Traditional Stoicism

The fundamental Stoic spiritual attitude

Prosochē: The Practice of Attention – Episode 5

This episode of Stoicism On Fire kicks off a series I call the path of the Prokopton. A prokopton is someone who is making progress along the Stoic path. This podcast is about the practice of Attention. The Stoics called it prosochē in Greek, and that word signifies an attitude and practice of attention. Pierre Hadot considered prosochē the fundamental Stoic spiritual attitude.[1] It is a state of continuous, vigilant, and unrelenting attentiveness to oneself—to the present impressions, present desires, and present actions, […]

By Chris Fisher April 15, 2018

Choosing the Stoic Path – Episode 4

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. ~ Robert Frost[1] I love those lines from Robert Frost’s timeless poem The Road Not Taken. As a practicing Stoic, they take on new meaning because of the importance of choice. Robert Frost’s traveler stands at a fork in the road, and he must choose—path A or path B. During his contemplation, he acknowledges that he cannot travel […]

By Chris Fisher April 8, 2018

The Stoic conception of God as a divine and providential cosmos

The Stoic God – Episode 3

It would be impossible to give a full account of the philosophy of the Stoics without, at the same time, treating of their theology; for no early system is so closely connected with religion as that of the Stoics. Founded, as the whole view of the world is, upon the theory of one Divine Being…There is hardly a single prominent feature in the Stoic system whichis not, more or less, connected with theology.[1] The Stoic God is an all-pervasive, immanent, […]

By Chris Fisher April 5, 2018

Encountering the Stoic conception of the divine

Logos and Providence and God, OH MY! – Episode 2

A virtuous and good person, keeping in mind who he is, and where he has come from, and by whom he was created, concentrates on one thing alone: how he may fill his post in a disciplined manner, remaining obedient to God. (Discourses 3.24.95) I grew up watching The Wizard of Oz every year when it was broadcast on live TV. I always loved the famous scene where Dorothy, Tin Man, and Scarecrow enter the scary forest. As a young child, […]

By Chris Fisher April 5, 2018

Traditional Stoicism as a rational form of spirituality

What Is Stoicism On Fire? – Episode 1

Since this is the inaugural episode of Stoicism On Fire it would be natural for you the listener to wonder what this podcast is about. Obviously, it’s about Stoicism, but What is Stoicism on Fire? As the introduction states, this podcast is about Stoicism as a philosophical way of life, which includes a rational form of spirituality. That form of Stoicism has become known as traditional Stoicism in modern times. Ancient Stoicism: 300 BCE – 200 CE Many credible sources […]

By Chris Fisher April 5, 2018

Marcus on Keeping Stoic Doctrines at the Ready

As doctors always keep their knives and instruments at hand to deal with urgent cases, so you too should keep your doctrines at the ready, to enable you to understand things divine and human, and so to perform every action, even the very smallest, as one who is mindful of the bond that unites the two realms; for you will never act well in any of your dealings with the human unless you refer it to the divine, and conversely […]

By Chris Fisher September 4, 2017

Stoicism Is a Spiritual Way of Life

The religious impulse of Stoicism is directed toward personal piety rather than public worship. Prayer and worship were certainly included in Stoic practice, and they had a single aim: to bring the thoughts and actions of the individual practitioner into coherence with universal Reason (logos) which pervades the cosmos. As the French philosopher Pierre Hadot argues, What defined a Stoic above all else was the choice of a life in which every thought, every desire, and every action would be […]

By Chris Fisher August 3, 2017

Stoic Matrix?

Ancient Stoic theology was natural theology. It wasn’t based on any alleged revelations; it was based on reasoning from observations. It was intended to be consistent with science. But science has come along way in the last two thousand or so years. Stoic theology has not kept up, simply because it has not been pursued. Fortunately, since Stoic theology is based on nature, it can be updated. Stoic theology is not tied to some ancient revelation or holy book. And […]

By Eric Steinhart June 23, 2017

Choosing the Stoic Path

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. ~ Robert Frost[1] I have always loved those lines from Frost’s famous poem. They highlight the importance of the choices we make in life as the road ahead of us inevitably diverges into […]

By Chris Fisher June 5, 2017

Who, Then, Is a Stoic?

Who, then, is a Stoic?… someone who has been fashioned in accordance with the judgements that he professes… someone who is ill and yet happy, in danger and yet happy, dying and yet happy, exiled and yet happy… one who is in the process of formation, one who is tending in that direction… a man who wants to be of one mind with God, and never find fault with God or man again, and to fail in none of his desires, to fall into […]

By Chris Fisher April 10, 2017

Prosochē: The Practice of Attention – Episode 5

Choosing the Stoic Path – Episode 4

The Stoic God – Episode 3

Logos and Providence and God, OH MY! – Episode 2

What Is Stoicism On Fire? – Episode 1

Marcus on Keeping Stoic Doctrines at the Ready

Stoicism Is a Spiritual Way of Life

Stoic Matrix?

Choosing the Stoic Path

Who, Then, Is a Stoic?

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