The conversation on Stoic action is fresh and new, but already well underway. This post skims the surface of some of the content that today’s Stoic writers, bloggers, and scholars have produced as they try to translate the ancient philosophy into modern life.
For a more complete bibliography of op-eds and papers on the Discipline of Action, have a look at our extensive Reading List.
Family
On the personal level of family commitments (the first and most fundamental step in Hierocles’ program of expanding circles of social concern) a whole ecosystem of Stoic conversation has sprung up among the parents in the community.
“For me,” writes Meredith Kunz of The Stoic Mom blog, “Stoic thinking is about working on the self first. By doing so, we can free our minds and bodies to do the real work, aiming for achievements that make us better people and the world a better place.”
“I also really like the Stoic ideal of lifelong development (oikeiosis),” adds Brittany Polak, author of the popular blog Apparent Stoic. “Not only am I teaching my children how to find virtue and happiness, but I am also continuously working toward those goals for myself. It helps me to stay humble and keep things in perspective when I think that I am still learning how to be a good person, too!”
Service
On the service front, moreover, Peace Corps volunteer Patrick Herring writes that “the Stoics believed we should invest a part of our life to public service, which happens to be in our control to do. It can be as addicting as any hobby or social trend.” He continues: “committing our leisure time to others, less-fortunate than ourselves, to learn their story, to build empathy, and to act wisely, courageously, justly, and patiently will become an addiction that will ripple in positive waves across generations.”
“Humans are rational and social animals,” agrees Steve Karafit in the description of his Kiva microlending team for Stoics. “To make progress we must do more than talk, we must act!” The Stoic Cosmopolis Kiva group was created, he says, “to provide an accessible way for those of us perusing Stoicism to practice the virtue of Justice.”
Politics
On the political front, meanwhile, West Virginia state delegate Pat McGeehan (R) has written a book describing how the example of the Stoic statesman Cato the Younger has informed the ethics and attitude that he brings to his work as an elected politician. “Like anything else,” he says in an interview with Modern Stoicism, “the personal discipline the Stoic school of thought teaches requires hard work and daily focus in order to make real progress, but with time and effort, the philosophy has greatly aided my public life in the legislature. And it has helped make me more effective for my constituents while I’m at work under the statehouse.”
And in a recent paper, Professor William O. Stephens argues that Stoic literature points us firmly toward taking a compassionate stance toward refugees. “Other people are our fellow cosmic citizens,” he writes, “regardless of their language, race, ethnicity, customs, or country of origin. Our natural affinity and shared sociability with all people require us to help refugees and embrace them as welcome neighbors.”1
Intersectionality and Social Justice
In a more intersectional vein, I’ve argued that Stoic principles can and should inspire us to care about racial justice and to strive to create a welcoming community for people who belong to marginalized groups, even up to and including engagement in protest movements.
There is a “a blatant misconception about Stoicism, that it encourages people to support the status-quo without resistance,” writes Sophia Shapira in a blog post titled “Why Stoicism is Great for Activism.” “Obviously,” she quips, “Cato the Younger didn’t get the memo on that one when he resisted Julius Caesar’s rise to power.” She goes on to argue that Stoicism can help activists become resilient to setbacks and intimidation, less prone to burnout, and more likely to avoid being irrationally manipulated by anger-based rhetoric.
Environment
Finally, Kai Whiting et al. push Stoic theory into new territory with a recent paper that argues that we should extend the traditional Circles of Hierocles to explicitly include the environment within our sphere of concern. “The Stoic emphasis on prudence, self-control, courage and justice, as the only means to achieve ‘happiness,'” they claim, “is intrinsically linked to sustainable wellbeing,” and “its principles can be used to demonstrate that society does not require limitless growth to flourish.”2 Their formulation has influenced our depiction of the environment as the outermost layer in our adaptation of the Circles.
“I strongly suggest that modern Stoics should lean heavily toward vegetarianism,” adds modern Stoic philosopher Massimo Pigliucci in a recent article for Modern Stoicism, “or at the very least endorse only humane practices of raising and killing animals, as it is done in a number of small, independently owned farms.” “I’m going to redouble my personal efforts to follow this path,” he continues, “and further reduce my intake of other foodstuff. I hope you will join me, to reduce both suffering in the world and our carbon footprint as a species.”
All together, these diverse testimonies paint a remarkable and holistic picture of what it means to live a life centered around the classical Stoic idea that “virtue is the highest good” and that—as social animals—our Happiness is found in part part by choosing to participate in something greater than ourselves.
The Stoic framework of ethics and goals has ample resources to offer those of us who want to strive to be our best selves in relation to others—both on an intimate, local level and in more public, global spheres. We hope that you will join us in seeing where the conversation on Stoic action can take us.
References
[1] William O. Stephens (2018), “Refugees, Exiles, and Stoic Cosmopolitanism.” Journal of Religion and Society, Supplement 16: 73–91.
[2] Kai Whiting, Leonidas Konstantakos, Angeles Carrasco, and Luis Gabriel Carmona (2018), “Sustainable Development, Wellbeing and Material Consumption: A Stoic Perspective.” Sustainability 10(2), 474–494.
