Excellent essay. It seems to me that the purpose of any philosophy or religion is to set forth a path that will guide people to live a good life, and since we are social animals, that would mean that our good life benefits or at least does no harm to others. I believe that Stoicism does a good job of setting forth that path. Is it perfect, probably not. Are other philosophies and religions perfect, probably not. Are the people who try to follow these various paths to live a good life perfect, definitely not. So, it seems counterproductive to say that someone who is trying to walk the path of Stoicism is not a real Stoic because of one person’s interpretation of the philosophy. I seriously doubt that someone would say that a person is not a Christian just because they did not live up to every value expressed in the Bible. Life is a journey and it helps to have a philosophy or religion to guide us, and I greatly appreciate your essays on Stoicism to help me in that journey.
No point in overthinking anything, including how people "practice" Stoicism. If it inspires someone to do better and be better, even if they are not "perfectly" interpreting the philosophy, so be it. It's pro-social philosophy, so that's a plus, too.
A great response to Kennedy's piece.
Nice work, Michael - I also thought that Kennedy had some key things wrong, and you've carefully shown what they were.
Excellent essay and analysis
Excellent essay. It seems to me that the purpose of any philosophy or religion is to set forth a path that will guide people to live a good life, and since we are social animals, that would mean that our good life benefits or at least does no harm to others. I believe that Stoicism does a good job of setting forth that path. Is it perfect, probably not. Are other philosophies and religions perfect, probably not. Are the people who try to follow these various paths to live a good life perfect, definitely not. So, it seems counterproductive to say that someone who is trying to walk the path of Stoicism is not a real Stoic because of one person’s interpretation of the philosophy. I seriously doubt that someone would say that a person is not a Christian just because they did not live up to every value expressed in the Bible. Life is a journey and it helps to have a philosophy or religion to guide us, and I greatly appreciate your essays on Stoicism to help me in that journey.
A model example of thoughtful analysis.
No point in overthinking anything, including how people "practice" Stoicism. If it inspires someone to do better and be better, even if they are not "perfectly" interpreting the philosophy, so be it. It's pro-social philosophy, so that's a plus, too.