05 Jun The 3 disciplines of Stoicism: A guide for living a life of meaning and intention
Happiness is desired by almost everyone.
But happiness is also misunderstood by almost everyone.
On the one hand, happiness describes one type of positive emotion.
Which is great, and useful, and healthy.
But on the other hand, and arguably more importantly, happiness can also be used to describe thriving and flourishing, leading a good and meaningful life.
This form of happiness is almost certainly a deeper and more meaningful form, something well worth striving for, and one about which you can learn more if you read on …
via Big Think by Kevin Dickinson
How does a person live a good, meaningful life? Many schools of philosophy and religion have attempted to answer this important question. The result of their efforts is a long history of diverse beliefs and etiquettes — some of which have aged incredibly well, others of which not so much. Stoicism is one such school of philosophy, and while its heyday appeared to have ended 2,000 years ago, it may in fact just be getting started.
Founded by Zeno of Citium in the 3rd century BC, Stoicism unified logic, ethics, and metaphysics into a coherent philosophy of life. The school would evolve throughout the Hellenistic period and, like so much of Greek culture, would eventually migrate to the Roman Empire. There, it found some of its most well-known and influential voices: the former-slave Epictetus, the statesman Seneca, and the philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius. Stoicism would decline around the time Christianity became the Empire’s state religion — though it would continue to influence thinkers such as Justus Lipsius, Baruch Spinoza, and Immanuel Kant — but its lengthy hibernation would lead to a surprising awakening around the middle of the 20th century.
Today, Stoicism is booming. Print sales of Aurelius’ Meditations, Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic, and all-things Epictetus’ are way up. The philosophy has become the subject du jour of newsletters, podcasts, Instagram feeds, self-help blogs, and quote devotionals proliferating the internet.
But what’s different about this modern Stoicism from its ancient counterpart? How can we separate the philosophy of life from the life hacks and quickie pop-Stoicism? And what, if anything, can Stoicism say about living a meaningful life in the modern world? I recently spoke* with Gregory Lopez, the founder of the New York City Stoics Meetup and cofounder of the Stoic Fellowship, and Massimo Pigliucci, professor of philosophy at the City College of New York and author of How to Be a Stoic, to discuss these questions as well as explore the three disciplines of Stoicism…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE