My impressions from reading about stoicism have been
- all of this is pretty obvious stuff, why all the books and discussions
- it's weird to identify yourself with in ideology and call yourself "a stoic"
I really don't get the hype about it.
- all of this is pretty obvious stuff, why all the books and discussions
- it's weird to identify yourself with in ideology and call yourself "a stoic"
I really don't get the hype about it.
It's also important to understand that Stoicism is a serious, well-argued philosophy comprised of arguments that dialogue or disagree with rival philosophical schools, like Epicureanism or Aristotelian philosophy. It contains many arguments that I feel are decidedly not obvious:
* Virtue is the only good * Happiness resides in only what we fully control (our response to external circumstances), and not in things that are outside our control, or partially under the influences of things outside our control * Wisdom (the ability to exercise reason to make the wisest choices) is the most valuable faculty * We are fundamentally cosmopolitan, and see ourselves as part of a broadly human polis, instead of seeing ourselves as only Athenian, American, Indian, etc * We must act for the social good, even though we are not guaranteed success (i.e. Stoicism is NOT quietism; this particular claim puts Stoicism against the Epicureans)
In fact, many people would find the fundamental framing of Stoic ethics dubious. If you're a deontologist, you'll be irritated that Stoicism often doesn't give an exact answer to a particular ethical question -- it instead emphasizes crafting a good character, and deducing the right response from what a good person would do, given the circumstances. Surely you'd want an exact answer that obtains in all situations -- none of this wishy washy virtue ethics stuff.
That's where the words of previous Stoics, or a recent Podcast, or advice from /r/stoicism helps many of us to make that choice at that moment, before it has become obvious or easy in hindsight.
money, and people are always looking for self-help and the "one simple fix" that will make their lives better. Ryan Holiday has made a lot of money selling books about stoicism, as evidently there is a lot of interest in the subject.