The last time a politician with a philosophical bent stood up before the American people, as Vice Presidential Candidate James Stockdale did, and asked “Who am I? Why am I here?”, the media and the uninformed public snickered. What was a “philosopher” doing on stage at a vice presidential debate? There is no place for … Continued
I’m an aspiring Stoic. Emphasis on the word aspiring. When I share this burgeoning desire with friends or show family members I’m reading a book on Epictetus, the response is universal: “A Stoic? But you’re so friendly.” When most people hear the word ‘Stoic’ they conjure up a mental cliche of an unsmiling, unexpressive, stiff. … Continued
The post below was originally sent as part of the Daily Stoic email where we bring you one Stoic meditation per day. When you sign up, you will also automatically get a free 7-day deep dive into Stoicism—from an introduction to the most popular resources to Stoic exercises. Sign up now! You probably don’t know … Continued
“If it is not RIGHT do not do it; If it is not TRUE do not say it” – Marcus Aurelius One word we do not hear from the Stoics, is integrity. They saw it as part of being human – part of being virtuous. I am not sure of the social, political or cultural … Continued
Professor Lawrence C. Becker is one of the academic titans that we are incredibly honored to have the chance to interview. He is the author of A New Stoicism and he takes the time to walk us through what ‘new’ in the title means and what were his aims with that book as well as … Continued
As Stoicism has seen a cultural resurgence we wanted to compile a list of the people who have embraced or admired the philosophy and in the process explain why many of them have embraced it and found within it a tool in the pursuit of self-mastery, perseverance, and wisdom: something one uses to live a … Continued
“I believe a man is a professional when he can do what needs to be done no matter how he feels within. An amateur is an amateur in his attitude emotionally. A professional is a professional in the way he thinks and feels and in his ability to execute under the most trying conditions” – Cus … Continued
This is a guest post by Hristo Vassilev. If you’d like to contribute to The Daily Stoic, please get in touch. The best part about Stoicism is that you can go to the primary texts, read them and feel like they were written yesterday, not 2000 years ago. You can pick up Seneca, Marcus Aurelius or Epictetus and … Continued
A couple summers ago, I was reading Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations on a plane ride back from Africa. I usually carry it with me, especially when I’m traveling. “What are you reading?” said the man next to me, who was flipping through a glossy Esquire, or something like that. “Meditations by Marcus Aurelius,” I responded. “Oh, … Continued