Intro to Stoicism
The first book chosen this year is not actually a book, but a series of letters sent by Seneca to his friend Lucilius. Apparently, Seneca is what is known as a later stoic, meaning that there were others before him. I will perhaps read works by early stoics if my current study of this philosophy piques my interest, but Seneca will do to kick it off (I remember reading about Seneca's stoicism in Nassim Nicholas Taleb's work).
Why stoicism? What is it, and what is its relevance to life in 2017?
There are many ways to define stoicism, but it is often misunderstood as a bunch of cold, dry people with no emotions. I do not know enough about stoicism to fully rebuke this misconception, but I feel it's an unfair reputation. From what I have read thus far, stoics seem to acknowledge feelings, yet they do not let these cloud their judgment and their pursuit of a virtuous life. In fact, stoics seem to have a fairly simple recipe to happiness: virtue. This simplification comes in handy in today's every day life, where we are constantly bombarded by stimuli.
From Letter 9: "The wise man is contended with himself." Later on, he clarifies that "the wise man has use for his hands and eyes and many things necessary for daily use, but needs nothing: for need is a matter of necessity, and nothing is necessary to the wise man." This deeply resonates, as I have always felt necessity to be an undesirable dependence. Today, my daily life, as most of the population, depends on too many external factors.
How do we go from needing things to having use for them? In other words, how do we break off the shackles of dependence and necessity? I will be on the lookout in future letters...
Why stoicism? What is it, and what is its relevance to life in 2017?
There are many ways to define stoicism, but it is often misunderstood as a bunch of cold, dry people with no emotions. I do not know enough about stoicism to fully rebuke this misconception, but I feel it's an unfair reputation. From what I have read thus far, stoics seem to acknowledge feelings, yet they do not let these cloud their judgment and their pursuit of a virtuous life. In fact, stoics seem to have a fairly simple recipe to happiness: virtue. This simplification comes in handy in today's every day life, where we are constantly bombarded by stimuli.
From Letter 9: "The wise man is contended with himself." Later on, he clarifies that "the wise man has use for his hands and eyes and many things necessary for daily use, but needs nothing: for need is a matter of necessity, and nothing is necessary to the wise man." This deeply resonates, as I have always felt necessity to be an undesirable dependence. Today, my daily life, as most of the population, depends on too many external factors.
How do we go from needing things to having use for them? In other words, how do we break off the shackles of dependence and necessity? I will be on the lookout in future letters...
Comments
Post a Comment