Stoicism teaches people to monitor their own reactions and to reflect critically on how they perceive and interpret the world. That isn't the same as turning the other cheek. Ĭ) hate the sin, not the sinner - bad people do bad things from lack of wisdom / ignorance and should be treated with compassion. behave towards a complete stranger as if he were your brother.

So do I! To summarise the Stoic template for achieving eudaimonia, or a life worth living, you shouldĪ) (to paraphrase the serenity prayer) know the difference between your internal goals over which you have control and external outcomes over which you may have some influence but have no control.ī) do unto others etc. He says that Stoics like pithy summaries of their ideas. Pigliucci uses Ancient Greek, modern day and personal stories, and humour to explore each of these, firstly quoting what Epictetus had to say, and secondly dissecting his words to provide a modern day understanding of what he meant (as interpreted by the author). Thomas Aquinas adopted these four virtues and added faith, hope and charity. The book discusses the three Stoic displines of desire, action and assent, and the four Stoic virtues: (practical) wisdom, courage, justice and tolerance. As someone with only a superficial knowledge, it was perfect for me however. I suppose those with a sound knowledge of philosophy might think of this book as 'pop philosophy' and I suppose in some ways it is. Pigliucci could also have subtitled this book A Journey with Epictetus as much of it is written as a conversation between himself and the Greek philosopher.

How to be a stoic by massimo pigliucci