is a good person, someone whose character we admire and values we share. Perhaps one of the most highly valued externals, from a Stoic perspective.
Pigliucci concludes by describing a dozen valuable Stoic exercises:
Examine your impressions, checking whether they place too much value on external things outside your direct control.
Remind yourself of the impermanence of things.
The reserve clause, which means adding the caveat āfate permittingā to every planned action.
How can I use virtue here and now?
Pause and take a deep breath, waiting for strong emotions to abate naturally rather than acting rashly when weāre upset.
Other-ize, getting beyond personalization by considering how weād feel about our misfortunes if they befell another person.
Speak little and well ā the Stoics were known for speaking ālaconicallyā, like Spartans.
Choose your company well.
Respond to insults with humour.
Donāt speak too much about yourself.
Speak without judging, just stick to the facts and remain objective.
Reflect on your day, by reviewing events each evening in a constructive and dispassionate manner, looking for areas in which you can improve.
I would suggest some people might benefit from reading these first before starting the book.
Conclusion
Pigliucci is an important voice in the modern Stoicism movement. Instead of lecturing readers on academic philosophy heās chosen to provide them with a practical guide to living like a Stoic in the real world. He shows that Stoicism can provide a philosophy of life consistent with a modern scientific worldview, and with atheism or agnosticism as well as different forms of religion. He provides many vivid examples of everyday situations in which Stoic philosophy was found helpful in his own life. He also draws upon many examples from the lives of other individuals to make his point that adopting Stoic attitudes and behaviours can contribute to a more fulfilled and emotionally resilient way of living. For that reason, I think that both newcomers and people who are familiar with the philosophy will potentially obtain something of value from reading this book. The Stoics believed that the wise man is naturally drawn to writing books that help other people and they would surely see How to be a Stoic as a fitting attempt to reprise their timeless wisdom for the 21st century.
How would you introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
I’m Justin Vacula, host of the Stoic Solutions Podcast where I offer practical wisdom for everyday life focusing on topics including gratitude, acceptance, overcoming adversity, finding meaning in life, moderation, dealing with change, friendship, loneliness, and anger.
Podcast guests include counselors, academics, authors, mixed martial artists, and musicians. I currently serve as counselor-in-training intern working with elementary school students in a community and school-based behavioral health program while pursuing my Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
How did you become interested in Stoicism?
I found Stoicism through the Rationally Speaking Podcast formerly co-hosted by Massimo Pigliucci and the Thinking Poker Podcast hosted by Andrew Brokos and Nate Meyvis. Andrew and Nate spoke of Stoicism as a tool to improve one’s mental fortitude at and away from Poker tables following encountering many adverse events in Poker. I stated to read Epictetus’ Discourses, Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, and Seneca’s Letters From a Stoic and began applying Stoicism to my life.
What’s the most valuable thing we can learn about Stoicism from the life or writings of Marcus Aurelius?
Marcus’ work continually touches on themes of acceptance ā that things we view as misfortunes in life, negative experiences, are inevitable and should not lead us to despair. We can question our impressions, our opinions about happenings in the world, and work to change our mindset to not be consumed by intense negative emotions. We can see death as a part of change in life and be grateful for having been born making the most of the precious time we have. We can recognize many situations, death included, in which we lack a large degree of control, and be content with outcomes focusing on what we have power over. Rather than overly blaming ourselves, lamenting the state of the universe, or being resentful, we can work to come to peace with the world seeing a larger picture including positive happenings in our lives.
Do you have a favourite quote from The Meditations?
Marcus encourages us to take action in the world, to be an active participant in our lives and society not squandering the time we have on a day-to-day basis ā āhave I been made for this, to lie under the blankets and keep myself warm?ā We can rise to face challenges in our lives to better ourselves and the world around us ā learning, growing, working toward self-mastery, and enthusiastically taking on roles performing to the best of our ability finding purpose in what we do rather than viewing our lives as miserable toil.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn more about Marcus Aurelius or Stoicism?
I would encourage people to take a critical evaluation of their own lives and discover areas in which they can find improvement. Identify goals and work toward a modest plan of making progress. Examine your thoughts and see if they are productive or self-defeating. Progress is possible especially when considering areas of life where you can shine ā particular skills where you can experience joy and accomplishment.
How would you introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
I am a clinical psychologist and work at the University of Pennsylvania. I practice psychotherapy and train psychologists to do psychotherapy. I teach, at New York University, a graduate-level course on cognitive behavior therapy. I author books on this therapy and maintain a website REBTDoctor.com aimed at disseminating this useful philosophy and psychotherapy. I also am a consultant on a project with the United States Navy where we are teaching rational thinking and problem-solving skills to enlisted personnel. What all these roles have in common is I teach people how to help themselves and others to cope with adversity.
How did you become interested in Stoicism?
I practice a form of psychotherapy known as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). It is the original form of cognitive behavior therapy. Dr. Albert Ellis, a famous psychologist now deceased, created REBT. I studied with Ellis for many years. He based REBT on ancient and modern philosophy and behavior therapy. REBT heavily borrows from Stoicism. I am always looking to improve my effectiveness as a psychotherapist and communicator of REBT. I assumed that by studying the underlying ancient philosophy upon which Ellis built REBT, I could deepen my understanding of it, better communicate its core ideas and perhaps enhance my clinical effectiveness.
How do you currently make use of Stoicism in your work?
I integrate quotes from Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius into my REBT sessions. Stoicism mixes nicely with REBT, and the aim of using these quotes is to induce a philosophical shift that helps the patient cope with the adversity that originally leads them to seek psychotherapy. I also use these same quotes to assist me in coping with the adversities I face and to develop my character and lead a meaningful life.
What’s the most valuable thing we can learn about Stoicism from the life or writings of Marcus Aurelius?
To prepare ourselves in advance for adversity, especially adversity caused by others. To expect it to happen so as not to be thrown by it. To see that when obstructed by others, we can more effectively address the challenge by not disturbing ourselves about what has happened. Marcus teaches that humans largely hurt ourselves. I agree. We hurt ourselves largely by the attitudes we choose to hold towards what others do to us. Marcus reminds us to remember that people do bad things largely out of ignorance or emotional disturbance not because they are bad people. I believe this about people. Seeing people as flawed, ignorant and emotionally disturbed makes sense to me. I then go on to remind myself that I too am a flawed human. With this mindset, I work to control and improve my behavior and also resist what people do so that I can accomplish my goals. In so doing I try very hard to work with people as opposed to work against them. I try to accept people and not condemn them, although I may very much dislike what they are doing. Not condemning people as people allows me to avoid self-defeating anger and to deal with them constructively. Aurelius also helps me to see and remember that I live in a social world and it is important that I try to get people to work with each other rather than against each other. As I see it, people too easily work against each other. He helps me maintain the perspective that it is good and natural to see ourselves as part of a whole, not isolated individuals. With all this said, I try to keep other peopleās interests a close second to my interests.
What do you think is the most important psychological technique or piece of practical advice that we can derive from Marcus’ Stoicism?
There is great value in holding ourselves responsible for our emotional reaction to other people rather blaming them for our reaction. Others may obstruct us, but we hurt ourselves about what they do. We control our emotional destiny regardless of what others do or fail to do. When we master this simple idea, we liberate ourselves.
Do you have a favorite quote from The Meditations?
When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own – not of the same blood and birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are unnatural.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn more about Marcus Aurelius or Stoicism?
Take your online course on Marcus Aurelius and read the Meditations.
Do you have anything else that you wanted to mention while we have the chance?
I believe people are well advised to study both Stoicism and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. They complement each other nicely because Ellis crafted REBT from Stoic ideas and sentiment. Stoicism is a wonderful philosophy, but REBT can be more accessible, at least initially. Use both tools. To this end go to my website REBTDoctor.com and watch my free audios and videos and learn about REBT and how to put it to use in your life. Register for my Intermittent Reinforcement emails, and you will receive on an intermittent basis useful emails on how to deepen your understanding of REBT and how to use it to cope with adversity and change your unwanted behaviors. If you are a mental health practitioner, coach, or philosophical counselor, consider reading my book Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy ā A Newcomerās Guide. It will teach you how to use REBT in your counseling and coaching work with others. Finally, I will be doing a workshop at Stoicon 2018 in London which I have titled āStoic and Rational Thinking in an Irrational World.ā I plan to show how both Stoicism and REBT and be used in todayās challenging world and to facilitate a lively discussion with those who attend!
How would you introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
I’m a British writer, author of Philosophy for Life (2012) and The Art of Losing Control (2017), and one of the original organizers of Modern Stoicism.
I’ve done Stoic-themed workshops with lots of audiences, including Saracens rugby club, who I’ve worked with for the last four seasons.
I got into Stoicism via Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which helped me when I suffered from PTSD and social anxiety in my early 20s. CBT reminded me of Marcus Aurelius, who I had read as a teenager. I went to interview the founders of CBT, Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck, and heard how they had been directly inspired by Stoicism. Then I started to interview contemporary Stoics, writing up the interviews for an online magazine called the Stoic Registry. Through that, I helped organize the first gathering of Stoics – in San Diego, in 2010.
I also met Donald during that time – we must have met in, like, 2010 or something. We were researching along similar lines, both very inspired by Pierre Hadot’s Philosophy as a Way of Life. Anyway, I wrote up my stories of modern Stoics in the book Philosophy for Life in 2012, and then in 2013 the Modern Stoicism project started and Stoicism really started to revive. I don’t consider myself a card-carrying Stoic, but I still think it’s an incredibly helpful and wise philosophy with some excellent methods for transforming the self.
What’s the most valuable thing we can learn about Stoicism from the life or writings of Marcus Aurelius?
I guess two things. First, how our emotions come from our opinions or perspective. And second, to remind oneself of the limit of one’s control over the universe, and focus on our own moral agency. It’s fascinating how Marcus constantly reminds himself that he’s not a God, he can’t control the universe – unlike his predecessor, Caligula, who declared war on the sea and made his soldiers attack it!
Do you have a favourite quote from The Meditations?
Our mind becomes dyed with the colour of our habitual thoughts.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn more about Marcus Aurelius or Stoicism?
Well, read the Meditations or Epictetus’ Discourses. They’re very accessible. Find a modern translation. And then, try a modern intro to Stoicism like those by Donald or me!
Do you have anything else that you wanted to mention while we have the chance?
I’d like to speak up for an eclectic approach to Greek wisdom – that’s my approach. I don’t think Stoicism has to be an ‘all or nothing’ philosophy. I find some of its insights into the mind and reality deeply wise, but other philosophical approaches are also very helpful for me, particularly Buddhism at the moment. I think Stoicism can sometimes lead to an overly self-reliant and overly-rationalist approach to life. We’re flawed humans with messy emotions and that’s OK – it’s better to admit that rather than pretending to be some super-rational sage.
I find Buddhist loving-kindness meditation is a good supplement to Stoicism, so one practices being kind and gentle to oneself and others. How kind was Marcus? I feel he related to other beings with a sense of fastidious duty, but I don’t get a sense he was a tremendously warm person, do you? Maybe that’s what his son Commodus felt!
How would you introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
I am the K.D. Irani professor of philosophy at the City College of New York. My background is in evolutionary biology and philosophy of science, and my professional interests include the logical structure of evolutionary theory and the nature of pseudoscience.
How did you become interested in Stoicism?
Funny thing. I was going through a bit of a midlife crisis a few years ago, as well as doing my PhD in philosophy. Had figured out that virtue ethics was in the right ballpark of what I needed, but neither Aristotle nor Epicurus clicked with me. Then one day I saw this on my Twitter feed: āHelp us celebrate Stoic Week!ā And I thought, who on earth wants to celebrate Stoic week, and why? But I signed up, and the rest is history, as they say…
What’s the most valuable thing we can learn about Stoicism from the life or writings of Marcus Aurelius?
That even the most powerful man in the world can benefit from philosophical reflection, although of course just doing so does not make him a sage. Reading the Meditations one gets the palpable impression that Marcus was a man honestly trying to do his best with the incredibly onerous task he had assumed. And itās clear he got comfort from his philosophy, from reflecting on Heraclitus and Epictetus, among others. But, understandably, he was also a man incapable of escaping the constraints of his own culture (e.g., he couldnāt conceive of questioning the institution of slavery), as well as a fallible man (e.g., though there are, as you know, attenuating circumstances, the choice of Commodus as his successor wasnāt exactly the most brilliant move of his life). Thatās why we common folks, almost two millennia later, can relate to him. He is thoughtful, and human. As we all aspire to be.
Do you have a favourite quote from The Meditations?
Yes: āBegin the morning by saying to yourself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil. ā¦ I can neither be injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what is ugly, nor can I be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him.ā (II.1) It has so much wrapped in it! (Especially if you look up the full quote.) It is a realistic assessment of life and people. And yet a compassionate one. It is humble, and eminently reasonable. It kind of embeds, for me, the very best of Stoic philosophy.
How do you currently makes use of Stoicism in your work?
I use Stoicism at work and in life in general. I find basic Stoics precepts, and pithy phrases to remind me of them, incredibly useful to navigate the small and sometimes big problems of life. I get less angry at people by telling myself āit seems so to himā; I keep in mind that my plans might need to be changed because of contingencies by saying āfate permittingā; and I try to steer away from damaging thoughts by repeating (usually internally) āyou are just an impression, and not at all the thing you portray to be.ā Reading the Stoics and studying their philosophy has also changed my priorities in life and at work, making me focus on what is really important, as well as prompting me to question whether something is, in fact, important. I spend more time with my best friends, because friendship is crucial to cultivate oneās virtue and become better people. It is no exaggeration to say that Stoicism has changed my life since I started studying and practicing it.
What do you think is the most important psychological technique or piece of practical advice that we can derive from Marcus’ Stoicism?
Write your own philosophical diary, which is, in an important sense, what the entire Meditations is. While one can extract several other exercises from the text (see here), I found that writing an evening journal of reflection is helping me immensely in being more attentive to what I do and why, and in trying to do better the next time around. And after all, since sages are as rare as the mythical Phoenix, doing better is really all we can strive for.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn more about Marcus Aurelius or Stoicism?
You mean other than downloading your book, which has been waiting on my queue for a few weeks? On Marcus specifically, I really like William Stephensā Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed (Bloomsbury). It has a nice structure, which includes a look at Marcusā life and time, an in-depth discussion of its main influences (the above mentioned Heraclitus and Epictetus), but also an informative analysis of the main philosophical themes of the Meditations. Turns out, Marcus was a pretty decent philosopher in his own right, and Stephens manages to actually reconstruct some of the formal arguments scattered throughout the Meditations, and which may not be apparent to the casual reader.
In terms of Stoicism more broadly, Iād say to get hold of a good translation of the three major authors. I suggest Robin Hardās version of Epictetus’ Discourses, Enchiridion, and Fragments (Oxford Classics), Hardās version of the Meditations (also Oxford Classics), and the recent complete series of Seneca put out by University of Chicago Press (seven books, including the tragedies and the Natural Questions, though someone interested in Stoicism as an ethical philosophy might do without these latter).For modern texts, Iād say your Stoicism and the Art of Happiness (the first book I read on modern Stoicism!), for the advanced students Lawrence Beckerās A New Stoicism, and ā if I may ā my own How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life.
I would also suggest to join or get started a local group of practitioners, perhaps using the meetup.com platform, and making sure to use the resources of the Stoic Fellowship. Finally, your Stoicism Facebook Group is a great, and very large, virtual community. But as you know, itās not for the faint of heart: while one can find excellent advice and support, there is more than the occasional troll or snarky commenter. Then again, I guess thatās one way to practice Stoic patience and endurance…
Do you have anything else that you wanted to mention while we have the chance?
Well, I have already plugged my book above. My informal writings on Stoicism can be found at howtobeastoic.org, but Iām especially happy with my recently launched mini-podcast, Stoic Meditations (13 platforms so far). At last count it had 500,000 downloads, which Iām frankly astounded by. Each episode lasts about two minutes, and is basically a short meditation, based on a quote from Seneca, Musonius, Epictetus, or Marcus, which I then explain and elaborate upon.
Massimo is the author of How to be a Stoic. You can read many articles on his blog and website, and his new podcast.
How would you introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
I am a psychologist by education and a data scientist by profession. I have also been a long-term, inconsistent Stoic practitioner of no particular distinction or significance.
Iām reluctant to call myself a Stoic for two reasons: One, I feel itās presumptuous on my part to claim such a lofty title. Two, I feel labels discourage crossing boundaries and hamper free thinking. It is really interesting to note that the beloved Stoic Marcus Aurelius does not refer to himself as a Stoic. As the Stoic scholar Brad Inman (2018) points out, Marcus refers to Stoics as ātheyā rather than āusā.
My work in Stoicism centers around making Stoicism accessible to those who could benefit from it. For the past 18 months, I have been writing plain English versions of the works of Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and Musonius Rufus. Substantial parts of my work are available for free as blogs and as book extracts from my Stoic website, thestoicgym.com.
How did you become interested in Stoicism?
When I was still in my teens, I happened to pick up a book called To Himself (now more commonly known as Meditations) by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. I had no idea who he was but when I read the first paragraph of the second chapter, where he talks about preparing himself for the day and says that no one can force him to choose ugliness by their unpleasant behavior, I was hooked. I kept returning to this book for several years. Then I discovered Enchiridion. I was captivated by the very first paragraph where Epictetus talks about what is in our control and what is not and why it makes no sense to worry about things not under our control. It was probably the single most powerful idea of Stoic philosophy. However, many years passed before I realized that they were talking about a philosophy known as Stoicism.
What’s the most valuable thing we can learn about Stoicism from the life or writings of Marcus Aurelius?
Marcus Aureliusā Meditations is a curious document. Its tone is melancholic, yet the message is upbeat. Different people can easily take different things from reading Marcus Aurelius. The recurring theme of Meditations, as I see it, is this:
Donāt get hung up on reputation, fame and fortune. They are so fleeting and so insignificant when you contemplate the infinity of time before and after you. You are less than a speck in the vast universe. Donāt wonder whether the world is controlled by the gods or by randomness. So, a. Do what needs doing. b. Be just in your dealings. c. Be kind ā even to those who are unkind to you.
And relax, everything is, has always been, and will be, as it should be.
By putting our lives in such a perspective, Marcus Aurelius shows how comical our sense of self-importance is.
Do you have a favourite quote from The Meditations?
No, I donāt have a favourite quote from Meditations. I have many. So here is one of my many favourite quotes:
The cucumber is bitter? Then cast it aside. There are brambles in the path? Step out of the way. That will suffice, and you need not ask in addition āWhy did such things ever come into this world?ā
How do you currently makes use of Stoicism in your work?
My website (thestoicgym.com) describes me as āan embarrassingly inconsistent practitioner of Stoicism.ā I donāt think I am a good example. I am not big on practicing Stoicism when things go well and I donāt practice premeditatio malorum. I figure, for instance, if I starve myself for a day to practice being hungry, it may never come to pass and I would have unnecessarily passed up an opportunity to eat well. But If I didnāt practice being hungry and if I am forced to starve, then I can always use that as my practice session. Or I can go back to Epictetus ā some things are not in our power, so thereās no point in worrying about the discomfort. In my work I remind myself that things are not under my control when they go wrong. This keeps me from getting upset. I presume this is not how most people practice Stoicism. I wouldnāt recommend anyone to follow my model.
What do you think is the most important psychological technique or piece of practical advice that we can derive from Marcus’ Stoicism?
See the stretch of time behind you and ahead of you. Realize that in a blink your life will be over. Contemplate the hugeness of the universe. Realize that you are not even a speck. When you see that clearly you will not get upset by anything that life presents you with. You will not complain or be in conflict with anyone and you wonāt be unjust.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn more about Marcus Aurelius or Stoicism?
I am not sure if I am in a position to advise anybody. But if someone asked me, perhaps I would suggest to them to start slowly. Donāt try to learn about Stoicism. Pick up a copy of Marcus Aureliusā Meditations or Epictetusā Handbook. If you have choice, pick up a translation or rendition that is easy to follow. Read it slowly and see if any of it applies to your own life. If it does, read more of it. Once you find these principles make sense to you, try to understand more about Stoicism by reading a simply written book such as Stoicism: A Very Short Introduction by Brad Inman. If you are interested in Marcus Aurelius, you may want to read How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson. (As I write this, this book is not out yet. But I am presuming that this book will be similar to his other well-written books.)
Do you have anything else that you wanted to mention while we have the chance?
Now that you ask, here are my books in the Stoicism in Plain English series:
The Complete Works of Epictetus, a set of five books covering Discourses, Fragments and Enchiridion. (Stoic Foundations, Stoic Choices, Stoic Training, Stoic Freedom and Stoic Inspirations)
The Complete Works of Musonius Rufus in a single volume (Stoic Lessons)
The Complete Works of Marcus Aurelius (Stoic Meditations, The Unknown Marcus Aurelius)
In addition, I have also written a primer on the application of Stoic philosophy to modern life, Unshakable Freedom.
How would you introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
Iām an academic who writes about Stoicism and the later reception of Stoicism. My first book The Art of Living (2003) was about the way in which the Stoics saw philosophy as something expressed in oneās way of life. My second book Stoicism (2006) was a general introduction to Stoicism, aimed at university students rather than general readers. My most recent book Hellenistic Philosophy (2018) is an overview of philosophy in that period; an academic introduction, but hopefully accessible to general readers, that also stresses the practical dimension in much of Hellenistic philosophy.
How did you become interested in Stoicism?
It was while I was an undergraduate student of philosophy. I was reading a wide variety of things and references to Stoicism kept cropping up. It soon started to feel like the secret thread connecting all my disparate interests. Independently I was also reading Marcus Aurelius around this time, not necessarily thinking of him as a Stoic. He was certainly the first Stoic author I read.
What’s the most valuable thing we can learn about Stoicism from the life or writings of Marcus Aurelius?
I think there are a couple of things. First is the resolutely practical attitude. Heās not talking about philosophy, or even about how one might put philosophy into practice in his own life; heās directly confronting difficulties in his own life. His response draws on Stoic philosophy, which is sometimes only implicit, but itās not a book explicitly outlining philosophical ideas; instead itās a model of how one might go about shaping oneās life in the light of philosophy. I think this is one of the reasons why Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus complement each other so well: Epictetus gives you the philosophical ideas, while Marcus gives you a practical example of how someone might try to act on them.
The second thing is his intellectual modesty. He doesnāt claim to have all the answers. He suspends judgement on some issues where he is not sure. Thereās no dogmatic āthis is what a proper Stoic would doā rhetoric. Thereās no claim to be a sage. Instead heās just a flawed human being trying to work out how to become better. Itās also worth noting that he doesnāt seem to be primarily motivated by overcoming his own distress, becoming happier, or any of those things: the focus is primarily on being a good, ethical human being, doing the right thing, behaving decently to those around him, and so on. The project isnāt self-centred self-help; itās ethical self-improvement.
Do you have a favourite quote from The Meditations?
Itās hard to choose, but I think it must be this (2.17): āOf manās life, his time is a point, his substance flowing, his perception faint, the constitution of his whole body decaying, his soul a spinning wheel, his fortune hard to predict, and his fame doubtful; that is to say, all the things of the body are a river, the things of the soul dream and delusion, life is a war and a journey in a foreign land, and afterwards oblivion.ā Itās pretty blunt stuff and when I first read it, many years ago now, it felt like a slap across the face! We are all merely momentary accumulations of matter, soon to be dispersed and forgotten.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn more about Marcus Aurelius or Stoicism?
If youāve already read Marcus, then Iād say read Epictetus, for the reason I gave earlier. If you want an account of how the two fit together, then Pierre Hadotās book The Inner Citadel makes the case for Marcusās debt to Epictetus. Iāve tended to resist biographies of Marcus because inevitably they tend to focus on his career as Emperor. If you are more interested in learning how to put Stoicism into practice then you should try Stoic Week (of course!) and look at some of the many popular books on Stoicism. Of these Iād probably recommend A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine and Stoicism and the Art of Happiness by some guy called Donald Robertson!
Do you have anything else that you wanted to mention while we have the chance?
There are lots of things coming up. At the moment Iām in the final stages of organizing Stoicon 2018, which will take place in London on 29th September.
Iāve just been asked to write a short book on Roman Stoicism for a general audience, which I hope to do this summer, and should be out next year. I also have a long-standing contract to write a book on Marcus Aurelius, which I hope to complete this coming year, the aim of which will be to make explicit all the philosophical ideas that lurk beneath the surface in the Meditations.
How would you introduce yourself and your work to our readers?
I’m a husband, father, teacher, and musician from Floyd, VA USA.
My lifelong study and affection for Stoic philosophy benefits my life, relationships, and work including my book, The Stoic Creative Handbook, my coaching practice, my membership site, my podcast, and my work as a coach in Seth Godin’s The Marketing Seminar. You can learn more about me and all these projects at BeCreativeOnPurpose.com.
How did you become interested in Stoicism?
My adventures in Stoicism began in a 7th grade Latin class where I was introduced to Marcus through translating passages from Meditations from Latin to English from my textbook (although Marcus originally wrote them in Greek). Encouraging my interest, my teacher gave me his copy of Meditations. I read and reread it until the book was tattered.
At the time, I didnāt know I was reading a definitive ancient Stoic text. I just loved the way Marcus spoke to himself. It was the same way I talked to myself. This is one thing purposeful work can do, it connects people disconnected by time and place.
What’s the most valuable thing we can learn about Stoicism from the life or writings of Marcus Aurelius?
This has changed over time. As a teenager, I was most affected by Marcus’ reminders to curb unhealthy desires and impulses. As a young adult, Marcus’ urging to apply oneself intentionally and generously to meaningful work became more important. As I enter middle age, it is the call to approach mortality with grace and to serve others while I still can that most resonate.
Do you have a favourite quote from The Meditations?
I have dozens of favorite quotes from Meditations, but the one I cite most frequently is, āLove the humble art you have learned and take rest in it.ā – Meditations, 4.31
It is the art of living that I believe we are here to learn. Crafting our excellence through meaningful endeavors that serve others and a greater good is not the work we have to do, but the work we get to do. For this gift, we should be grateful and approach it with humility and purpose. This quote by Marcus above helps me keep this top of mind.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn more about Marcus Aurelius or Stoicism?
Although there are many great modern works about Stoicism, I find the primary ancient texts of Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca are easy to access and understand. Why not begin with those?
What do you think is the most important psychological technique or piece of practical advice that we can derive from Marcus’ Stoicism?
Again, for me, this has changed as I’ve aged. As a young man premeditatio malorum, Hierocles Concentric Circles of Influence, journaling gratitudes and lessons, and other Stoic exercises helped me immensely. As a middle-aged person, memento mori has served as a call to action to focus on the here and now and do everything I can to enhance the lives of others while I still can. I reflect on my mortality and am inspired to do work that matters during my daily cemetery run.
Recently, I’ve meditated on this advice from Marcus, āPeople exist for one another. You can instruct or endure them.ā – Meditations, 8.59 This has lead me to begin a new project called Wicked Conversations. Wicked Conversations challenge our beliefs and assumptions, but instead of spiraling into arguments, Wicked Conversations help us set aside agendas and cultivate understanding and the pursuit of deeper truths.
Do you have anything else that you wanted to mention while we have the chance?
The lessons of Stoicism are as pertinent today as they were in ancient times. Through the millennia, we’ve asked the questions “What does it mean to be human?” “What does it mean to be happy?” and “How can I be more of both?” Stoicism encourages us to answer these questions not just with ideas, but with action. In this way, we are afforded the opportunity to improve ourselves and enhance the lives of others.
All of my work at BeCreativeOnPurpose.com is informed by my longtime interest and study of Stoicism in general and Marcus Aurelius in particular. I’d love to have you join my newsletter and stay in touch there!
The digital age has added innumerable new Stoic resources, some more worthy than others. I advise starting with a thorough and thoughtful reading of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and applying this wisdom to your daily life, work, and relationships.
That said, here is a document where I share links to some of my favorite Stoic-related books, blogs, sites, videos, and apps. I’m always happy to connect via email with fellow Stoic travelers. You can reach me at scott@becreativeonpurpose.com.
For more information check out Scott’s Creative on Purpose website and podcast, which has featured interviews with me and other members of the Modern Stoicism team.
His book The Stoic Creative Handbook is available from Amazon. Look out for his upcoming Stoicism Today article on Stoicism & Creativity publishing, due to be published in August 2018.
