Stoicism

Having recently read through Robert Wright’s book ‘Why Buddhism is True,’ I was impressed by Buddhism’s intricate comprehension of human psychology. While the book doesn’t directly set Buddhism against Stoicism, my previous exposure to Stoic made me see how the two philosophies could complement each other. Stoicism, particularly its modern interpretations, claims that achieving eudaimonia - the good life - implies “living according to one’s nature.” Stoics define our nature as being “social and rational.” This, in my perspective, is more readily comprehensible than the similar but more intricate concept nirvana presented in Buddhism. ...

I’d like to thank Dr. Gregory Sadler for helpful comments on this post. Who is Peter Singer? Peter Singer at The College of New Jersey, Oct 2009. Bbsrock, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. I consider myself a follower of Stoicism philosophy. In recent years, I have read attentively ancient Roman Stoics as well as modern Stoic writers. Their inspiring words have helped me tremendously in dealing with everyday challenges. However, many of my questions about how to live a good do not have answers in either classic or modern Stoic literature. Take, for example, what would be an ideal political system? As modern Stoic writer Massimo Pigliucci pointed out, the ancient Stoics do not have a consensus. Moreover, the world we are living in today is vastly more complicated than in ancient Rome. To live a virtuous life in our time, we must go beyond Stoicism and educate ourselves about how this world works. ...

Note: I wrote this in May 2021. Things in the world seem to have taken another down turn. That’s why it is even more important that we focus on what is in our control. Photo by Miriam Espacio from Pexels My dear friend, Today, we had talked about COVID-19, wars, oppression and, of course, climate change. Naturally, you were saddened by our discussions. That makes me think if I can write something to cheer you up. Here are some ideas from Epictetus, an ancient-Roman philosopher – one of my favourite. Whenever I am upset, Epictetus has always been helpful. Hopefully he can also offer you some solace. ...