Stoic philosophy doesn’t mean repressing emotions and avoiding pleasure but instead focusing on what is in our control, living in accordance with nature, letting go of things we can’t control, and practicing the cardinal virtues of wisdom, justice, courage, and self-control. 

Stoicism thrived throughout the Greek and Roman world, as a Doctrine for Living a Good Life, for over 500 years, and among its followers was Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It experienced a decline after Christianity became the state religion in the 4th century AD.

Hello, My name is Casey. 

Join me every week as I take a deep dive into classical and new books on Stoicism. I enjoy mining these books for wisdom to live a good life and be a better person.  

I encourage you to take what is helpful and leave the rest. That is ok. I like to approach philosophy and the world for that matter, with an open mind, never locked into any one way of thinking. I am open to all new ideas and I have studied several philosophies on life. Stoicism may not be the answer for everyone and everything but it is the best one I have found so far and I hope it can be helpful to you. This is what Epictetus said when asked about philosophy.

“Philosophy does not promise to give anything external, otherwise it would be admitting something that lies beyond its proper subject matter. For as the material of the carpenter is wood, and bronze the material of the sculptor, so the subject matter of the art of living is each person’s own life as its material.”

— Epictetus, Discourses 1.15.2, Robin Hard revised translation

Notable people who have sought guidance from Stoicism are Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Stockdale, Ralph Waldo Emerson, JK Rowling, James Mattis, and many more. 

Welcome to the Stoic Reads Podcast!