Why Stoicism will always be in vogue

For over a decade, an unexpected presence has graced the new release tables at bookstores: Stoic philosophers. Popular books like How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci and Lessons in Stoicism by John Sellars have made their mark, alongside classic texts such as The Enchiridion of Epictetus and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

Each year, new books on Stoicism, the philosophical school founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the 3rd century BC, continue to appear. This school advocates for a life of self-discipline and mental resilience by focusing on the aspects of life that lie within our control. Last year, for example, saw the release of The Everyday Stoic by William Mulligan, a YouTuber with over 400,000 subscribers.

The success of Stoicism’s resurgence has even surprised its proponents. Pigliucci, speaking via video call, recounts how it all started with a 2015 New York Times article that became one of the newspaper’s most read and shared pieces. On the same day it was published, he received three calls from publishers interested in turning the topic into a book — a possibility he hadn’t even considered. His 2017 book, How to Be a Stoic, has since been translated into a dozen languages, sold over 300,000 copies globally, and led to five more books on the subject. Ariel, his Spanish publisher, confirms that sales of the 2021 paperback edition have been steadily increasing for the past two years.

Yet, Stoicism’s appeal isn’t solely due to its practical philosophy. In some cases, its teachings have been simplified, transformed into a more accessible, “crossfit” style of self-help aimed at aspiring influencers and entrepreneurs. Let’s explore this shift.

1. The Hellenistic period is not so different from today

Zeno of Citium founded the Stoic school around 300 BC. It was a time of crisis in Greece, which was still recovering from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. City-states had disappeared, larger kingdoms were consolidating, and philosophers were questioning what role an individual could play in a society governed by a powerful and distant ruler. This situation bears striking parallels to the present, as Pigliucci explains: “We live in a context of much social and political upheaval,” which can leave us feeling overwhelmed and powerless: “We open the newspaper, and every day there is a different crisis.”

The 2020 pandemic added another layer to this parallel, as Iker Martínez, professor of Ancient Philosophy at Spain’s National University of Long-Distance Education (UNED), explains over the phone. Covid-19 prompted many people to reconsider the need to recover classical values that had seemed abandoned, such as those promoted by Stoic ethics. These principles encourage the cultivation of virtues that help us live better lives, such as justice, wisdom, and control over our desires.

Sellars agrees, highlighting in a video call that in an increasingly secular Western society, Stoicism offers “an ethical framework, something that religion used to provide for many people.” We are all searching for a set of values that can guide us toward happiness, and these values stand in stark contrast to the consumerism and ecological disregard of late capitalism. Both Sellars and Pigliucci also note the growing interest in Buddhism in the West over the past few decades for similar reasons.

2. It is a practical philosophy

Stoicism is not just an attempt to understand the world, but also offers guidance on how to live in it and participate in society. While it is not the only practical philosophy, as María Isabel Méndez Lloret, dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Barcelona, points out via email, it has one distinct advantage: its application primarily depends on ourselves, especially on the strength of will and reason. These qualities help us shape our identity through reflection on our decisions and desires. Stoicism, she notes, “is open to all people around the world.”

As Pigliucci explains, one of the most frequently cited tools in Stoicism is the dichotomy of control, which is particularly useful in our current context, where we may feel powerless in the face of large, seemingly insurmountable issues: “Neither will my tweet stop the rise of the populist right, nor will recycling this container solve the climate crisis.” In his Enchiridion (Handbook), Epictetus writes that there are things within our control, such as our desires and fears, and things beyond our control, like the inevitability of aging or illness, which we must face with courage. “It is not the things themselves that disturb people, but their judgments about these thing,” he wrote.

This is not an invitation to resignation or repress our emotions, as is often misunderstood. The Stoics invite us to act as much as we can and to avoid being carried away by frustration or resentment. Pigliucci uses the example of a cancelled flight: while it’s natural to feel angry and frustrated, instead of causing a scene at the airport, a Stoic (like Seneca in his On Anger) would suggest we do something productive — such as looking for another flight, lodging a complaint with the airline, and waiting with a cup of coffee in hand. He also reminds us that, for the Stoics, emotions are natural and often beneficial. For example, they would never encourage us to repress our love for our family.

Another key factor behind Stoicism’s success is that some of the psychological tools it advocates, including emotional management, have been embraced by cognitive therapy in recent decades. As Pigliucci explains, when American psychologists Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck developed cognitive therapy in the 1960s, “they looked to the Stoics.” While Stoicism is a philosophy, not a therapy, and does not replace professional mental health care, it can still be beneficial. An example of this is Stoic Week, an annual event organized since 2012 by the Modern Stoicism association, co-founded by John Sellars. Some 40,000 participants have joined these online activities, which encourage people to explore Stoic techniques and ideas. Surveys conducted before and after the event show participants report improvements in their mood and a reduction in negative emotions.

3. It has been in fashion longer than it seems

The neo-Stoic movement began to take shape in the 1990s, as Iker Martínez explains. In 1998, Lawrence C. Becker published A New Stoicism, which suggested that Stoic philosophy could be relevant in the modern world. Pigliucci also references the 2004 novel I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, which drew inspiration from Stoicism. According to The New York Times, Wolfe’s novel helped increase sales of Epictetus’ works, as the book’s main character reads Epictetus while imprisoned.

But Stoicism’s history extends far beyond its recent resurgence. When Zeno founded his school, he did so at a time when other philosophical currents were trying to address similar issues. He was a disciple of the Cynics, and during this period, Epicurus founded Epicureanism, while Pyrrho developed Scepticism — philosophical schools that also offered practical responses to the societal challenges of their time.

Stoicism has probably been more enduring and influential than its philosophical competitors. In the first century AD, Seneca and Epictetus continued to teach its principles, and in the following century, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote his Meditations. This later form of Stoicism, as Méndez Lloret notes, “understood philosophy with greater flexibility,” focusing on ideas that foster reflection and practical living through “maxims and advice that guide rational activity, and that are easy to remember and apply,” which has contributed to its lasting relevance.

Their ideas also had an influence on Christianity. Stoic authors like Cicero and Seneca, though considered pagans, were seen as valuable sources of wisdom and continued to be read during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In fact, even (fake) letters between Seneca and St. Paul were published and circulated. Sellars and Pigliucci note that there were many ethical parallels between Stoicism and Christianity, such as the emphasis placed on developing virtues. But there were also notable differences: for example, the Stoics considered suicide to be acceptable in some contexts.

The influence of Stoicism remained significant during the Enlightenment and into the 19th century, when it began to decline. It is reflected in contemporary ideas such as human rights — it is a philosophy that is accessible to everyone, from emperors to slaves — and cosmopolitanism, a concept first introduced by Hierocles in the 2nd century, building on the ideas of Socrates and Diogenes.

4. And why Stoicism and not Epicureanism?

Stoicism is not the only school of thought that offers practical wisdom for navigating a changing world. Yet, it has proven to be the most popular, even more so than Epicureanism, despite the influence it also had. The French philosopher Michel Onfray wrote in EL PAÍS that “without Epicurus, there would have been no Renaissance, no Montaigne, no libertine thought of the 17th century, no philosophy of the Enlightenment, no French Revolution, no atheism, no philosophies of social liberation.”

However, during the early centuries of Christianity, followers of Epicureanism were often misrepresented as people who organized banquets and orgies. This was a not true. In reality, the Epicureans advocated for a life centered around friendship and the thoughtful consideration of the consequences of everyday choices. They favored present moderation — such as having just one glass of wine — to avoid greater misfortunes in the future, like a hangover. But they proposed a life far removed from politics, which harmed the school’s influence, as Méndez Lloret points out.

Cynicism also has a bad reputation, often associated with unbelievers without values. However, its origins were quite different. Founded in the second half of the 4th century BC by Antisthenes and popularized by Diogenes, Cynicism proposed a life that rejected material possessions and focused on a philosophical approach that used humor and provocation. However, as Méndez Lloret points out, the lack of a systematized theory, coupled with its decision to distance itself from politics, made it a philosophy that was “difficult to apply.”

Zeno studied with the Cynics, and the influence of this school can be seen in his belief that all people have equal value, regardless of status or wealth. Both schools also emphasized the importance of living in harmony with nature. As Iker Martínez explains, for the Stoics, nature represents “a biological pattern of behavior that defines humans and determines our behavior,” which stands in contrast to many contemporary ethical frameworks that prioritize the social and cultural. While Stoicism does not claim that everything is dictated by nature, it recognizes it as a limit to our desires and a guide for control, since we are part of a network of interconnected causes and effects, both social and natural.

Of course, there are biographies of Diogenes, such as the one by Jean-Manuel Roubineau, and books on Epicureanism like How to be an Epicurean by Catherine Wilson or The Pocketbook Epicurean by Sellars himself. However, these ideas have not yet reached the widespread popularity that Stoicism has achieved.

Sellars points out another key factor contributing to Stoicism’s success: the texts of its leading thinkers are well-preserved and easy to read. Works like The Enchiridion of Epictetus, the letters and treatises of Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations are both accessible and engaging. In contrast, Diogenes left no written records, only fragments of Epicurus remain, and On the Nature of Things by the Epicurean Lucretius is more of a scientific treatise than an ethical or political one.

The beauty of philosophy, however, is that it is not a religion, and there is no need to adhere exclusively to one school of thought. Sellars and Pigliucci cite the example of Seneca, who freely read and quoted Epicurus. When someone reproached him for doing so, Seneca responded, “What is true belongs to me,” and he encouraged others to judge ideas based on their merit, not their authors.

5. Crossfit Stoicism

Not everything has been entirely positive in this editorial and reading trend. While Stoicism is a practical philosophy that helps us participate and reflect in a complex society, it risks being oversimplified into a self-help manual or a set of tips for entrepreneurs (e.g., “Wake up before five! Fast! Work 80-hour weeks!”). Iker Martínez refers to this phenomenon as “business or CrossFit Stoicism,” which has been exploited in podcasts, YouTube videos, social media, and books trying to follow in the footsteps of classics like The Obstacle Is the Way by marketing expert Ryan Holiday, who has been popularizing Stoicism for over a decade.

This trend reduces Stoicism to the idea that we are born to suffer and, as Martínez adds, promotes it as “an operating system to succeed in stressful environments.” There has even been talk of “stoic leadership,” following the example of business magnates like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. In other words, focusing on the customer and staying calm under pressure. Martínez explains that this “has nothing to do” with Stoicism; instead, it attempts to apply a philosophical theory to a business strategy, disregarding the deeper reflection on life that Stoicism encourages.

But even the most simplistic interpretations of Stoicism aren’t as problematic as they might seem. It is an example of how a philosophy born 23 centuries ago in Greece remains relevant today, because we ask ourselves the same questions. As Méndez Lloret explains, “Stoic philosophy thinks of the universal man, the man of any time and culture.” In today’s world, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by a whirlwind of tweets, videos, headlines, wars, narcissistic billionaires, personal and economic crises, and environmental disasters. The Stoics remind us that much of all this is beyond our control, but also that there is always something we can do.

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