The Dangers of Stoicism

Resumo

The philosophy of Stoicism has undergone a renaissance in recent years. It is prominently featured in self-help guides, management seminars, social media discourse, political statements, psychological recommendations, and ideological positions. This resurgence makes it all the more critical to subject ancient Stoicism to a thorough analysis and relate it to the claims of so-called Modern Stoicism, with the aim of identifying potential similarities and differences. Modern Stoicism extends far beyond the boundaries of academic discourse. The present article focuses exemplarily on these non-academic fields and poses the question of whether the ancient model could serve as a source of inspiration for the modern variant and what pitfalls and dangers might be spotted. For in antiquity, significant objections to Stoic doctrine were already raised, notably by Plotinus. These critiques aimed not only at Stoic metaphysics but also at its ethical framework,[i] particularly regarding a supposed absence of a concept of "moral responsibility"[ii] in Stoic theories. Similar objections can also be raised against a Stoicism whose contemporary "modern comeback" has been aptly noted by Piotr Stankiewicz, among others.[iii] To this end, the foundations of the unfortunately poorly preserved ancient Stoicism will first be explored, both in their theoretical and ethical foundations, to enable a comparison with Modern Stoicism. The latter's own approaches will then be evaluated against the ancient model, addressing two key questions: first, whether the modern self-identification as "Stoics" can hold up, which we can largely affirm; and second, whether, from the perspective presented here, one should aspire to be a Stoic, to which the answer will be: no.

[i] Cf. Gerson, 2016 (for further reading, see Long, 2013).

[ii] Idem, p. 50.

[iii] Stankiewicz, 2017.