People often get the wrong impression of Stoicism from the word "Stoic". They believe that it is someone who has no emotion at all, but that is the exact opposite of the truth.
Stoicism is a school of Ancient philosophy principally concerned with how a person interacts with events going on outside of him or herself. It originated in the times of Greece and Rome. It is based on the idea that no matter what goes on outside of us, we can always control how we react to it. Put even more simply, Stoicism is the philosophy of making lemonade when life hands us lemons, but not just any lemonade. Stoics focus on taking the most rotten situations and not allowing the situations to make them any less human. Rather, they focus on using the situations to make them better.
Stoicism applies to you in every way. It can help anyone to create a better life for themself and for those around them. Allow me to lay out two of its basic ideas and the applications to modern day life. First, the Stoics created an inner world that was so formidable, it could stand up to any circumstance that the world threw at them. One of the most famous Stoic philosophers, Marcus Aurelius, said in his book Meditations "The quality of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." In my own personal experience as someone who used to crack under pressure, Stoicism helps me to adapt to the ever-changing world that I now inhabit. Second, Stoicism focuses on using the worst of situations to make the greatest victories. Again from Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations, he says, "A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown in it." This applies in a large way to us in the present day when we feel unlucky or that we cannot make any kind of good out of the situation.
There are many sources to learn about stoicism all over the internet. I have listed some of my personal favorites below, followed by a directory for all of the greatest Stoic authors and their writings.
| Author | Description | Greatest Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Aurelius | |
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor in the middle of the 2nd Century CE. He was most famous for the journal that he kept throughout his life called Meditations | Meditations |
| Epictetus | |
Epictetus, according to the Introduction of his book by Albert Salomon, started life as a slave, born in the 1st Century CE. Despite his suffering, he was helped in Rome and trained to be a philosopher. When he finally won his freedom, he opened up a school of philosophy. He was admired for not just teaching his ideas, but truly living by them | The Enchiridion |
| Seneca | |
Seneca the Younger, or Lucius Annaeus Seneca, was another Stoic who lived during Roman times. According to this article on Daily Stoic, Seneca was a high-ranking member of the Roman government in the 1st Century CE. He experienced many tragedies, including exile and being forced by the emperor to kill himself. | Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca |
| Admiral James Stockdale | |
Admiral James Stockdale was a navy pilot during Vietnam. Using info from his Naval Academy Profile, he was shot down and caputred by the North Vietnamese. He suffered for many years in a POW camp, and used Stoic philosophy to get through it. | Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot |
Sources: Google Images, Project Gutenberg, Daily Stoic, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, the Stoicism Subreddit, Color Palette #4200 from colorpalettes.net