stoicism intro from a handbook for new stoics

The introduction boils stoicism down very nicely into a concise summary and then expands on the content.

Live according to nature
three-discipline practice
dichotomy of control

It qualifies this summary with the following: Stoicism is easy to understand, but it’s pointless to understand it without putting it to practice.

Live according to nature

physics
logic
ethics

To live ethically requires an understanding of the physical world and the ability to reason about the world, and that requires logic.

Bring the mind to bear on you problems.

This Seneca quote (mentioned on page 4) is the distillation of what it means to live according to nature. The author posits that this function of stoicism makes it different from other “Self-help” because instead of just trying to make the practitioner feel better, it aims to make the practitioner be better.

Physics

Study of natural science

Logic

Everything needed to think and communicate well

Ethics

How to live with meaning

Three Disciplines

Desire - what is best to want/avoid
Action - how to behave toward others
Assent - arriving at “correct” judgements

Dichotomy of Control

Some things you can control and some things you cannot.

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