Download the Modern Stoicism

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Download the Modern Stoicism Four Stoic Exercises Control Journaling “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react “I examine my entire day and go back over to it that matters.” Epictetus what I’ve done and said, hiding nothing from myself, passing nothing by.” Seneca CONTROL Focus on what you can control in life - your JOURNALLING response. When something goes wrong or the Use journaling as a way to self-reflect on the day unexpected happened, focus on your reaction. and asses how you performed when you were This is where your power lies. met with challenges. Negative visualisation Voluntary Discomfort Envision all of the things that could go wrong in “We will train both soul and body when we order to prepare for potential problems. It can also accustom ourselves to cold, heat, thirst, NEGATIVE be used to help you cultivate gratitude by VOLUNTARY hunger, scarcity of food, hardness of bed, VISUALISATION contemplating loss. abstaining from pleasures, and enduring DISCOMFORT pains.” Musonius Rufus *This exercise comes with a warning - don’t use this if you are not in a good mental space. You Prepare for future adversity by practising must be careful when contemplating loss - don’t adversity. Push yourself out of your comfort zone get dragged down by it - focus on the gratitude. to build resilience. It’s a positive exercise if you focus on this aspect of it. www.benaldridge.com @dothingsthatchallengeyou Book Recommendations The three main Stoic philosophers and their most prominent work: Meditations - Marcus Aurelius (the Gregory Hayes translation is great) Discourses and Selected Writings - Epictetus Letters from a Stoic - Seneca Modern writers on Stoicism: The Daily Stoic - Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman A Guide to the Good Life - William B. Irvine How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius - Donald Robertson The Obstacle is the Way - Ryan Holiday Other resources: www.dailystoic.com www.modernstoicism.com www.benaldridge.com @dothingsthatchallengeyou.
Recommended publications
  • A Synthetic Approach to the Ground of Global Justice
    ISSN 2392-0890, no 8/2017, pp. 54-62, DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0012.0388 Modern Stoicism and the Responsibility for the Global Polis PIOTR STANKIEWICZ Institute of Philosophy, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 3, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland, E-mail: [email protected] Abstract This article outlines the premises and promises of a modern comeback of Stoicism, particularly the question of reinterpretation of the original doctrine, the contemporary intricacies of the principle of “following nature,” and the foundations that modern Stoicism establishes for global responsibility. Key words: Stoicism, modern Stoicism, ethics, virtue ethics, political philosophy, cosmopolitanism, responsibility. There is no doubt today that Stoicism is coming back. The ancient philosophical school established by Zeno and Chrysippus, and immortalized by Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius’ is enjoying its second youth. As Massimo Pigliucci puts it: The 21st century is seeing yet another revival of virtue ethics in general and of Stoicism in particular. [...] When it comes more specifically to Stoicism, new scholarly works and translations of classics, as well as biographies of prominent Stoics, keep appearing at a sustained rate. [...] In parallel with the above, Stoicism is, in some sense, returning to its roots as practical philosophy, as the ancient Stoics very clearly meant their system to be primarily of guidance for everyday life, not a theoretical exercise.(Pigliucci, Stoicism) Stankiewicz/Studies in Global Ethics and Global Education/ no 8/2017, pp. 54-62 Just as Pigliucci underscores, what is remarkable about the present boom of interest in Stoicism is that it is not confined to the academia.
    [Show full text]
  • Marcus Aurelius Was a Roman Emperor From
    Marcus Aurelius Roman Emperor and Philosopher Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor from 161-180 A.D, at a time when to be a Roman Emperor really meant being an emperor of almost all of the known world, for Rome’s territory then was at its most expansive. Therefore his job was not a small one. And yet at the same time as ruling the empire, and campaigning against troublesome tribes in what is now central and middle Europe (do you remember him from the start of the Gilm Gladiator?), he was also a philosopher. This did not mean that he just sat around thinking lofty thoughts in his spare time. Rather, the philosophy he chose to study was aimed at helping the individual to live life better, that is with values and a focussed mind. Marcus never wanted any glory – his own writings tell us that the last thing he desired was to be ‘treated like a Caesar’. All he wanted was to perform his duty admirably to his own people, family and, indeed, to himself. It was his favourite philosophy as a way of life, Stoicism, which enabled him to do this. Stoicism was a philosophy practised across the Ancient World for around half a millennium since its foundation by Zeno in the 4th century B.C. Nowadays, of course, we still have the word ‘stoic’ in our own language. It tends to mean someone who ‘ just gets on with things’ and who is rather ‘inGlexible, rigid and even emotionless.’ But, as history obscures so many things from the past, this could not be further from the truth.
    [Show full text]
  • Epictetus Slave and Philosopher
    Epictetus Slave and Philosopher Epictetus was born in modern-day Turkey in 55 A.D. He was born a slave (in fact, his name literally means the ‘one who is owned by another’) and lived in Rome, serving in a wealthy household to Epaphroditus who was the tyrannical Nero’s secretary. Not only was Epictetus a slave, but he was also a cripple. Life must have been difHicult and it was perhaps for this reason that he started to study philosophy and, like Marcus Aurelius, his preferred philosophy was Stoicism. It was in this philosophy that Epictetus found ‘freedom’. Not the kind of freedom one gets from being recognized as no longer being a slave, but the kind of ‘freedom’ which comes from have a purposeful and calm mind. As he studied more and more philosophy, he became the student of a leading Stoic teacher in Rome at that time, called Musonius Rufus. And, before long, Epictetus was teaching Stoicism himself, a fact which greatly annoyed the paranoid and deranged emperor Domitian who, in 93 A.D., banished all philosophers from Rome in case they ever discussed any ideas against his authoritarian rule. Epictetus decided to spend his exile in a town called Nicopolis which is in modern-day Albania, and he certainly kept active, founding his own philosophical school there. This was a place where anyone could come and seek advice about what was troubling him or her in life. Many of Epictetus’ teachings were written down, word for word, by one of his pupils and these are called the Discourses.
    [Show full text]
  • Praise for Ryan Holiday and Trust Me, I'm Lying
    PRAISE FOR RYAN HOLIDAY AND TRUST ME, I’M LYING “Holiday effectively maps the news media landscape. ​Media students and bloggers would do well to heed Holiday’s informative, timely, and provocative advice.” — Publishers Weekly “This book will make online media giants very, very uncomfortable.” —​­Drew Curtis, founder, Fark.com “Ryan Holiday’s brilliant exposé of the unreality of the Internet should be required reading for every thinker in America.” —​­Edward Jay Epstein, author of How America Lost Its Secrets: Edward Snowden, the Man and the Theft “Ryan Holiday is the Machiavelli of the Internet age. Dismiss his message at your own peril: He speaks truths about the dark side of internet media which no one else dares mention.” —​­Michael Ellsberg, author of The Education of Millionaires “[Like] Upton Sinclair on the blogosphere.” —​­Tyler Cowen, MarginalRevolution.com, author of Average Is Over Trust Me I’m Lying b-format.indd 1 29/11/2017 16:02 “Ryan Holiday is the internet’s sociopathic id.” — Dan Mitchell, SF Weekly “Ryan Holiday is a media genius who promotes, inflates, and hacks some of the biggest names and brands in the world.” —​­Chase Jarvis, founder and CEO, CreativeLive “Ryan has a truly unique perspective on the seedy underbelly of digital culture.” —​­Matt Mason, former director of marketing, BitTorrent “While the observation that the internet favors speed over accuracy is hardly new, Holiday lays out how easily it is to twist it toward any end. Trust Me, I’m Lying provides valuable food for thought regarding how we receive—​­and perceive— information.” — New York Post Trust Me I’m Lying b-format.indd 2 29/11/2017 16:02 TRUST ME, I’M LYING Ryan Holiday is a bestselling author and a leading media strategist.
    [Show full text]
  • Stoicism, Friendship, and Grief: a Response to Johnson
    Reason Papers Vol. 40, no. 1 Stoicism, Friendship, and Grief: A Response to Johnson Massimo Pigliucci City College of New York Brian Johnson, in his commentary on my effort to update Stoicism,1 provides a cogent critique of ancient Stoicism and a reasonable suggestion for my attempt to define modern Stoicism. I do not (much) disagree with him in terms of his conclusions, which he applies to the specific cases of friendship and grief, but which also hold for all of the Stoic “preferred indifferents.” I do, however, want to push back on two points: (1) the path he takes to arrive at those conclusions, and (2) the notion that all ancient Stoics would have proposed the same approach to friendship and grief that Epictetus takes. To begin with, Johnson points out that, for the Stoics, only virtue is good (agathos), while everything else is either worthy (axia) of choice or to be rejected.2 Hence the famous Stoic distinction between virtue, on the one hand, and preferred and dispreferred “indifferents” (i.e., everything else), on the other hand. However jarring the word “indifferent” may sound to modern ears, we need to be clear about what it means on the Stoic view. Things like wealth, health, education, friendship, love, and so forth are indifferents in the specific sense that they do not make us morally better or worse persons. The Stoic project is, fundamentally, one of moral self- improvement. This can be seen, for instance, in Epictetus: “What decides whether a sum of money is good? The money is not going to tell you; it must be the faculty that makes use of such impressions— reason” (Discourses I, 1.5).
    [Show full text]
  • View of Things
    Stoicisminplainenglish Ancient Stoic texts in modern English Thecompleteworksofepictetus(5volumes) and action? • Your goal is happiness and good StoicFoundations • Is there a choice between knowledge fortune. (DiscoursesBook1) and anxiety? Stoic Foundations revolves around 10 themes • Should you study logic? Why? which are also repeated in other places • Choose to be faithful. StoicFreedom throughout Discourses. These are: • Choose habits that fight impressions. • Concern yourself with only what is in • Show yourself to be worthy. (DiscoursesBook4) • Choose to be skillful. In Stoic Freedom, Epictetus shows us how to your power achieve freedom. How to be free • Be content to let things happen as they StoicTraining irrespective of what happens to us? In these do brilliant discourses, Epictetus shows us how • Your thinking, not the externals, drives (DiscoursesBook 3) to be free and what a free person looks like. your behaviour Stoic Training shows how to train ourselves • A free person is not in conflict with • Do not place value on external things in Stoic philosophy. anyone. • Don't give in to your anger or animal • Stoic training aims to make you • A free person is patient. instincts excellent as a human being. • A free person is not envious. • You can handle anything; always act • Stoic training consists of three • A free person is not anxious. your best disciplines: desire, action, and assent. • A free person is pure. • Learn to think properly and logically • Stoic training consists only of dealing • A free person is steadfast. • Practice, not knowledge, results in with one’s choices. • A free person chooses what to reveal progress • Train your mind to want whatever about themselves and when.
    [Show full text]
  • Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman
    The DAILY STOIC 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living RYAN HOLIDAY AND STEPHEN HANSELMAN PROFILE BOOKS First published in Great Britain in 2016 by PROFILE BOOKS LTD 3 Holford Yard Bevin Way London WC1X 9HD www.pro lebooks.com First published in the United States of America in 2016 by PORTFOLIO/PENGUIN An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC Copyright © Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman, 2016 Translations by Stephen Hanselman 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays, St Ives plc The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978 1 78125 765 4 eISBN 978 1 78283 317 8 “Of all people only those are at leisure who make time for philos- ophy, only they truly live. Not satis#ed to merely keep good watch over their own days, they annex every age to their own. All the harvest of the past is added to their store. Only an ingrate would fail to see that these great architects of venerable thoughts were born for us and have designed a way of life for us.” — S$%$&' CONTENTS INTRODUCTION * PART 1: THE DISCIPLINE OF PERCEPTION JANUARY: CLARITY + FEBRUARY:
    [Show full text]
  • Manual of Reformed Stoicism
    Manual of Reformed Stoicism Piotr Stankiewicz Series in Philosophy Copyright © 2020 Vernon Press, an imprint of Vernon Art and Science Inc, on behalf of the author. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Vernon Art and Science Inc. www.vernonpress.com In the Americas: In the rest of the world: Vernon Press Vernon Press 1000 N West Street, C/Sancti Espiritu 17, Suite 1200, Wilmington, Malaga, 29006 Delaware 19801 Spain United States Series in Philosophy Library of Congress Control Number: 2019957903 ISBN: 978-1-62273-648-5 DISCLAIMER This is a philosophical book – it’s purpose is to educate. It is not intended as a substitute for psychological counseling. If you need help, please do not hesitate to see a mental health professional. The author and publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability resulting from the actions advocated or discussed in this book. The purchaser of this book assumes the responsibility for the decisions they take during and/or after reading the book, based on the information in the book. Product and company names mentioned in this work are the trademarks of their respective owners. While every care has been taken in preparing this work, neither the authors nor Vernon Art and Science Inc. may be held responsible for any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in it. Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.
    [Show full text]
  • APA Eastern Division 2018 Meeting Program
    The American Philosophical Association EASTERN DIVISION ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM SAVANNAH CONVENTION CENTER SAVANNAH, GEORGIA JANUARY 3 – 6, 2018 Visit our table at APA Eastern. Offering a 20% pb / 40% hc discount with free shipping to the contiguous U.S. for orders www.sunypress.edu placed at the conference. Lessing and the Enlightenment Failing Desire His Philosophy of Religion Karmen MacKendrick and Its Relation to Eighteenth- Century Thought Unmaking The Making of Americans Henry E. Allison Toward an Aesthetic Ontology E. L. McCallum Satan and Apocalypse And Other Essays in Political The Symbolic Order of the Mother Theology Luisa Muraro Thomas J. J. Altizer Translated by Francesca Novello Edited and with an Introduction Aristotle on God’s Life-Generating by Timothy S. Murphy Power and on Pneuma as Its Vehicle Foreword by Alison Stone Abraham P. Bos Defining Religion Having a Word with Angus Graham Essays in Philosophy of Religion At Twenty-Five Years into His Robert Cummings Neville Immortality The Last Fortress of Metaphysics Carine Defoort and Roger T. Ames, Jacques Derrida and the editors Deconstruction of Architecture March 2018 Francesco Vitale Inheritance in Psychoanalysis Translated by Mauro Senatore Joel Goldbach and James A. Godley, editors Author Meets Critics Session Mystery 101 Friday, January 8th, An Introduction to the 7:00 – 10:00 pm Big Questions and the Limits The Good Is One, of Human Knowledge Its Manifestations Many Richard H. Jones Confucian Essays on Metaphysics, Morals, For Foucault Rituals, Institutions, Against Normative and Genders Political Theory Robert Cummings Neville Mark G. E. Kelly IMPORTANT NOTICES FOR MEETING ATTENDEES SESSION LOCATIONS Please note: this online version of the program does not include session locations.
    [Show full text]
  • The Obstacle Is the Way Rating Focus Take-Aways
    The Obstacle Is the Way The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph Ryan Holiday © 2014 From THE OBSTACLE IS THE WAY by Ryan Holiday. Summarized by arrangement with Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC 224 pages [@]Book: getab.li/23482 Rating Take-Aways 9 Applicability • Stoicism – an operating manual for life – is a pragmatic philosophy that helps people overcome their difficulties. 9 Innovation 9 Style • This venerable philosophy inspired George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Adam 9 Smith and Frederick the Great, as well as many contemporary leaders. • Stoicism rests on three primary disciplines: “perception, action and the will.” • Perception is the way you see the world. Viewing it realistically or with a bias can help Focus or hinder you. Leadership & Management • The right action is always directed, deliberate, bold and persistent. Strategy The world can break your body, but thanks to willpower, it can never break your spirit Sales & Marketing • and mind. You – not some external entity – control your will. Finance Human Resources • Obstacles that stand in the way of progress can actually promote progress. IT, Production & Logistics • People improve by facing and meeting challenges head-on. Career & Self-Development Small Business • The obstacles you overcome provide benefits you could not otherwise realize. Economics & Politics Industries • How you think about and react to obstacles while maintaining your composure defines you. Global Business Concepts & Trends To purchase personal subscriptions or corporate solutions, visit our website at www.getAbstract.com, send an email to [email protected], or call us at our US office (1-305-936-2626) or at our Swiss office (+41-41-367-5151).
    [Show full text]
  • Is a Philosophical Belief in Stoicism a Protected Belief Under Section 10 of the Equality Act? Yes It Is, Says London South Employment Tribunal
    Is a philosophical belief in Stoicism a protected belief under section 10 of the Equality Act? Yes it is, says London South Employment Tribunal By Charlotte Hadfield 3PB Barristers Mr S Jackson v Lidl Great Britain Ltd, Case Number 2302259/2019/V Exciting developments in all things Equality Act 2010 from West Croydon, and we’re not talking about the return of the much-missed jerk chicken van. Facts C was dismissed for refusing to apologise for offending his colleagues. C’s position was that he had mixed up his words due to his dyslexia. The offence that he had caused was unintentional. He had refused to apologise, or to apologise sufficiently, for that reason. He asserted that he was being required to communicate in a way that could not be misinterpreted, and that as a Stoic this was something that he could not do. C presented claims of direct disability discrimination and direct discrimination because of religion or belief. C’s case was that he had a strong interest in philosophy and a thorough knowledge of the principles of Stoicism. He told the Tribunal that he believes that there is an objective moral reality to which we are subject and that there are several ethical “values” (wisdom, courage, moderation and justice) to which he must adhere as a consequence of this belief. An important part of his belief is that he is not a “consequentialist”, i.e. the consequences of what he says and does do not prevent him from saying or doing that thing. His evidence, which was accepted by the Tribunal, was that he was striving towards what Stoics call “apatheia”, or a state of equanimity.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Conspiracy Peter Thiel Hulk Hogan Gawker and the Anatomy of Intrigue Pdf Book by Ryan Holiday
    Download Conspiracy Peter Thiel Hulk Hogan Gawker and the Anatomy of Intrigue pdf book by Ryan Holiday You're readind a review Conspiracy Peter Thiel Hulk Hogan Gawker and the Anatomy of Intrigue book. To get able to download Conspiracy Peter Thiel Hulk Hogan Gawker and the Anatomy of Intrigue you need to fill in the form and provide your personal information. Book available on iOS, Android, PC & Mac. Gather your favorite books in your digital library. * *Please Note: We cannot guarantee the availability of this ebook on an database site. Ebook File Details: Original title: Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue 336 pages Publisher: Portfolio (February 27, 2018) Language: English ISBN-10: 9780735217645 ISBN-13: 978-0735217645 ASIN: 0735217645 Product Dimensions:6.4 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches File Format: PDF File Size: 18132 kB Description: A stunning story about how power works in the modern age--the book the New York Times called one helluva page-turner and The Sunday Times of London celebrated as riveting...an astonishing modern media conspiracy that is a fantastic read. Pick up the book everyone is talking about.In 2007, a short blogpost on Valleywag, the Silicon Valley-vertical... Review: One of my favorite authors, John McPhee, wrote a book about single tennis match called Levels of the Game. A book about a single tennis game does not sound like there can be much to it, but the story of the match is really the story of two men, how they were raised, what lead them to that space and time and playing style, and what that match meant as..
    [Show full text]