From ancient to new Stoicism: VII — Some modest suggestions
A conceptual map of where Stoicism came from and where it may be going
Well, it is now my turn! After having examined the ancient versions of Stoic physics (i.e., science), logic, and ethics, as well as three modern attempts to update Stoicism (Becker’s, Stankiewicz’s, and Gambardella’s), this essay is devoted to a series of modest suggestions by yours truly.
Let us begin with a couple of disclaimers. First, this is very much a work in progress, and therefore incomplete and likely not at all what it will look like by the end, if an end will at some point be reached. Second, though I did publish a book proposing an updated version of Epictetus’s Enchiridion, I have not written anything that is comparable to, say, Larry Becker’s A New Stoicism, which in my mind remains the mandatory point of reference. Fate permitting, I will.
Next, I wish to lay down two assumptions that are informing my thinking on the matter at hand. One is that, in proposing a version of Stoic practical philosophy for the 21st century (and, hopefully, beyond) I am trying to stick as close as possible to the original. This is because the original was so darn good that it has inspired people for close two and a half millennia, and there is no sense in changing things just to…
