William B. Irvine, a modern-day Stoic, discusses the relevance of Stoicism today. Topics include the origins of Stoicism, famous Stoics throughout history, managing grief, embracing positivity, and the goal and strategy of attaining tranquility through Stoicism.
Stoicism aims to prevent and manage negative emotions rather than eliminate all emotion, valuing joy and delight in life.
Stoics emphasize finding delight in everyday experiences and focusing on what is within one's control to attain tranquility.
Deep dives
The Origins of Stoicism
Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy that was later adopted and adapted by the Romans. Zeno of Kitium is considered the founder of Stoicism, with notable Roman Stoics including Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Musonius Rufus, and Epictetus. Despite misconceptions, Stoicism aimed to prevent and manage negative emotions rather than eliminate all emotion. Stoics valued joy and delight, seeking to live a life of enjoyment and appreciation.
The Stoic Perspective on Emotions
Stoics recognized the human reflex to experience grief or sadness but offered techniques to manage and overcome these negative emotions. Seneca, for example, wrote about grieving and the importance of bringing oneself back to a state of experiencing light and being alive. Stoics also emphasized not taking things for granted and finding delight in everyday experiences, reframing situations to highlight gratitude and appreciation.
The Stoic Goal and Strategies for Tranquility
The ultimate goal for Stoics, particularly the Roman Stoics, was tranquility, which meant avoiding negative emotions as much as possible. Stoicism provided a strategy for attaining this tranquility, including techniques like negative visualization to lower expectations and increase delight. Stoics also emphasized focusing only on what is within one's control and not wasting energy on things beyond control, leading to less distress and greater peace of mind.
How should we live? is a basic philosophical question. The Stoics had some answers. But are they relevant today? William B. Irvine thinks so. Listen to his conversation with Nigel Warburton on this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.
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