You who read me have certainly experienced hostile environments in which you felt completely out of place among people with whom you had no closeness of ideas or sensitivity. On these occasions, we experience the most intense loneliness and want to be free from these entanglements as soon as possible. Marcus has had this experience on several occasions, and he offers his testimony of these situations, always emphasising the need to be kind and benevolent to everyone. Marcus was a human with extraordinary sensitivity, as we can see from his diary and according to the news that reached us from A ..read more

Conversations with Modern Stoicism next meets on 13 April 2024. The topic of our conversation will be: What we can learn from Seneca, the life and the works? About our Presenter: James Romm is an author, reviewer, and Professor of Classics at Bard College, renowned for his insightful biography “Dying Every Day” on the life and philosophy of the Stoic philosopher Seneca. His nuanced portrayal of Seneca’s moral complexities and struggles amidst the tumultuous political climate of ancient Rome offers a valuable perspective for modern Stoics grappling with the challenges of applying Stoic principl ..read more

THE STOIC is a monthly online publication of The Stoic Gym. The Modern Stocism organization is partnering with The Stoic Gym (and if you look at the teams for both you’ll see some overlap in membership.) THE STOIC GYM is pleased to announce the publication of THE STOIC, March 2024 edition Now available Theme: CHANGE AND THE STOICS Change and the Stoics CHUCK CHAKRAPANI Wednesday, February 28th, 2024 Stoic every day CHUCK CHAKRAPANI Stoic quotes for every day of the month Sunday, March 3rd, 2024 Change is the only constant BRANDON TUMBLIN Wednesday, March 6th, 2024 Turn and face the strange (ch ..read more

Next Conversations Event features Stoicism for Dummies authors. Conversations with Modern Stoicism next meets on 9 March 2024. The topic of our conversation will be: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life: Stoicism for Living by Tom Morris & Greg Bassham, co-authors of the recently released book,  Stoicism for Dummies. About our Presenters: Tom Morris is author of Philosophy For Dummies and 30 other books. He was a philosophy professor at The University of Notre Dame and now heads The Morris Institute for Human Values. Gregory Bassham is author of The Philosophy Book, an illustrated history o ..read more

Excerpt from Chapter 7 of Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor by Donald J. Robertson Once his formal studies in philosophy were under way, Marcus Aurelius began hearing more about a great Stoic philosopher who had recently died at Nicopolis in Greece toward the end of Hadrian’s rule. Banished by the emperor Domitian during a political purge four decades earlier, this former slave attracted many students, although he never committed anything to writing. In the years following his demise, his profound wisdom and uniquely powerful voice seemed to have been lost forever. If the sage of Nicopolis ha ..read more

Excerpt from Chapter 7 of Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor by Donald J. Robertson Once his formal studies in philosophy were under way, Marcus Aurelius began hearing more about a great Stoic philosopher who had recently died at Nicopolis in Greece toward the end of Hadrian’s rule. Banished by the emperor Domitian during a political purge four decades earlier, this former slave attracted many students, although he never committed anything to writing. In the years following his demise, his profound wisdom and uniquely powerful voice seemed to have been lost forever. If the sage of Nicopolis ha ..read more

The eleventh annual Stoic Week took place in November 2023. The main research questions were around the relationship between Stoicism and meaning and purpose in life. This year we asked participants to complete a questionnaire about meaning, as well as the usual questionnaires about wellbeing and their degree of Stoicism. We were interested in answering these questions: To what extent is meaning in life associated with Stoicism? To what extent does the practice of Stoicism enhance a sense of meaning in life? What else could we learn from Stoic Week 2023?   This report attempts to answer ..read more

The next Conversations with Modern Stoicism event will take place on Saturday, February 10, 2024 at 10:00 AM Eastern Time. Jennifer Baker is a Professor of Philosophy at College of Charleston. She has previously presented at Stoicon 2023, The 2023 North American Stoic Summit, Stoicon-X Military, and Stoicon-X Women. Jennifer Baker has a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from Brown University (1995) and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona (2003). Her research focuses on virtue ethics and applying ancient ethical theories to modern contexts. She teaches courses in ethical theory, po ..read more

This article is the third in a series on the life and work of Jason Xenakis. A biographical sketch appeared here and a review of Xenakis’s monograph on Epictetus appeared here. Jason Xenakis recognized the therapeutic potential of Stoicism and of philosophy as a way of life. Further, he was a pioneer in the development of an Existentialist Stoicism, tackling questions of freedom, meaning, absurdity and suicide in his work. He would return to those themes several times over his career, developing ideas based upon his interpretation of Stoicism and Existentialism. Philosophical Influences It is ..read more

Anxiety and depression can be very difficult subjects to discuss, let alone experience. Life is full of events which inflict untold psychological pain: illness, financial insecurity, the death of a loved one. The list goes on and on. “Sometimes, it is an act of bravery even to live,” the great Seneca once acknowledged (Letter 78.2). Since suffering is so essential to the human experience, it is no mystery that the ancient Stoic philosophers had plenty to say about it. The Stoics were deeply interested in the secrets of happiness—defined more precisely as “tranquility” or “peace of mind.” These ..read more