GoKawiilThere are countless introductions to Stoicism, but no Stoa is complete without a clear foundation. This guide is meant to serve as a starting point, a shared reference for anyone seeking to understand what Stoicism is, and why it still matters.
Note: This is not a complete guide. I will be updating it frequently, and will also be creating separate guides to expand on some of the concepts below.
Introduction
Stoicism is often described as a philosophy of endurance, discipline, and emotional control, but at its core, it is a practical system for living well in an uncertain world.
Founded in ancient Greece and later refined in Rome, Stoicism asks a simple question: What is actually within your control? More importantly, it forces you to ask yourself how you should live once you understand the answer to that question.
So, what is under your control? According to the Stoics, our impulse, desire, aversion, and our mental faculties in general. Everything else is just noise.
Origins
A shipwreck thousands of years ago led you, the reader, to this very page.
The story goes that Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, was traveling with a cargo of purple dye (a valuable trade good) when his ship wrecked near Athens, where he wandered into a bookseller's shop and began reading about Socrates. Impressed, he asked where he could find someone like that.
At that moment, the Cynic philosopher Crates of Thebes happened to walk by. The bookseller pointed and said, "Follow that man."
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