Vocabulary

 

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

 

The Rise of Stoicism

Stoic philosophy has garnered more popularity in the past decade than it has over its illustrious 2,000-plus year history.

Authors such as Ryan Holiday have created entire careers and sold millions of books centered around these ancient philosophers and their way of living.

This booming commercialized success of Stoicism has led to endless quotes floating across social media platforms and thousands of people sprinting to the nearest bookstore to pick up a copy of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 
So why is this? What makes Stoic philosophy so attractive to so many people? And does it even deserve the hype and the recognition that it’s getting? To help us answer this, let’s take a look at the history of Stoic philosophy.

History of Stoic Philosophy

Stoic philosophy dates way back to the 3rd Century BC in Athens, Greece, where it was founded by Zeno of Citium. It was later built upon by philosophers such as Seneca, Epictetus, Cato, Marcus Aurelius, and others.

It grew all throughout Athens and later into the Roman Empire until it was weakened by the rise of Christianity.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

Core Beliefs

Stoic philosophy can roughly be characterized under five main beliefs:

Live According to Nature: The first one being we must live according to Nature, or logos as the Greeks would describe it, and that we can’t stress or worry about things outside of our control.

Epictetus says, “The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”

Pursuit of Virtue: Second, the Stoics believe that true happiness is found by living in accordance with virtues or in the pursuit of virtues, not in materialism or in seeking out pleasures.

Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be; be one.”

Control Emotions: Third the Stoics believe we should not act emotionally or in a reactionary way. We should learn to control our emotions and act according to reason, act rationally.

As Epictetus puts it, “It’s not events that upset us, but our judgments about events.”

Discipline and Self-Control: Fourth, the Stoics place a huge emphasis on discipline, self-control, self-responsibility, and that you should not be shifting your blame on others or external factors.

Epictetus suggests, “No man is free who is not master of himself.”

Acceptance of Death and Loss: And lastly, the Stoics believe you must learn to accept death and accept the inevitable losses that occur within nature. You can’t stress what’s out of your control. So again, it ties back to the idea of living in accordance with nature.

Again, Marcus writes, “I cannot escape death, but at least I can escape the fear of it.”

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

Two Reasons for Its Popularity

With that out of the way, why is this specific philosophy so widely read and quoted across the internet? To me, it boils down to two main reasons:

Highly Practical: The first one being, it is highly practical. A lot of philosophy is theoretical; it talks about abstract ideas, existence, topics that, to be honest, don’t really apply to most people’s daily life. They’re just ideas and concepts.

With Stoicism, it’s much more practical and much more centered around the individual. Stoicism does talk a little bit about ethics, it does talk about politics a little bit.

But it is mostly centered around the individual: how should I live? What practical steps can I take to live a happier, more fulfilling, more productive, more meaningful life?

It’s very centered around the individual, and I think that makes it a lot more applicable to people regardless of race, social class, wealth, status — whatever. It applies to almost everybody.

While other philosophers like Nietzsche, Spinoza, or Hume are focused on God, concerned with morality and the correct political structure, Stoicism isn’t worrying about that too much. It’s more focused on how can I live a happier, more fulfilling life.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

Highly Quotable: The other main reason why Stoicism is gaining so much popularity is because it’s highly quotable.

In today’s social media-driven culture, you can grab the attention of millions with a short, whimsical quote from a Stoic. You can find them posted absolutely everywhere, especially in the fitness or entrepreneur communities where hustle culture and discipline are held as the utmost value.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

Potential Pitfalls

Despite its applicability to modern life and the individual, I do think it’s important to look at some of the potential pitfalls of Stoic philosophy.

Devaluing Emotions: The first one being an emphasis on devaluing emotions could potentially lead to a lack of empathy or social intelligence. For example, if you lost your wallet, a Stoic would tell you to control your anger and detach yourself from that materialism, that is, the cash in the wallet.

I think that’s very productive, and I think that’s actually a better perspective than the alternative.

However, if a loved one dies, I would not advocate that you suppress that pain and that grievance that you’re experiencing. I think it’s important that Stoicism recommends that you accept loss and accept death because it is part of nature and it is inevitable.

But I think trying to ignore those emotions, those affects that you have, and almost just submit yourself to suffering isn’t the most productive way. If Stoicism is misinterpreted, it can be taken in that direction.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

As David Hume describes in his An Inquiry into Human Understanding, “From this theory, some philosophers and the ancient Stoics, among the rest, derived the topic of consolation under all afflictions. While they taught their pupils that those ills under which they labored were in reality goods to the universe.”

He goes on to say, “But though this topic be specious and sublime, it was soon found in practice weak and ineffectual. You were surely more irritated than appeased a man lying under the racking pains of the gout by preaching up to him the rectitude of those general laws.”

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

Overgeneralization: Another potential pitfall of Stoicism is taking it as a wholesale, all-encompassing philosophy. It leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to ethical or social dilemmas, which is where other philosophies can come in and fill in those cracks.

I don’t think any philosophy, to be honest, should be taken as, “This is it; this is how I’m going to live every area of my life.” You want to take all forms of philosophy, all philosophers, all knowledge, and see how it applies to your life and fits you best and how you understand the world.

Cult Following: Lastly, I’ll note that Stoicism is kind of creating this cult following right now. If you critique it, if you suggest that it isn’t perfect, there’s just a ton of attacks coming online. I think that’s not a fault of Stoicism but more a byproduct of its success. But it’s still worth noting nonetheless.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

My Thoughts

Now, with all that being said, I am a huge fan of Stoicism. Do not get me wrong; I actually think it’s probably the most practical philosophy that exists: it gives relatively simple, valuable, effective advice to everyday people, and you can actually apply those almost immediately to living a more happy, fulfilling life.

But . . . if the only book you ever read is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, or you only ever read Stoic philosophers, you’re really missing out.

Please do not stop there.

It’s a shame that Meditations has well over thirteen thousand reviews on Amazon, yet powerful books like The Nicomachean Ethics have less than 300.

Typically, every time I walk into a Barnes & Noble or really any bookstore, there are rows and rows and rows of just versions of Meditations.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

 

Again, I think overall the rising popularity of Stoicism is a net gain for people, as a net gain for the philosophical community because it’s getting more people into these ideas and engaging with these different practices.

But I think the hope long term I have is that people reading Meditations and reading these different books and getting into Ryan Holiday hopefully leads them to a broader discovery, a broader exploration of philosophical ideas.

So that wraps up my thoughts on Stoicism. Let me know what you think about this rising popularity and almost this cliché fan club of Meditations and Stoic philosophy. What do you think about it? Comment down below, make sure you like the video, subscribe for more content like this, and I’ll catch you guys in the next one.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

 

Questions

 

Thales. Did Stoicism originate in the 1960s? Is it a modern school of though? Is it esoteric and known only to a few scholars? What is the history of Stoicism?

Parmenides. Losing our money, our home, our lover, our youth means the end of the world. What do you think? Should people panic or worry about the economy, getting fired or bad weather?

Pythagoras. According to the Stoics, the American Dream and “Keeping up with the Joneses” (having a big, beautiful family home, driving sleek news cars, fine dining in deluxe restaurants) is the most important thing in life. True or false?

Socrates. Should our lives be determined (dictated) by what is fashionable, trendy and what our peers think?

Plato. If a convicted criminal is in prison, or a person is broke (poor), it’s all the fault of society, their family, the government, the system. Is this right or wrong?

Aristotle. Why has Stoicism become popular in recent years?

Zeno of Citium. What are some criticisms or possible drawbacks or cons of Stoicism?

Cleanthes. Does the presenter have positive, negative or mixed views of Stoicism? Does Stoicism provide all the answers in life? What are his advices or suggestions?
 
 
 
Pyyrho of Elis. I studied Ancient Greek and Roman history and literature at school. Yes or no? Did you understand them? Were they interesting?

Seneca the Younger. Does Stoic, Cynic, Skeptic and Epicurean philosophy sound familiar to you?

Epictetus.. Are these well known? Are they encouraged in society, or do they contradict other ideals and values?

Marcus Aurelius. What might happen in the future?