A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
Here some great contemporary introductions to Stoicism: 1. William B. Irvine, "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy", https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Good-Life-Ancient-Stoic/dp/0195... This is an introduction to Stoic thought as it applies today by a professor in philosophy, very clearly written. Great for first exposure. It (sensibly) skips some of the more arcane stuff, such as Stoic metaphysics (historically relevant, but really obsolete). 2. Donald Robertson, "Stoicism and the Art of Happiness", https://www.amazon.com/Stoicism-Art-Happiness-Teach-Yourself... This is a…
A Guide to the Good Life has its issues, particularly around complicating simple ideas (for example, his "trichotomy of control" adds nothing at all the the basic dichotomy, other than confusion). However, he does a good job of giving a basic introduction and framing for Stoic concepts. I think it's easier to digest the Romans (particularly the concise and acerbic style of Epictetus) if you are somewhat familiar with the subject. I got much, much more from Epictetus than I did from Irvine, but he is, I think, a valuable on-ramp. I'm also not sure what the big deal is with Marcus Aurelius.…
I've been reading about stoicism lately (the ancient philosophy, not the adjective for lack of emotion) and I think that practicing stoics have some nice tools to help people out with this. One of the primary ways that stoics find tranquility is by "wanting what you already have" instead of "wanting what you don't have." Easier said than done, so they offer some tools to help, inluding negative visualization (imagining life without things you care about), only worrying about things you have control over, and occasionally denying yourself pleasures. I'm not doing the subject justice, but…
After reading a recommendation for the book "A Guide to the Good Life" on HN, I reviewed it on a hacker site I have. Stoics throughout history been some of the best-equipped for finding joy in life, which is one of the reasons their methods have been taken by so many others. When you're dealing with these issues, stoicism is highly recommended. BTW, on the target page you can read hacker reviews from most of the other major sites, my review, and a bunch of other stuff. The site was a project I completed so that I didn't have to describe the same books over and over again on HN (So apologies…
For a very accessible and practical guide to Seneca (and other stoic philosophers), check out "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy" by William Irvine The title is a little cheesy, but the content is gold. It's one of the books I re-read (or re-listen to via Audible) multiple times a year. I find the repetition is really valuable since I can slip so easily back into my old thought patterns. When I count books that have been most helpful to me, this one is at the top of the list (followed by "War of Art" by Pressfield). For a synopsis, check out Derek Sivers book notes on…
I read a book awhile back that kind of embodies the points you made about happiness. It is titled "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy" [1]. I feel like your story about the flood would have fit right in with the theme of the book. One story from the book concerns Musonious, a stoic who is exiled from his home, deprived of his country, family and friends and ultimately forced to live on a "worthless", barren island. Even through all this he is still is able to find happiness by changing his state of mind about his circumstances. [1]…
FWIW, I was in the position in my mid-30s where my partner was diagnosed with uncommon type of cancer. That particular subtype had an extremely low 2/5-year survival rates associated if it went metastatic. Most people are going to suggest avoidance strategies. That does work to an extent. You can try to firewall your personal life from work. It doesn't stop intrusive thoughts, other people bringing it up in conversation, or finding something that will remind you of it. What helped me the most was the opposite - I took to "negative visualization" from stoicism [1]. Meditate for 15…
This subject keeps coming up so much I made a site just to keep track of books hn'ers recommend to each other: http://hn-books.com I think out of all the books I read, the stoicism book made the biggest impact on me -- http://www.hn-books.com/Books/A-Guide-to-the-Good-Life-The-A... . It really came out of left field and provided immediately useful advice on how to conduct myself both as a founder and as a hacker. But "The Sparrow" was the best sci-fi I have read in years, so I can't exclude that. Terrifically good book. http://www.hn-books.com/Books/The-Sparrow.htm
This article ends with its thesis: > Because if you accept your fate joyfully, as a Stoic sage should, you’ll never try to change it. This is a common criticism. To pick one of many convenient rebuttals, here's William Irvine's book A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy, chapter 5: > To the contrary, they were fully engaged in daily life. From this, one of two conclusions follows: Either the Stoics were hypocrites who did not act in accordance with their principles, or we have, in the above argument, somehow misinterpreted Stoic principles. I shall now argue for this…
That was my point. The ancient stoics would advise you to administer control over what you can. If you did the best you can to influence the situation to a positive result, and it still failed, there is nothing you can do. All that is left is how you react to the situation. Modern psychology would call this CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy). Basically, your reaction and how you deal with things internally is all that is left after you have done what you can. Life has so many elements beyond our control. Focus on what you can change and do not let the unchangeable pull you down. I appreciate…