Stoic Conversations 22

"I'm really interested in Stoicism. I think it may fit in my life."

"I'm glad to hear it. I have extra copies of the Meditations and the Handbook sitting around, so let me know if you'd like them."

"Yeah, maybe, but I'm turned off by some parts of it. I'm not sure I can buy into all of it."

"It isn't a product, or a church, or a club. There are guys on the internet who will sell you courses, or discussion groups, or trinkets, but they are making themselves important. It's about you honestly facing yourself. There is no buying or selling."

"Sure, but I don't believe in God. I'm a materialist, so I don't think there is any deeper meaning to the world. And I don't believe in virtue, because morals are just things other people impose on us. And I don't believe we can really know anything about what life means. There is no such thing as a truth for all of us."

"Which part of Stoicism appeals to you then? What else is left?"

"The part where I have power over myself."

"Then Stoicism may not be for you right now. Read some Sartre, or maybe some Nietzsche. The big picture of Stoicism is one of a Universe charged with awareness and purpose, a human nature within the order of all of Nature, and our own ability to understand and to live well within that whole. I'm not sure that you can practice Stoicism without that core of metaphysics, ethics, and logic. There's no place for cherry-picking."

"But I like the the power part."

"I also have an extra copy of Nietzsche's Twilight of the Idols and The Anti-Christ. Read those works, and then tell me where you stand."

"Can I have the other books too?"

"Wait a bit. Come back when you're ready to move beyond Existentialism. Otherwise those other books will just sit idly on your shelf."