What Is Stoicism?: A Brief and Accessible Overview

Stoicism philosopher Campbell, who produces and hosts the podcast Practical Stoicism, and Whiting (Stoicism and sustainability, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium; coauthor, Being Better) offer an introduction of Stoicism that can be read in a day. Their book shows that the Greek philosophy is tied to metaphysics and logic, and it’s built upon a virtue ethics framework. The authors demonstrate that in Stoicism, the only good is virtue; they include stories that indicate that virtue is the key path to happiness but eschew discussions of other theories of virtue. They also show that Stoics believe the only bad is vice, but they also emphasize that this concept does not mean that other good and bad things aren’t important. The book urges readers to aim for eudaimonia, which Campbell and Whiting define as a life worth living in accordance with nature; some readers may find that terminology to be a little too idiosyncratic. This book also forgoes intriguing parallels between Stoicism and Buddhism or Hinduism.

[CORRECTION NOTICE: We found an editorial error in the original review; this online version has been corrected.]