For the 21st Century
Stoic Philosophy
In a fast-paced world that rewards productivity more than patience and values material objects and superficiality, how can a person cultivate virtues like wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice? One answer lies with the Stoics of Ancient Greece and Rome. Stoicism is an ancient philosophical system that encourages practitioners to be present in the moment, identify structures and circumstances beyond their control, and learn how to be happy "even on the rack." This rigorous course will be both academic and spiritual in nature. We will survey original Stoic texts, parse out metaphysical and ethical questions, and dare to ask what power these radical ancient writings can still offer us in the 21st century.
This course will be broken down into 5 sessions. Sessions will open with a lecture on the days material given by the instructor followed by structured group discussions. We will conclude with a short and quiet reflection time in the spirit of Marcus Aurelius' commitment to daily entries in a journal. No prior experience in philosophy is required. Beginners are not only welcome but encouraged.
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Session 1: Introduction to Ancient Philosophy
This session will introduce students to reading ancient philosophical texts and provide a broad overview of ancient philosophical systems like Platonism, Aristotelianism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. The session will also explore the historical context of Ancient Greece and Rome and examine how these unique circumstances brought forth philosophies these philosophies with a special focus on Stoicism. Then, we will move to an examination of the life of our two primary thinkers for the course: Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus.
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Session 2: Stoic Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the field of philosophy that is dedicated to studying the "first principles" of things: time, space, matter, and so on. Here, we will survey Stoic cosmology and talk about what nature and determinism means for a Stoic.
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Session 3: Stoic Epistemology
After establishing the basic metaphysical beliefs of Stoicism, we will turn our attention to epistemology, or the study of knowledge. That is: How do we know what we know? What is a belief? How do we know opinion from fact? We will explore Stoic logic systems and discover why epistemology was so critical for Stoic philosophy, and how Stoicism continues to impact our understanding of objective truth today.
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Session 4: Stoic Ethics
Here, we will turn to the bread and butter of modern Stoicism: Ethics. We will explore what it means to be "Stoic" in regards to our own emotions (hint: it doesn't mean that we don't feel anything at all!) and consider how to respond to circumstances beyond our control.
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Session 5: Modern Stoicism-- Critiques and Commendations
In this final session, we will take Stoicism to the task-- the good, the bad, and the ugly. What tenets of Stoicism are worth keeping, and which are a product of their ancient times? Together, we will explore ways that Stoicism can inform our daily life in this century and engage the writings of modern Stoics.
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The required texts for the course are Epictetus' The Enchiridion (sometimes known as The Handbook) and Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. The primary texts for the course can be accessed at the links below. Occasionally there will be opportunities for supplemental reading; these can also be accessed by clicking "More Texts" or by visiting the "Blog: tab.
