Love, kindness, … and Stoicism?
A reader asks what’s the relevance of Stoic philosophy to central aspects of our life. Here’s the answer
Darin wrote: I’m a subscriber at Figs in Winter, and am looking forward to the discussions about New Stoicism. When I mention Stoicism to people as a life philosophy and a way to deal with difficult, or indeed any points in life, I eventually get questions like ‘what about love, or kindness as central tenets, and helpful solutions to life’s ills?’ They feel like Stoicism is sterile and not addressing some central need. I feel like they are missing the point of Stoicism, but I don’t know how to address it. Can you post something in FiW to address this?
I get what these people are saying. I used to say the same sort of things, before I paid attention to actual Stoicism, rather than the stiff upper lip caricature of it. Years ago I came across an announcement from Modern Stoicism inviting people to celebrate Stoic Week. I thought, what? Why would anyone want to live their life like Mr. Spock from Star Trek?? (And I’m a huge fan of Spock, as a character…)
But then I looked into it more seriously and realized that Stoicism has actually nothing to do with suppressing emotions and cultivating a silent persona who endures the unendurable. So let’s address directly the…
