Some of the biggest names in history are those of philosophers. Some heavy hitters
include Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Confucius, Locke, Marx, Descartes, Aquinas, Emerson, Kant,
Machiavelli, and Nietzsche. Even someone unfamiliar with philosophy and the names of
philosophers has heard some philosophical phrases like “God is dead” or “do or do not there is
no try,” I believe Yoda is in fact a modern philosopher for dropping that line. Philosophy is
defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality,
and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.” Seems pretty vague and
all-encompassing right? That’s because it is.
Philosophy is involved in everything because it influences how we think and experience
our lives. We all have our own philosophies in our brains. Recently the philosophy known as
Stoicism, or at least some version, has made a major comeback, especially for men. Many have
started reading Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations or Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic, along with
other popular books on Stoicism. The question is, are people implementing Stoicism correctly or
turning it into something it’s not?
Stoicism focuses on the fact that some things are up to us and some things are not, the
idea of Fate (with a capital F) or logos is also important in the Stoic philosophy, whatever is
meant to happen will happen, so do you get any choice in the matter? Not necessarily, Stoics
believed in focusing on what you could do, whether that be adjusting your thoughts or actions
because thinking about all the things you cannot change will cause unnecessary suffering.
I believe that there is certainly some value to be found in Stoicism, it has the potential to
strengthen one’s resilience or even decrease anxiety. However, the philosophy can also have
negative effects if taken too far. If one isn’t careful when exploring the philosophy of Stoicism
one may find value stripped from what they previously cared about. When focusing on avoiding
pain and suffering while simultaneously adjusting one’s thoughts to avoid unnecessary suffering,
whatever that may mean, important things could lose their meaning. Say for example, you really
love your car but it could be stolen or break down so is there any point in caring about it, or
anything else for that matter since losing it could cause you suffering? The car brings you joy but
it could also bring you pain and that goes for anything in life. In order to enjoy life you can’t
disconnect from it, otherwise everything loses its meaning, the good and the bad. It’s healthy to
feel negative feelings when bad things happen and its also healthy to let things go when they
cause you unnecessary pain, the key is balance. When looking at modern-day Stoicism it is
important to consider its original intention.