Traditional Stoicism

The Connection between Stoic Physics and Ethics

The Connection Between Physics and Ethics

Stoic ethics is interdependent with a specific model of the cosmos. The Stoics rejected and argued stridently against the random, meaningless universe of the Epicureans. In contrast, the Stoics built their philosophy around a rational, intelligent, and providentially ordered cosmos. They considered this worldview essential to their systematic philosophy because it provides the necessary framework for Stoic ethical theory and practice. There are numerous outstanding expositions of Stoic ethical theory. Since I am not defending Stoic ethical theory, I will […]

By Chris Fisher December 11, 2015

The Religious Nature of Stoicism

NOTE: An updated version of this blog post and an accompanying Stoicism On Fire podcast episode is available here. Many people introduced to Stoicism by twenty-first-century popularizers are surprised by the religious nature of the philosophy. The deafening silence on this topic leaves most people unaware of the deep religious piety of the Stoics. This silence belies the copious references to divinity and providence in the Stoic texts and the extensive scholarship, from a variety of fields, acknowledging the religious nature […]

By Chris Fisher December 8, 2015

Retaining the Soul of Stoicism

Modern popularizations of Stoicism, which ignore physics, diverge from the historical understanding of Stoicism in a dramatic way to accommodate a secular worldview. Unfortunately, such departures strip Stoicism of its soul. What remains is often only a shell of the deeply spiritual, philosophical system which inspired the lives, writing, and teaching of Stoics like Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. Stoicism is a holistic philosophical system, and it takes only a minimal amount of time and effort to discover that scholars […]

By Chris Fisher December 3, 2015

Stoic Ethics, Stoic Logic, Stoic Physics

What is Traditional Stoicism?

So, what is traditional Stoicism? Ironically, “traditional Stoicism” is something new; it is used almost exclusively on social media to describe what was traditionally known simply as Stoicism. This new modifier became necessary with the recent advent of “modern Stoicism.” In a nutshell, traditional Stoics attempt to remain as close as possible to the path created by the founders, which includes three fields of study and practice—logic, physics, and ethics. Modern Stoics diverge from the Stoic’s original path because they […]

By Chris Fisher November 28, 2015

Traditional Stoicism: A timeless, philosophical way of life

Welcome to Traditional Stoicism

This site will provide content and resources for people interested in the study and practice of Stoicism as it is represented in the surviving Stoic texts and interpreted by reputable scholars. Traditional Stoics attempts to follow, as much as possible, the same path toward excellence and happiness trod by Roman Senator, Seneca; freed slave turned philosopher, Epictetus; and Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Those who attempt to follow the traditional Stoic path take the founder’s claims about the integrated nature of […]

By Chris Fisher November 24, 2015