One of the persisting misconceptions about Stoicism is that it counsels the suppression of emotions. And yet, here is Seneca to his friend Lucilius: “For one must indulge genuine emotions; sometimes, even in spite of weighty reasons, the breath of… Read More ›
As readers of this blog probably know, my new book, How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (Basic Books) has been published. It is a practically-minded exploration of Stoicism by way of an ongoing… Read More ›
Stoicism is not new to criticism. Many of the fragments of Stoic texts that we have, especially referring to the early Stoa, are actually from authors who were not just critical, but seriously pissed off at, the philosophy. And now… Read More ›
Last semester (Fall 2016) I did an experiment at the City College of New York, where I am a faculty in the Department of Philosophy: I taught a course in applied Stoicism. That is, I didn’t teach the class as… Read More ›
I’m considering editing a book on the similarities and differences among a number of philosophies of life, sort of a guide to choosing your own philosophy, after actually learning a bit about it. The idea came from two video conversations… Read More ›
Do we live in a material universe governed by cause and effect? I believe so. Do we, then, have free will? It depends on what you mean by that term. The so-called problem of free will is one that keeps… Read More ›
One of the hallmarks of a successful movement is that media coverage begins to shift from treating it as a curiosity to presenting it as a possible threat, or at the least as overblown, simplistic, and possibly a vehicle to… Read More ›
