Ryan Holiday – Lives of the Stoics – Review

The philosophy of Stoicism has been around for well over 2000 years. Because of its pragmatic application to our everyday lives, this view of ourselves and the world has persisted and remained relevant to the present time. Holiday's first line of the text is, The only reason to study philosophy is to become a better person. Personally as a student of the discipline of philosophy for well over 30 years, the reasons to study it range from self-understanding and nature of existence itself. The history of ideas is a worthwhile study, as it can give you the source for the reasons why we do the things we do. Lives of the Stoics gives us a simple history/biography of Stoicism founders and practitioners from Zeno the Profit, Seneca to the “philosopher king”, Marcus Aurelius.

The text is written in simple prose and entertaining enough to maintain the attention of anyone not familiar with philosophy. Holiday/Hanselman writes in a conversational tone, tying the ancient philosophers together in the context of the era. The tenets of Stoicism revolve around our nature and how to deal with the vagaries of our lives. A major focus of the Stoics is in the area of philosophy known as Ethics. Is the pursuit of virtue for its own sake essential to our happiness as human beings or, more specifically, living a better life?

The Stoics would answer the question in the resounding affirmative. Our lives' purpose is to engage in society in productive ways, and our lifetime activity is to become better human beings. What is discussed later in the text under the chapters on Seneca and Aurelius is our preparation and notions of death. There's no fear of death because we are born to die. This theme of death is a recurrent subject for many ancient philosophies and Initiation societies. Overcoming one's fear of death and understanding our inevitable demise is a level of enlightenment for many of these ancient societies. Acceptance of death in oneself and others is central to Stoicism.

As the text illustrates, at its most basic, Stoicism is the understanding and practice of “justice, honesty, self-control, courage...” Taking this further, the emphasis is put on what we can't control and what we can. Knowing the difference between the two is essential to our relative happiness. Following these ethical lines, orderliness, propriety, modesty, and self-mastery should be part of our daily practices. By our essential nature we all know what is right or wrong, and we must have the courage to do the right thing no matter the opposition or circumstances.

The two most informative and interesting chapters are Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. For me, these two historical figures embody, through their actions and way of life, the core tenets of Stoicism's philosophy. One can see from the vigor and enthusiasm of these chapters that the authors feel the same.

As Holiday so emphatically points out, although ancient in its origins, Stoicism is an applicable philosophy for our turbulent and uncertain times.