Lessons in Stoicism: What Ancient Philosophers Teach Us about How to Live

"A third book I’d like to mention is John Sellars’s Lessons in Stoicism , written by one of the foremost scholars in ancient and modern Stoic philosophy. It’s short and organized around seven basic and highly useful concepts: the philosopher as doctor, what we control, the problem of emotions, dealing with adversity, our place in nature, life and death, and how to live together. Yes, I’ve been rather active myself. After my first book, How to Be a Stoic , I co-wrote with Gregory Lopez A Handbook for New Stoics (UK title: Live Like a Stoic ), which is a rather unique entry in the modern canon. It presents 52 exercises for practising Stoicism, from which people can sample in order to tailor their practice to their specific needs. It’s a hands-on book, meant to be written on, and the exercises are grouped according to the three “disciplines” of the second century Stoic Epictetus: desire (i.e., how to reorient our priorities), action (i.e., how to deal with other people), and assent (i.e., how to improve our judgment). And speaking of Epictetus, my newest book is coming out in the UK on 9/17, with the title The Stoic Guide to a Happy Life (American title: A Field Guide to a Happy Life ), and it is a complete rewrite of one of ancient Stoicism’s most important texts, Epictetus’s Enchiridion (or Manual). The idea is that Stoicism is now 23 centuries old, and that just like modern Christians or Buddhists are not sticking necessarily to the original version of their philosophies, so Stoics need to update things for the 21st century, taking into account the progress incurred in the meantime by both science and philosophy. So yes, Stoicism is getting more popular, and it seems to be here to stay. And I think that’s a good thing. This particular philosophy may not be for everyone, and it certainly isn’t the only way to live a good life. But one of the most rewarding things that has happened to me since I started writing about it is the constant flow of testimonies to the fact that it really helps people. Just like it did back in Athens around 300 BCE, when Zeno of Citium got things started."