Massimo Pigliucci, Stoicism for Everyday Life, online via zoom
Course description: Stoicism is an ancient Greco-Roman philosophy of life based on the notion that human beings are social creatures capable of reason, and that if we live accordingly we will be happy. It’s about cultivating our positive character traits while reducing the impact of unhealthy emotions on our lives. Above all, it is about striving to become the best member of the human cosmopolis that we can manage to be. The course will explore the philosophies of the three big Roman Stoics: Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca. Each week we will also discuss a practical exercise so that we can live, not just think, like a Stoic.
6 participants have enrolled, 6 places remain
Week 1: Sunday, February 2, 2025, 1pm-3pm ET
Epictetus’s Handbook, 1-26. A discussion of the first half of Epictetus’s famous Handbook for a good life, the Enchiridion. We will discover what is and is not up to us and why that matters. We’ll explore how to “talk” to our impressions in order to improve our judgment, as well as consider the notion that the most important human faculty is that of prohairesis, or volition. Exercise: Discover what is really in your control.
Week 2: Sunday, February 9, 2025, 1pm-3pm ET
Epictetus’s Handbook, 27-53. We’ll tackle the second half of the Enchiridion and explore why it is important to make up our mind about what sort of person we want to be and then stick with it. We will discuss the notion that our duties toward others are defined by our social relations, how to respond to insults, how to avoid judging others, and why Anytus and Meletus could kill Socrates but not actually harm him. Exercise: Speak little but well.
Week 3: Sunday, February 16, 2025, 1pm-3pm ET
Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, books I-VI. An exploration of the first half of Marcus Aurelius’s personal philosophical diary, the Meditations. We’ll learn about the importance of gratitude, how to tolerate unpleasant people, what it means to live according to nature, and how to cultivate the art of putting things in perspective. Exercise: Observe and counter four moods of the mind.
Week 4: Sunday, February 23, 2025, 1pm-3pm ET
Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, books VII-XII. We will discuss the second half of Marcus’s Meditations and discover what to do when life gives you bitter cucumbers, how to tackle the future, why anger is bad for us, why life is more akin to wrestling than dancing, and why fame and glory don’t matter. Exercise: Decompose desired externals.
Week 5: Sunday, March 2, 2025, 1pm-3pm ET
Seneca’s Letters: a sampler. In the last lesson we’ll sample some of the 124 letters that Seneca wrote to his friend Lucilius, and which together constitute an informal course in Stoic philosophy. We’ll talk about the value and meaning of friendship, why old age and death should not bother us, how to make the best of our short lives, why we shouldn’t pay attention to vain syllogisms, and how to deal with the fickleness of fortune. Exercise: Cut out your busy-ness.
Suggested texts:
Stoic Foundations: The Cornerstone Works of Stoicism, Introduction by Massimo Pigliucci, Hachette Go, 2023.
A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World out of Your Control, by Massimo Pigliucci and Gregory Lopez, The Experiment, 2019.
10 hours, 10 credits, maximum 12 participants
Open to Auxiliary and Auxiliary Plus members
Program fee: $249
Auxiliary and Auxiliary Plus members enroll here
Cancellation policy: If APPA cancels the course, program fees will be 100% refunded. If a participant cancels their participation before the course starts, $200 will be refunded. If a participant cancels their participation during the course, the refund will be $200 minus $40 per week of attendance.
Massimo Pigliucci is an author, blogger, podcaster, as well as the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His academic work is in evolutionary biology, philosophy of science, the nature of pseudoscience, and practical philosophy. Massimo publishes a regular column in Philosophy Now entitled “The Art of Living.” His books include How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (Basic Books) and Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk (University of Chicago Press). Massimo’s new book is Beyond Stoicism: A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers (with Greg Lopez and Meredith Kunz, The Experiment). More by Massimo at https://massimopigliucci.org and https://thephilosophygarden.substack.com.
