Can someone explain to me what stoicism actually is? Assume I'm a complete retard
it is what it is
>>24784803Gay European buddhism
>>24784803Feelings bad, self control good.
when things are bad, deal with itwhen things are good, you don't need stoicism
Recognizing that life can be shit and unfair, but not letting that rob you from the joy to be found in art, love, community and so.
>>24784803The stoics believed that the entire cosmos is made of fire. They were materialists in the sense that they thought the soul was itself material (ultimately made of fire) but they also believed that material beings all followed the same principle (logos), which is eternal and constant. Logos is the principle of order in the cosmos. Their understanding of Logos comes from Heraclitus. The Logos causes nature to behave in a cyclical and interconnected manner. For example, they believed that the cosmos was cyclical, in that the cosmos basically collapses and reforms over and over again. They thought that the principle or logos of things was unity of opposites, were order is created by unifying competing or contradictory elements of reality. Their ethics was based on understanding of logos. Whoever understands logos can act in a way that fits with whatever the logos is doing. They call this "acting according to nature." Later on, the complex stoic philosophy became simplified by Epictetus and the Romans so that they no longer talked about all the metaphysics and instead just repeatedly beat you over the head with their one distinction between that which you can control and that which you cannot control, saying that the sage is not concerned or pained by what is out of his control because he understands that everything acts in accordance with logos.
>>24784803If bad not so bad.If good not so good.
>>24784803They believed in Divine Providence and that you should aim to have your will in accordance to this divine will.Suffering comes from distancing your will from this. You should focus on what is in your control, which is your will and your decisions. Whatever is not in your control is not up to you.>>24786096Brainlet
>>24786096>when things are bad, deal with it>when things are good, you don't need stoicismThis is a perfectly good anti-example of how, why or if stoicism works.You can't automatically become stoic when something bad happens just because you heard the idea once. You would have to actively detach yourself off things you enjoy early before you lose them. It's a trade-off I like to be honest, because "great things" are usually just marketing and hype nowadays, it got popular for a reason recently. Good things are sort of hollow so you might as well see things for what they are and learn to let go
>>24784803>Grerk philosoophers Ew fucking disgusting
>>24784803Mostly about controlling your emotions and not sweating the inevitable. Don't mistake this for bottling your emotions; you should have a healthy outlet for negative emotions, but you shouldn't be controlled by your emotions
>>24784803Based on the bathhouse section in the Penguin classic edition of that book I always assumed Roman chads anally raped Roman nerds in the bathhouse and this was how nerds coped with that.
Everything good about the various ancient Western schools gets cooked down into Neoplatonism and Patristic Christianity (Boethius being an excellent bridge and the Consolation a good starting point, although his other stuff should wait). The only reason to regress to Stoicism or Epicureanism is if you're unable to break the "naturalist" conditioning of modernity.That said, the Neoplatonics and early Christians knew you start with the liberal arts, Aristotle, then the Alcibades and Phaedrus, and work your way forward (the Consolation is good early too, and obviously the NT).
>>24787766>regressStoicism was where Greek philosophy progress to after Plato and Aristotle. Neoplatonism was the regression that emerged out of Syria and Egypt and latched onto plato and aristotle only because they weren’t useful more useful for their pagan mysticism.
>>24787777This get confirms that the universe bends towards truth.
I don't think either of them is ultimately true if judged by their metaphysical claims. But what do you think is generally more useful in terms of wisdom Buddhism or Stoicism?
>>24784803Let go of things you can't control. Your life should be about pursuing virtue and doing the will of God rather than pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain.Reddit pop stoicism is literally epicureanism: practicing moderation in order to minimize pain and maximize happiness
