Lessons in Stoicism

What Ancient Philosophers Teach Us about How to Live

Book cover

Metadata

Author: John Sellars
Publisher: Penguin Books, Limited
Year: 2020
Pages: 80
Identifiers: 014199004X, 9780141990040
Links: Goodreads, Google

Description

In the past few years, Stoicism has been making a comeback. But what exactly did the Stoics believe? In Lessons in Stoicism, philosopher John Sellars weaves together the key ideas of the three great Roman Stoics – Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius – with snapshots of their fascinating lives, to show us how their ideas can help us today.

In vivid prose, Sellars shows how the works of these three Stoics have inspired readers ever since, speaking as they do to some of the perennial issues that face anyone trying to navigate their way through life. Their works, fundamentally, are about how to live – how to understand one’s place in the world, how to cope when things don’t go well, how to manage one’s emotions and how to behave towards others.

Review

This is an incredibly short book, but it’s time and money well-spent. John Sellars may be considered an authority on Stoicism and he does an excellent job summarizing all of the key points in a compelling narrative, dispelling some common myths along the way.

This book draws a lot from the works of Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, frequently discussing where these three philosophers shared the same beliefs, and where they held different opinions on topics. But Sellars also references other lesser-known Stoics in various places.

If you’ve already read a lot about Stoicism then this probably isn’t for you, but I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a short, complete overview of Stoicism before diving into detail on any one specific Stoic writer in particular.

Notes