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15347921 No.15347921 [Reply] [Original]

Where Should I start with Stoicism?

>> No.15347926

Don't. If you must, Seneca and then leave it alone.

>> No.15347950

>>15347926
What so bad about Meditations?

>> No.15348012

>>15347950
Why are you asking for input when you've clearly decided what to do?

>> No.15348021

>>15348012
I'm just asking for an template.
You people keep meme-ing his book here.

>> No.15348029

>>15347950
Nothing, but understand is a colletania of thoughts not a book per se

>> No.15348035

>>15347921
Get something like Pierre Hadot's "The Inner Citadel". And then get "The Discourses of Epictetus".
After that, you should research about virtue. Gorgias by Plato, for example.
You could also read Cicero, which is more theoretical in approach than Epictetus.

Then, you can read the others. Seneca and Marcus Aurelius are kind of "readings of the day".

>> No.15348036

>>15348021
>You people keep meme-ing his book here.

Because they're children and they're bound to take the wrong lesson from him. What do you want? Theory? Epictetus. Practice? Aurelius (to the best of his ability, you can't fault a man for trying). Both? Seneca.

>> No.15348044

You don't, the Stoics were retarded.

>> No.15348064

>>15347950
I'm not the one you are answering to, and I think Stoicism is very valuable to read. Most people saying otherwise are just being edgy contrarians.
That said, I wouldn't recommend someone to start with the Meditations, since it is an easy book to read and also an easy book to misunderstand. Bill Clinton is a mega coomer and he claims the Meditations as one of his favorite books.

The philosophy of the Meditations is the philosophy of Epictetus. The Meditations are just the exercise book that Marcus Aurelius did for himself. You would need to understand Epictetus to understand what Aurelius is doing. Otherwise you end up thinking he is a depressed guy complaining about life, when his writings were mostly exercises to fix his judgement.

Read the Meditations after you mastered Epictetus. And read a little bit of it every day to help you fixate the philosophy.

>> No.15348071

I would start with Cicero, actually. On Moral Ends, On Divination, and On the Nature of the Gods are probably the most important. Keep in mind that some of the view ascribed to stoics aren't necessarily required to be a stoic. You don't have to go see an augur just because a particular stoic that Cicero was talking into was into that stuff.

The stoics themselves can be read in any order. Don't neglect Rufus. In fact, start with him.

>> No.15348075

>>15348044
>You don't, the Stoics were retarded.
Why do you think so?

>> No.15348085

>>15348071
I think Rufus should be read after reading Epictetus. Otherwise you won't know why advice such as "Don't have sex outside marriage" makes sense.

>> No.15348088

>>15348075
Read the first few pages of BGE

>> No.15348098

>>15347921
Epictetus, Seneca, Aurelius

>> No.15348099

>>15348088
Ah, a Nietzsche memester. What a surprise.

>> No.15348102

>>15348075
because le epic mustache man told him so

>> No.15348117

>>15348102
Sometimes I wonder if they know that by acting like this they end up making Nietzsche look bad.

>> No.15348827

>>15347921
Dont!

It´s a lame cope.
Honestly just learn to cry like an adult it will help you more on the long run.

>> No.15349263

>>15348085

Why does it make sense for the stoics?

>> No.15349275

Epictetus.

>> No.15349278
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15349278

>>15347921
here

>> No.15349308

>>15349263
If you act like a Coomer, you become more of a Coomer. You gain pleasure but you lose virtue.
This is not something that is exclusive to Epictetus, of course. But for modern people who have the thought that "it is only bad if it hurts other people" the recommendation ends up looking strange.

>> No.15349318

>>15348064
Following up on this, if you are starting with Epictetus, start with the Enchiridon, which is relatively approachable and clear.

>> No.15350391
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15350391

>> No.15351386
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15351386

>>15347950
This