Do you believe you think independently? Do you alone control your actions? Stoic philosophy asserts that your mind, thoughts, and actions are traces of a world which shapes you, and everyone else, together. Our personal nature is part of a system, not independent. This book studies how a Stoic thinks and acts as part of a community and in service of a world, rather than separately or for themselves alone.
This is not just another book about Stoic philosophy. Stoicism has been popularized as a way to primarily serve personal benefits, promising mental resilience in an uncontrollable world of people and events.
This book instead explores how for the Stoics we only benefit personally by being aware of how we are entangled with our fellow humans and the world. This perspective reveals anti-individualistic conditions for the well-being that individuals seek from the philosophy.
By studying features that might seem to …
Do you believe you think independently? Do you alone control your actions? Stoic philosophy asserts that your mind, thoughts, and actions are traces of a world which shapes you, and everyone else, together. Our personal nature is part of a system, not independent. This book studies how a Stoic thinks and acts as part of a community and in service of a world, rather than separately or for themselves alone.
This is not just another book about Stoic philosophy. Stoicism has been popularized as a way to primarily serve personal benefits, promising mental resilience in an uncontrollable world of people and events.
This book instead explores how for the Stoics we only benefit personally by being aware of how we are entangled with our fellow humans and the world. This perspective reveals anti-individualistic conditions for the well-being that individuals seek from the philosophy.
By studying features that might seem to define us as separate individuals—our mind, body, self-preserving instinct, knowledge, and happiness—we find that everything about each of us is interconnected and shared. The theoretical analysis, suitable for general and academic readers, involves all ancient Stoic eras, comparisons with pre-Socratic, Platonic, and Aristotelian positions, and modern Stoic debates.
"It is high time now for you to understand the universe of which you are a part"
5 stars
A very welcome book in an age where most popular Stoicism-oriented self-help books heavily lean only into an egoistic improvement of the individual and "life hacks", while ignoring the crucially social and universal foundation of the philosophy. It also manages to be both academically relevant and accessible in its language. Would recommend for anyone who has had modest exposure to ancient Stoic texts.
