Scan barcode
A review by hellhoundharry
The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness by Epictetus, Sharon Lebell
3.0
Stoicism is a tricky kind of philosophy for a lot of people. I would argue that one of the greatest lies that exists in this world is that you'll be happy when you have enough money, big enough house, enough high-paying job or anything else you will be happy. Or perhaps you will be happy when you reach some sort of enlightement and sees a glowing light or simply feel good.
Stoicism on the other hand does not offer that kind of happiness. The key to be a happy stoic is to become virtuous, control what you can (such as your thoughts and actions) and discard the rest, to be become self-sufficient but do not forget your duties to your family and friends. Epcitetus have said in his discourses that you can fetter his legs, but not even Zeus can control his will. It was that kind of mastery over yourself that drew me toward stoicism. Never before have I encountered a philosophy I agreed with so much. It is a tool I found most valuable during the pandemic.
Enough about that, what did I think of this book? It's a great entry-way to stoicism. Epictetus is always great and what I like about this book (and most stoic philosohpy anyway) is how brief it is. I have read some philosophy books in my life and I usually feel that you could cut 70 % out and just get to the point. It is very quotable, I spotted a few good quotes in here that I'll probably remember.
The negative part is that if you're already familiar with stoicism, if you've read Marcus Aurelius, Seneca or Epcitetus other works, you wouldn't really find anything new here. But then again, I understand that greek philosophers weren't that interested in sounding original. If you were a student of say Plato and you wrote a book of philosophy, you would without a doubt write about Platos philosophy and sprinkle in some thoughts of your own. This is normal.
I recommend this book for people who are just getting acquainted with stoicism, but I would recommend that when you're done with this move on to his discourses and selected writings .
Stoicism on the other hand does not offer that kind of happiness. The key to be a happy stoic is to become virtuous, control what you can (such as your thoughts and actions) and discard the rest, to be become self-sufficient but do not forget your duties to your family and friends. Epcitetus have said in his discourses that you can fetter his legs, but not even Zeus can control his will. It was that kind of mastery over yourself that drew me toward stoicism. Never before have I encountered a philosophy I agreed with so much. It is a tool I found most valuable during the pandemic.
Enough about that, what did I think of this book? It's a great entry-way to stoicism. Epictetus is always great and what I like about this book (and most stoic philosohpy anyway) is how brief it is. I have read some philosophy books in my life and I usually feel that you could cut 70 % out and just get to the point. It is very quotable, I spotted a few good quotes in here that I'll probably remember.
The negative part is that if you're already familiar with stoicism, if you've read Marcus Aurelius, Seneca or Epcitetus other works, you wouldn't really find anything new here. But then again, I understand that greek philosophers weren't that interested in sounding original. If you were a student of say Plato and you wrote a book of philosophy, you would without a doubt write about Platos philosophy and sprinkle in some thoughts of your own. This is normal.
I recommend this book for people who are just getting acquainted with stoicism, but I would recommend that when you're done with this move on to his discourses and selected writings .