Notes Stoicism:
1. Chief task of a philosopher is to determine whats up to us & whats not upto us. – Epictetus
2. 4 virtues of Life – Courage (dealing with daily challenges with clarity & integrity), Temperance
(Self-restraint & moderation in all aspects of life), Justice (Treating others with fairness even
when they are wrong) & Wisdom (navigate complex situations in calm logical manner). Anything
& Everything that happens to us in life is to practice one of the these Cardinal 4 virtues.
3. Obstacle is the way – Ryan Holiday.
4. Zeno of Cyprus a rich merchant stranded on the shores of Athens after a shipwrecked. He
proceeded to study with the cities noted philosophers. It was here when he invented a
philosophy known as stoicism.
5. Stoics believed everything around us happen because of a web & cause of effect resulting in a
rational structure of the universe, which the called Logos.
6. Instead of striving for ideal society a stoic belives to accept society as it is.
7. Not being affected by things that affect you. Things might still affect you but you wont let things
that affect you control your life.
8. Two arrows priniciple: Evertime life shoots an arrow at us, that hurts. How we react to this is
that we shoot a second arrow at us for getting hit by the 1st one. Stoicism is about preventing
that 2nd arrow. Being tranquil in face of extreme emotions.
9. Accept what you fear may happen shall certainly happen. Then look at these things as not the
end of everything but a way to prepare ourselves if & when they happen.
Stoicism:
1. Introduction:
-It was somewhere around 300 BCE when a rich merchant named Zeno of Cyprus would face
one of life’s toughest predicament.
<The year 300 BCE would bring about the toughest times that rich merchant Zeno of Cyprus
would ever face.
>It was around 300 BCE when life would throw one of its hardest challenges to Zeno, the rich
merchant from Cyprus.
-He was shipwrecked on the shores of Athens losing almost everything that he ever possessed.
>Facing a shipwreck and losing almost everything he found himself on the shores of Athens.
<Shipwrecked, hungry & helpless he ended on the shores of Athens with nothing left to his
name.
-In the face of these hard times he wandered at a book store where he got very inspired from a
book about the teachings of Socrates.
>Despite facing such horrors he ended up at a bookstore finding comfort in the teachings of
Socrates.
<While in Athens, he visited a bookstore where he came across Socrates which completely
changed his life.
-Soon he joined one the city’s most noted philosophers & a few years later became the founder
of a philosophy that inspired many generations of leaders to come, STOICISM.
>Inspired by his teaching he ventured out to be among the city’s most noted Philosophers. Soon
he would be known to be the founder of the truly revolutionary school of though called Stoicism
<Inspired by his teachings he ventured out to be among the city’s most noted philosophers, a
few years later he would become the founder of a philosophy that inspired generations of
leaders to come, STOICISM.
Outline:
2. Definition:
-So what is Stoicism? There are various definitions of the same.
>So how do we define stoicism? Here’s what some of history’s greatest minds had say about it.
<So what does there word stoicism actually mean here are some notable definitions.
“Chief task of a philosopher is to determine what is upto us & what’s not upto us.”
- EPECTITUS.
“Accept what you fear may happen shall certainly happen.”
- SENECA.
“Accept what has come to you good or bad as destiny. If this would have not meant to further improve
myself or the universe it wouldn’t have happened”
- MARCUS AURELIUS.
Here is what some of the greatest minds of the ancient world had to say about it.
-However in essence stoicism is about understanding whatever happens in one’s life has a much greater
significance in life chain of things.
>However, what stoicism truly means is understanding whatever happens to us has much more of a
deeper meaning than we might think.
<The word stoicism in essence means knowing that whatever happens to us was meant to happen and
also necessary/
-Stoics believed everything around us happen because of a web & cause of effect resulting in a rational
structure of the universe, which the called Logos.
>There is a belief among stoics what they have termed as Logos which means that every event that
occurs in our universe is due to web & cause effect.
<It was believed by the stoics that the events of life happen because of a web & cause effect resulting in
Logos, the rational structure of the universe.
-It is about accepting the worst that can happen & facing it head on with 4 cardinal virtues of life.
>Through the 4 cardinal virtues one can face the most turbulent of times.
<It gives the 4 cardinal virtues as the answer to life’s most difficult challenges.
3. 4 Cardinal virtues:
-The stoics believed anything & everything that happens to us in life is to practice one of the these
CARDINAl 4 virtues.
>A belief help my many stoics was all the tough times & challenges our nothing but means for us to
showcase life’s 4 cardinal virtues.
>All & every challenge of life is an opportunity to practice one of life’s 4 cardinal virtues.
-Courage – Not just courage in the case of dangerous situations but also dealing with daily
challenges of with clarity & integrity.
>Courage – Not just in the face of extreme situations but also in facing daily challenges with clarity
& integrity.
<Courage – In addition to showcasing it in face of dangerous situations one must also be courageous
in the face of daily challenges.
-Temperance – An exercise of self-restraint & moderation in all aspects of life
>Temperance – In all aspects of life one must always practice moderation & self-restraint.
<Temperance – In life temperance & moderation is of utmost importance.
-Justice - Treating others with fairness even when they are wrong.
>Justice – Even when a person is at fault they ought to be treated with utmost fairness.
-Justice – One must treat a person fairly regardless if they are at fault or not.
-Wisdom – Ability to navigate complex situations in calm logical manner.
<Wisdom – Navigating life’s most complex situations in a rational & composed fashion.
>Wisdom – Untangling life’s battles through calmness & rationality.
4. Application of Stoics in everyday life:
-In today’s digital the significance of these ancient teaching couldn’t be more important.
> In today’s contemporary world, these ancient teachings have far reaching applications.
< Modern digital world with its complexities makes it ideal for one to practice this philosophy.
-We let so many external factors affect us from socio-economic to religious to even trivial matters like
societal pressure to be certain way.
>With so many external factors like peer pressure, financial, religious it forces us to be a certain way.
<Pretending to be someone we are not due succumbing to societal pressures.
-This philosophy is not about not letting anything affect you, but it’s about not letting the things that
affect you control your life.
>Stoicism doesn’t mean we can’t be bothered by anything, but it about not letting these things influence
how you live your life.
<Being unaffected by everything is not what a stoic suggests, what it does suggest is to not give what
affects us the ability to control our life.
-Here are some ways I believe stoicism can help us overcome various challenges about modern life.
>Here’s a list of some of the modern day applications of stoicism.
<In our modern here are some ways we can integrate the school of thought in our lives.
The philosophy of Memento Mori –
-In the ancient world Death was real phenomenon with numerous diseases, plagues that made
the regular person constantly face death numerous times through life.
>The presence of death was feeling quite real in the olden days amongst even the ordinary class
of people due to the numerous diseases, wars affecting them.
<The numerous wars, diseases, plagues in the olden days made people be quite in touch with
this inevitable phenomenon of life, death.
-However in today’s world we have lost touch with this external force which is inevitable.
>In the modern times, this primal fear seems to have lost.
<In our contemporary world we have become out of touch with our physical vulnerabilities
-Accepting this as our fate will help us navigate through lives toughest answers.
>Understanding death as inevitable can lead us to answer a lot of life’s toughest questions.
<Understanding that we can die anytime will enable us to take decisions more rationally.
-To understand that you or your loved ones could die anytime means that every moment you
spend is precious and needs to live as it may very well be your last.
>Life is fleeting, so spend it with your loved one’s tomorrow could be the last for either one of
you.
<Death can come upon anytime, so spend every moment as if it were our last.
-This involves not worrying too much about others opinions and take the necessary risk to
improve the quality of you & the people around you.
>Don’t waste time pleasing others & take necessary action to make the life’s of you & your loved
ones.
<Be better & help others get there, every moment spend on pleasing others is time lost forever.
Equanimity –
-Through this principle a lot of lives troubles can be truly manageable.
>Practicing this can truly make someone’s life more peaceful.
<Life can be a lot easy if one learns this important principle.
-This strategy involves not being driven to any of the two extremes and remaining in an
equanamous state regardless of the situation be it the something of extreme joy as that moment
shall pass or extreme sadness as that moment will also pass.
>To practice equanimity one must not be driven to the extremes of a pole. Happiness is temprorary
so is sadness.
< Being in an equanamous state requires one to indifferent to situations. This doen’snt mean we
can’t feel these emotions. What we cannot do is let these emotions dictate our actions.
Avoid the extremes and you shall have contentment.
“Amore Fati” – The lover of fate.
-This involves accepting whatever hand is dealt to us without any disdain or complain.
>Whatever we receive in life fortune or misfortune must be taken happily without any feeling of
contempt.
<Good times & Bad times cannot be predicted a true stoic know that whatever falls upon him he
must happily except.
-Accepting it does not mean that we cannot work towards change, however it mean not getting
absorbed by things not under our control.
>This doesn’t mean we can’t drive to get out of the misfortune, but focus on what we can
control & what we cannot.
<One can still drive to get out of such situations. But its about solving the problem not
complaining about the problem itself.
-Once we accept the situation we are in truly and not have any contempt towards it. It is now
that we strive and navigate ourselves out of such a situation.
>Accepting our situation can give us more clarity lead us to a path out of our miseries.
<These problems can only addressed & countered once we accept our predicament.
-This were some of the applications of Stoicism that a common person can adopt.
>A common person can easily integrate these principles into his daily life.
<These principles can be adopted & integrated by anyone.
-This idea of stoicism has given birth so many great leaders that its benefits our almost undeniable.
>Many great leaders have been born through the seed of this philosophy.
<Stoicism has inspired a great generations of leaders.
-It is said it was Marcus Aurelius’ meditations that helped Nelson Mandela get through 27 years of
prison & become that man we all know now.
>The great Nelson Mandela got through 27 years in jail with help of a copy of Marcus Aurelius
“Meditations”.
> Nelson Madela, was one such leader who attributes a portion of his success to Marcus Aurelius’s
Meditations a book he raid while in prison.
-By becoming the student of this great school of thought one can sail through journey of finding life’s
answers.
>Adopting this philosophy finding life’s answers can be a lot easier.
>By adopting this philosophy one can learn to combat any of life’s challenges.
Stoicism:
5. Introduction: It was somewhere around 300 BCE when a rich merchant named Zeno of Cyprus
would face one of life’s toughest predicament. He was shipwrecked on the shores of Athens
losing almost everything that he ever possessed. In the face of this hard times he wandered at a
book store where he got very inspired from a book about the teachings of Socrates. Soon he
joined one the city’s most noted philosophers & a few years later became the founder of a
philosophy that inspired many generations of leaders to come, STOICISM.
Outline:
6. Definition:
So what is Stoicism? There are various definitions of the same.
“Chief task of a philosopher is to determine what is upto us & what’s not upto us.”
- EPECTITUS.
“Accept what you fear may happen shall certainly happen.”
- SENECA.
“Accept what has come to you good or bad as destiny. If this would have not meant to further improve
myself or the universe it wouldn’t have happened”
- MARCUS AURELIUS.
Here is what some of the greatest minds of the ancient mind had to say about it. However in essence
stoicism if about understanding whatever happens in one’s life has a much greater signicance in life
chain of things. Stoics believed everything around us happen because of a web & cause of effect
resulting in a rational structure of the universe, which the called Logos. It is about accepting the worst
that can happen & facing it head on with 4 cardinal virtues of life.
7. 4 Cardinal virtues: The stoics believed anything & everything that happens to us in life is to
practice one of the these CARDINAl 4 virtues.
Courage – Not just courage in the case of dangerous situations but also dealing with daily challenges
of with clarity & integrity.
Temperance – An exercise of self-restraint & moderation in all aspects of life
Justice - Treating others with fairness even when they are wrong.
Wisdom – Ability to navigate complex situations in calm logical manner.
8. Application of Stoics in everyday life:
In today’s digital the significance of these ancient teaching couldn’t be more. We let so many external
factors affect us from socio-economic to religious to even trivial matters like societal pressure to be
certain way. This philosophy is not about not letting anything affect you, but it’s about not letting the
things that affect you control your life. Here are some ways I believe stoicism can help us overcome
various challenges about modern life.
The philosophy of Memento Mori – In the ancient world Death was real phenomenon with
numerous diseases, plagues that made the regular person constantly face death numerous
times through life. However in today’s world we have lost touch with this external force which is
inevitable. Accepting our fate and help navigate through lives toughest answers. To understand
that you or your loved ones could die anytime means that every moment you spend is precious
and needs to live as it may very well be your last. This involves not worrying too much about
others opinions and take the necessary risk to improve the quality of you & the people around
you.
Equanimity – Through this principle a lot of lives troubles can be truly manageable. This strategy
involves not being driven to any of the two extremes and remaining in an equanamous state
regardless of the situation be it the something of extreme joy as that moment shall pass or
extreme sadness as that moment will also pass. Avoid the extremes and you shall have
contentment.
“Amore Fati” – The lover of fate. This involves accepting whatever hand is dealt to us without
any disdain or complain. Accepting it does not mean that we cannot work towards change,
however it mean not getting absorbed by things not under our control. Once we accept the
situation we are in truly and not have any contempt towards it. It is now that we strive and
navigate ourselves out of such a situation.
This were some of the applications of Stoicism that a common person can adopt. This idea of stoicism
has given birth so many great leaders that its benefits our almost undeniable. It is said it was Marcus
Aurelius’ meditations that helped Nelson Mandela get through 27 years of prison & become that man
we all know now. By becoming the student of this great school of thought one can sail through journey
of finding life’s answers.
Stoicism:
9. Introduction:
It was around 300 BCE when life would throw one of its hardest challenges to Zeno, the rich
merchant from Cyprus. Shipwrecked, hungry & helpless he ended on the shores of Athens with
nothing left to his name. While in Athens, he wandered across a bookstore where he came
across the teachings of Socrates which completely changed his life. Inspired by his teachings he
ventured out to be among the city’s most noted philosophers, a few years later he would
become the founder of a philosophy that inspired generations of leaders to come, STOICISM.
It was the year 300 BCE when life would throw one of its hardest challenges to Zeno, the rich
merchant from Cyprus.
Shipwrecked, hungry & helpless he ended on the shores of Athens with nothing left to his
name. While in Athens, he wandered across a bookstore where he came across the teachings of
Socrates which completely changed his life. Inspired by his teachings he ventured out to be
among the city’s most noted philosophers, a few years later he would become the founder of a
philosophy that inspired generations of leaders to come, STOICISM.
Outline:
10. Definition:
So what does there word stoicism actually mean? Here are some notable definitions.
“Chief task of a philosopher is to determine what is upto us & what’s not upto us.”
- EPECTITUS.
“Accept what you fear may happen shall certainly happen.”
- SENECA.
“Accept what has come to you good or bad as destiny. If this would have not meant to further improve
myself or the universe it wouldn’t have happened”
- MARCUS AURELIUS.
This is what some of the greatest minds of the ancient world had to say about it.
The word stoicism in essence means knowing that whatever happens to us was meant to happen and
also necessary. The Stoics believed everything around us happen because of a web & cause of effect
resulting in a rational structure of the universe, which the called Logos. It gives the 4 cardinal virtues as
the answer to life’s most difficult challenges.
11. 4 Cardinal virtues:
All & every challenge of life is an opportunity to practice one of life’s 4 cardinal virtues.
Courage – Not just in the face of extreme situations but also in facing daily challenges with clarity &
integrity.
Temperance – An exercise of self-restraint & moderation in all aspects of life
Justice – One must treat a person fairly regardless if they are at fault or not.
Wisdom – Untangling life’s battles through calmness & rationality.
12. Application of Stoics in everyday life:
In today’s contemporary world, these ancient teachings have far reaching applications. Pretending to be
someone we are not due succumbing to societal pressures. This philosophy is not about not letting
anything affect you, but it’s about not letting the things that affect you control your life. Being
unaffected by everything is not what a stoic suggests, what it does suggest is to not give what affects us
the ability to control our life.
Here’s a list of some of the modern day applications of stoicism.
The philosophy of Memento Mori –
The numerous wars, diseases, plagues in the olden days made people be quite in touch with this
inevitable phenomenon of life, death. In the modern times, this primal fear seems to have lost.
Understanding that we can die anytime will enable us to take decisions more rationally. Life is
fleeting, so spend it with your loved one’s as tomorrow could be the last for either one of you.
Strive to be better & help others get there too, every moment spend on pleasing others is time
lost forever.
Equanimity –
Life can be a lot easy if one learns this important principle. Being in an equanamous state requires
one to indifferent in a lot of situations. This doesn’t mean we can’t feel these emotions. What we
cannot do is let these emotions dictate our actions. Avoid the extremes and you shall have
contentment.
“Amore Fati” – The lover of fate.
Good times & Bad times cannot be predicted a true stoic know that whatever falls upon him he
must happily except. One can still drive to get out of such situations. But it’s about solving the
problem not complaining about the problem itself. Accepting our situation can give us more
clarity lead us to a path out of our miseries.
These principles can be adopted & integrated by anyone.
-This idea of stoicism has given birth so many great leaders that its benefits our almost undeniable. It is
said it was Marcus Aurelius’ meditations that helped Nelson Mandela get through 27 years of prison &
become that man we all know now. By becoming the student of this great school of thought one can sail
through journey of finding life’s answers.
