Essays on Stoicism

By Dr Neel Burton — Psychiatrist, philosopher, and wine writer; Fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford; author of over twenty books.

Deliver yourself to philosophy if you wish to be safe, to be tranquil, to be happy, and what matters most, if you wish to be free. There is no other way you can gain your freedom. —Seneca

Founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the third century BCE, Stoicism became one of the great systems of the ancient world. Its leading figures—including an exile, a former slave, and an emperor—did not merely speculate about the good life, but developed practical methods for living it.

Stoicism is not about suppressing emotion or gritting our teeth. It’s about learning to distinguish what depends on us from what does not, and directing our energies accordingly.

This page brings together my essays on Stoicism.

Leading Figures

The Philosopher Who Took Philosophy Too Far — Diogenes the Cynic and the Philosophy of the Dog

The Great Stoics: Musonius Rufus — The Exiled Stoic Who Taught Epictetus

The Great Stoics: Epictetus — The Slave Who Inspired an Emperor

The Great Stoics: Seneca — Did Rome’s Richest Man Live Up to His Philosophy?

The Great Stoics: Marcus Aurelius — Did Stoicism Make Marcus Aurelius a Better Emperor?

Marcus Aurelius Never Meant You to Read the Meditations — Marcus Aurelius Wrote the Meditations for Himself—Here’s Why

A Life in Ideas: Cicero — Did Rome’s Greatest Orator Live Up to His Own Ideals?

The Stoic Life

What Is Ataraxia — And Why Ataraxia Is the Ultimate Cool

The Metaphor of the Stoic Archer, Explained — Why the Stoics Believed Success Is Not the Measure of a Good Life

Fame and Fortune Are Not Proper Ends — What the Stoic Seneca Knew About Ambition, Success, and Happiness

The Comfort Trap — 10 Unexpected Benefits of Voluntary Hardship

How to Banish Anger Forever — The Stoic Seneca on Anger

How to Deal With Insults, the Stoic Way — What Is the Strongest Response to an Insult?

The People We Love Are Only on Loan — What the Stoics Knew About Grief and Loss

Why Intelligent People Crave Silence — Hate Noise? You Might Be a Genius

Stoicism and the World

The First European Union — How the Stoics Became Citizens of the World

How the Western Mind Nearly Took an Eastern Turn — The Surprising Affinities Between Greek and Indian Philosophy

What Do Buddhism and Stoicism Have in Common? — Two Ancient Paths to the Same Human Truths

Nietzsche, the Stoics, and Eternal Return — What If You Had to Live Your Life Again?

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