Stoicism is a philosophy you have likely heard of. It is discussed ad nauseam online, particularly on podcasts. But do not click away!
Too often, stoicism is reduced to nothing more than its ethical implications. It is associated with remaining calm and happy in the face of stress and misfortune, and the endurance of hardship without bother or complaint. This is fair enough, but stoicism is much more than an ethical worldview.
Did you know that the stoics are credited with formalising propositional logic? Did you know they believed in an eternal, regenerating universe? Did you know that while strictly materialists, the stoics talked happily of souls, moral concepts, and even God, thinking all of these were made of matter?
To truly understand stoicism, we must learn not just of its ethical components, but also its metaphysics, and its logic. The worldview of the stoics is much deeper and more interesting than the often shallow presentation it receives online, and I’m joined in this episode by John Sellars of Royal Holloway, University of London—and author of numerous books on stoicism—to uncover those elements that are often left out.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Did Socrates Found Stoicism?
7:31 - The Three Eras of Stoicism
15:41 - Stoic Logic
24:10 - Empiricism - How the Stoics Got Knowledge
32:24 - Materialism: Only Physical Things Exist
40:51 - How Reason Fundamentally Animates the Universe
46:34 - Did the Stoics Believe in God?
57:28 - Do the Stoics Contradict Themselves?
01:06:08 - Stoic Ethics
01:22:15 - How Did the Stoics Deal With Evil?
01:34:23 - Can You Choose Your Outcome If Everything is Determined?
