Beyond Stoicism
A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers
by
Massimo Pigliucci, Gregory Lopez, Meredith Alexander Kunz
A wide-ranging philosophical and practical guide that teaches how to incorporate the wisdom of many ancient philosophers and build-upon a stoic way of life
For centuries, people have been grappling with life’s biggest questions: Who am I? What’s my purpose? How can I be happy? In modern times, many have found meaningful answers in Stoic philosophy. But there are other Greek and Roman philosophers who offer invaluable insights for modern life.
This book is a compass that helps us navigate these treacherous existential waters. Each chapter introduces a new tool for our toolkit by combining a biographical sketch of a particular philosopher, an exploration of the larger philosophy, and applicable lessons and to tackle common challenges found in our everyday life. We learn how to avoid pain with Epicurus, how to strike the right balance between extremes with Aristotle, how to rebel like the Cynic Hipparchia, and how to embrace uncertainty with the help of Cicero. Organized around three main themes of pleasure, virtue, and doubt, there’s something to learn from each master in our philosophical quest.
Even though these ideas were first presented thousands of years ago, they’re more relevant than ever in the twenty-first century. We still want the same things: love, friendship, money, reputation; and still fear the same threats: poverty, sickness, pain, and death. These Hellenistic philosophers devised powerful wisdom on how to live—now, we can use it to make our lives better.
Massimo Pigliucci is the K. D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He has written for publications such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Philosophy Now, and The Philosopher’s Magazine, among others. Pigliucci is the author or editor of 16 books, including the best-selling How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (Basic Books, 2017) and most recently The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good Leaders (Basic Books, 2022). He is the coauthor with Gregory Lopez of A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control (The Experiment, 2019).
Gregory Lopez is a practicing secular Buddhist and Stoic, founder of the New York City Stoics, co-founder and board member of The Stoic Fellowship, co-host of Stoic Camp New York, and on the team at the Modern Stoicism organization. He has published essays on Stoicism in the Stoicism Today blog and in The Philosopher’s Magazine. He is the coauthor with Massimo Pigliucci of A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control (The Experiment, 2019).
Meredith Alexander Kunz is a writer, editor, and communications professional who has worked in journalism, higher education, and the technology industry. Her work has appeared in Newsweek, The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Francisco Daily Journal, and The Industry Standard. Since 2016, she has published The Stoic Mom blog (around 11,000 page views per year, and now also distributed on Substack), exploring the many ways that caregivers and children can benefit from practicing Stoic life philosophy. She is a contributing editor for The STOIC magazine, and she has written for the Stoicism Today blog, given invited talks at national and regional conferences, and been interviewed on podcasts and NPR-affiliate radio.
