Watching learning quantum and astronomy physics they are suspecting higher over all connected dimension to explain the spooky at a distance connected paired particles and how eletromagnetic to gravity & quantum fields work. So it all is returning to similar human way to interpret reality. I just don't believe in gods but how people construct beliefs fascinates me.
@@klyanadkmorr a lot of that stuff is speculation. humans are terrible with dealing with abstract concepts, like you know, the future. its fascinating to see the Ted Talk on The Secret Science of Happiness, and how much habits influence the lens we use to view the world.
Not to divert any attention from this channel, but Donald Robertson, Ryan Holiday, and the Stoa app also make this school very accessible. I'd recommend them, if you don't already know them.
Finally, someone separates real Stoicism from the people who've heard the phrase and just try to act stoic. I've grown to dislike people who use these ideas to be more successful. It's just shallow to the nth degree. As always, superbly eloquent Dr. Sledge.
I agree as the the real Stoicism should be learned which is intended for true happiness that comes from within and is not dependent on external factors such as wealth or social status, but is it wrong to use its wisdom to help better your life from a financial perspective?
stoic is an adjective now. stoicism as a philosophy is an entirely separate thing yes but it is also an adjective. it is possible for a word to have more than 1 meaning.
I've always thought it a shame that the ideological vehicle which gave apatheia meaning was stripped of it's potency for the sake of mass commodification; that the entire cosmos is bound together by a common thread and shares a single fate of it's own making illustrates the collective importance of the macrocosm of communal life as much as it does the microcosm of the individual's journey within it. The Stoic cosmology carries with it the implicit awareness that suffering can have a purpose, just as love of virtue compels us to seek to benefit others and not just ourselves. In a world where benefiting self comes first and foremost in life, the paternalistic long-suffering stoic alpha-male becomes the marketable good that self-help books appropriate. I imagine this is exactly how Marcus Aurelius' philosophic tendencies came off to his peers, and the syncretism of the Roman state condensed his universalist and quasi-religious worldview into the quaint iconography of the platonic Philosopher King- an instantiation of Republican mores and Augustan chivalry. Many people appropriate philosophical and religious ideas from other cultures into their own paradigms, but this is just part of human nature. One can't blame others for missing the point, because ultimately, all that matters is that humanity develops a love for virtue. Surely there is nothing wrong with success, financial or otherwise, but it is where and how this success is directed which constitutes the lasting value of stoic philosophy. Thanks for reading.
My favorites are the ones in the comments doing etymologies on English translations of Hebrew words as if those are the original Hebrew words or some variation e.g. "British" as 'brit' + 'ish' = 'covenant man' = British israelism. Though I love PIE roots, hence my vote that the American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots is pound for pound the best little volume for language nerds.
@@TheEsotericaChannel I like how not a single etymology that Cicero gives for the names of the gods in De Natura Deorum is legit. I've been waging war on bad green language online for a decade now, and it's funny to think that the practice itself all goes back to the Stoics.
That's hilarious - we're just lucky Latin has written vowels, the rabbis and kabbalists manipulate Hebrew/Aramaic in all manner of bizarre ways. ⭐ For creativity, though.
@@TheModernHermeticist you forget the argument of the modern memers: "Source: It was once revealed to me in a dream" or its most based cousin: "Source: I made it up".
Today of all days; you decided to post this. Stoicism is hiding behind every corner that i look around these days. Today I noticed a connection between the Stoics and the Gnostics in the way that they each hold the "I am" or "Self" as the source of all and knowing what is not "Self" as the way to fullfilment. I would love to listen to a conversation between you and Miguel on Aeon Byte Radio. I feel you would be a good scholarly balance to his...lack of.... Thanks!
Curious question, what kind of stoicism/how do you practise? Apologies for the personal question, I mean in no way to demean your conviction, it's just I've never met a self-proclaimed stoic. How did you come to be a stoic?
As somebody who reads Epictetus almost weekly I thank you very much for making this video. I can't tell you how excited I was to see this title as one of my notifications
Although it is tough to find quality readings. I also cheat by listening to Seneca, Rufus, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius on audible at work. Might as well sharpen my philosophy and theology while selling my soul to corporate America 🤣
@@soraxp1 to be fair, Roman period stoicism is remarkably useful for an audience looking to work within a larger system. Epicurean philosophy seems to support an audience unwilling or incapable of functioning with such a system. Unfortunately not even our greatest minds have an easy time avoiding tribalism and allowing co-existing context dependent truths, instead seeking to establish their perspective as absolute at the detriment of others.
You are bestowing a great benefit upon society by making these videos freely available to everyone. It seems in this modern age that we often times mistake that which is simply sensory, with That which is sincerely sublime. Your content truly helps in distinguishing between the two. Thank you for your service.
Your description of the Stoic Sympatheia to my mind sounds like a reflection of current physics theory of Entanglement. Everything in the Universe is entangled with everything else. Everything old is new again.
@ESOTERICA would it be fair to say I'm actually lucky to not have found "bro dude broicism" and not have identified it as such much less bought into it? I count myself lucky to have found actual intellectual and historical popular even flame-holding context for the insights from Stoicism and thanks to Gladiator! A model of warrior masculinity that has a story of inner strength there. Coming into philosophy and more from popular fiction, I'm a regular old Roman style audience, I suppose. Am I not to be entertained??
@@genghisgalahad8465can't tell if you're trolling or if you're really this far gone... You seem really committed with the multiple comments you've left
I know it isn't much, but something's better than nothing I guess (wish I could give more!). I hope if lots chip in a little, it will all add up to sustain your high quality academic work of schooling the misinformed UA-cam influencer bros 😅. Thanks so much!
Doctor, this might be your most foundational and contextualizing video yet, in respect to categorical Western practice. Amazing stuff, thank you very much.
One of the recent popular pointers to Stoic philosophy is the Cognitive behavioural therapies and especially the ACT and Mindfulness techniques, which reminds of those magical techniques of thought control presented by Franz Bardon in his step 1 in Initiation to Hermetics.
@@dannahbanana11235 Mindfulness Therapy is based on Theravada Buddhism, which is the closest remaining Buddhist sect to original Buddhism. It teaches people to pay attention to their physical Body sensation and breathing, and then to pay attention to our emotions, and how they feel in our body, and then to pay attention to our thoughts, and how they relate to our emotions, which are derived from and or lead to our emotions and then to our physical sensations. It is intended first to create calm, then to build up concentration, and, then to give us insight not only into our own kinds, and how much of what we think is reality versus how much is fiction, and finally, to profound experiential insight into the fundamental nature of reality, such as that we have no fixed unchanging self, that everything is temporary and nothing is permanent, that nothing is as we perceive and think about it, and that everything is interconnected. Of course, this had to be secularized, with all the religion taken out of it, to be presented and be pailtable to the masses. But the amazing thing is, it could be. Evan with the metaphysical aspects, such as Karma and rebirth, and profound reverence for the Buddha removed, it still results in a secular technique that totally works. I don't think that one could say the same of any other religion. And yes, you are not the first to note the similarities between Theravada Buddhism and Stoicism.
@@milascave2 Well Buddhism isn't exactly like other religions, is it? Most of the clinics I've been to offer religious counselors as well. They don't really have to take the religion out of it.
I love the birds in the background. You can tell he is used to not having to think of birds chirping. All joked aside another great video from the channel that reignited my interest with religious historical studies even as a long time atheist.
Hi Dr. Sledge. Thank you for commenting on the Tech Dood-bro brand of stoicism that has permeated the self-improvement industry. Awesome commentary on classical Stoicism as well. I've only read The Meditations, so I was unaware of the depth of the philosophy. Thumbs up!
Stoicism is the crown for which enlightenment stays humble. It is possessing all the strengths of this world and the spirit one, but choosing to participate and thrive in society and not become a “hermit” It’s how the enlightened stay humble with their newly given powers. It’s the “antidote” to having so much power and not being able to contain it. It’s the set of rules he enlightened are forced to go by to thrive in a world of ignorance in practical society. We can’t always stay in the heavens… we must build an outter temple as well as the inner. 🙏
Love the tie-in to Deleuze’s “The Logic of Sense” at 23:34 with the logic of lekta making possible the concept of “being” to subsist in soma (or bodies).
Wow what a fantastic episode Dr S. I love this stuff. Having gotten a bit lost in ‘traditional’ Stoicism I went the path of bro Stoicism only to realise it’s ‘trendy’ nature fits right into the personal development vibe. Look forward to more of this if possible…please!?
I've personally yet to come across the dude bro stoicism trend content but I have happily gotten into author Ryan Holiday's Daily Stoic for personal development! Definitely worth looking into! And I'm blown away by Esoterica's insightful treatment!
@Domenik that's great! Good to know! It's not often one encounters a bot-like fraidy groupthink stereotype account in the comments in these parts! Not a grownup critical thinking indication there. Thought I was in twitter or fb for a moment.
@William Newman if there's anybody to watch out and avoid are the American/Murican appropriating C-bros! C, and not understanding the essential tenets whatsoever, only surface level showiness.
Big Thank you as always Dr. Sledge, don't know if those ideas are common in academia, but would never would have reached me if it was not for Esoterica.. Being native in greek helped me maybe absorb around 7% of the episode, the next 10 times I hope I 'll be around 50%.. Please follow up on the item with additional episodes!
I didn't know anything about Stoicism when I started this video. Now, I know enough to a) realise how many fascinating ideas I've missed by not studying it before now, and b) be disappointed that the dudebros have reduced it to the pop-culture imitation that most people know about. Thanks for educating me, Dr. Sledge.
It threw me for a loop when I realized that most ancient books weren't these huge, biblical tomes, so 700 books might be a very reachable number for an ancient writer.
It is unbelievable how @esoterica can bring and relate hundreds of references, to present one of the best contents on UA-cam. Thanks a lot for everything 🙏
My favorite video yet! I'm finally going to buy a shirt, as a thank you for this enjoyable and intellectually interesting half hour (well, I've watched more than once, so half hours). Thank you, indeed.
What a fascinating topic. I'm a huge fan of the latter stoic writers, but never read up on the origins of stoic thought. Appreciate your insights and your book recommendations!
Thanks to modern internet culture, it took me way longer than it should have to realize there are reasons to appreciate stoicism. Thanks for clearing it up, Justin. You saved a great teaching from the Linkedin Loonies.
Your channel as a whole had gotten me into the history of jewish/Christian theology, which in turn got me into history of philosophy, so its really fun to see this video tapping into all of those themes; as always your videos remain just as accessible as they are packed deep wells of knowledge.
@29:02 Loved the double meaning of “pathetic”. Great work Dr. Sledge! Contemporary, arcane and accesible, you breathe pneuma into ancient works making them seem like they were written yesterday!
A rigorous and for me revelatory Esoterica treatment of Stoicism! And insightful overview of the study itself and its framing, in the blurb alone! Signature Esoterica badassness and along with The Modern Hermeticist, seems sleeves were folded and this video was the result and hopefully the beginning of a badass Esoterica playlist!
Great video, fantastic stuff. I wouldn't mourn the dude-bro Stoicism, what I'd call pop-stoicism, all that much; plebs are going to pleb, people will always lean on the misunderstandings of any and all systems of thought to validate and color in their worldview arising organically from their interaction with the world, to lament it even a little seems to be the utter opposite of the apatheia espoused by Stoicism. I think it's a great thing, because initial exposure will beg for more clarity by anyone competent enough to seek it and those people will find the original texts and scholarly analyses of those texts, alleviating misconceptions and clarifying confusions.
Excellent episode! Wow. There's a LOT more here then expected. So, it sounds like the Stoics very much did have several significant under-pinnings in Western esotericism. Perhaps, it would seem, unwittingly. I fucking love it.
Absolutely loved this episode- great job Dr Sledge 👏 Many ppl don't realize the huge debt the Allegorical method owes to Stoicism; also how Neo-Platonism wouldn't be what it came to be without those developments. Second Brennan (thanks for the recommendation); don't forget Boys-stones'Post-Hellenistic Philosophy though. Great overview there as well!
Man, you'd have a lot of bro-Stoics really pissed off at this video... If they could read, that is. The fact that the comments aren't filled with that is a testament to your ability to wait out the Jordan Petersonites. By the way, you explained why Peterson talks about myths incredibly succinctly and clearly. Better than any of his acolytes I've ever heard... Learned more about him here than anywhere else, and I rather decidedly wasn't coming here for that. Always something unexpected from your videos. The sexy Marcus Aurelius quote was just gravy on top...
Towards the second third of the video, a passage greatly captured my attention and a few connections with Taoism immediately came to me. First, with the task of the stoic being to align one's inner will with the pervasive divine will, rejecting the externals, and so on, sounds much like finding a way to align one's will the Dao. The parallel, in my understanding, is very much there. Second, in the way that nature or the divine will manifests itself to the keen mind in signs, and that these signs can be analyzed and systematized was understood also in that context and put into the divinatory oracle system of I Ching, with their systems of hexagrams pairing their naturalistic understanding through the symbologies of fire, water, and so on, with the complexities of human experience. This is only making me appreciate the work of C. G. Jung and Richard Wilhelm even more. Thank you very much for the work you are doing Justin.
You are doing a great service to society by addressing topics such as these in your videos, sir. In this modern age, it seems that we actively confuse that which is simply sensory, with That which is sincerely sublime. These videos greatly help in distinguishing the authentic from the less than genuine.
This makes an important point that I never guessed at. I've read all of the extant classical Stoics (as Dr. Sledge says, there are only 4!) but did not pick up on these connections (I more interested in ethics anyway.) Great talk, thank you.
This was so cool! Coming out of fundamentalism, I always wondered how the literalist movement gained so much traction. Come to find out that the use of allegory goes much further back than strict literalism does. I definitely will delve into this some more. Thanks!
This is a great video! I became interested in the occult nature of Stoicism since I found out that Austin Osman Spare used to call himself a Stoic ("the Stoic smilingly awaits the shitstorm from Heaven" also his correspondences with Kenneth Grant talking about this) which made me curious since I always thought Stoicism was supposed to be really materialistic, but looking at people like Posidonius as you mentioned this isn't true at all. Really great channel, love everything you talk about!
You're the Bob Ross of philosophy! I put you on in the morning and relax all through the workday! Seriously, thanks for calling out fake dudebro stoicism!
Excellent treatment of the subject! I’ve been working through McClennon’s “Wisdom of Hypatia” a complication of Epicurian, stoic and Neoplatonic practices.
The vision of soldiers emulating Zeus during battle was quite the theater in my mind, super funny to think about, very Monty python like haha. Great episode as always. Picked up a shirt recently to support. Cheers
Hey Justin. This was an amazing video and it blows me away how well you are able to speak about these concepts and the vast wealth of knowledge you bring to it. Thanks for another awesome video!!
I'm very grateful for the information in this video. I appreciate the light shade thrown at modern simplifications of Stoicism. That said I can't say I didn't feel a prick from it. A lot of us lack proper classical educations and have huge gaps in our knowledge. I came to Stoicism initially through Massimo Pigliucci. While not a Broic, he does basically completely disregard all Stoic metaphysics, and does think of the endeavor as more of a bullet-point kind of style of approaching ethics and (Gasp!) "leadership." Again, I appreciate the critique of that sort of lackluster approach, and I'm willing to be enough of an adult to sit with the discomfort of insult if it's of benefit to my education. That said, I did detect a whiff of condescension in this video. Not unwarranted, perhaps.
I saw someone above say that you are the Bob Ross of philosophy and laughed so hard. 😂 But just a positively wonderful video!! I look forward to more on the subject. Off to buy a shirt to support right now!
Fascinating! I would describe myself as a practitioner of stoicism and I had very little idea of the link between the philosophy and western occultism, though on futher thought there are snippets in the surviving texts. Really enjoyable, educational video.
A great episode! Thx Dr. S. As someone with a strong interest in knowledge in general and science in particular, I am struck by the parallels between Esoterica and the topics addressed by the PSB SpaceTime UA-cam channel. There are similarities between the "ancient" Stoics and the modern-day Quantum Physicists. Both try to understand the underlying "reality(?)" of the world/universe.
This is interesting and something I've pondered. There's an fascinating book called The Stoic Sage: The Early Stoics on Wisdom, Sagehood and Socrates by René Brouwer. It pretty much shows that Stoics very much idealized Socrates, to them the ultimate Sage and in a way, similar to the Buddhist Bodhisatva concept, they had an almost mystical reverence for this archetype. I can see that it would lead to occult like powers in the eyes and minds of ancient Stoics, as rational as they were reputed to be, their world was still heavily steeped in magical lore and explanations.
On page one of The Stoic Life the poem written by William Earnest Henley called Invictus is a perfect summary of the stoic idea. Out of the night that covers me Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate I am the captain of my soul.
The allegorical interpretations of myths and poets. I loved it as so powerful. Thankyou for sharing and more on the stoics at this level of thought please.
Thank you Dr S 🎉 great subject! You’re right, of course, not a lot out there on the web. I appreciate being pointed in the right direction “for further study”. What you’ve touched on today has given me greater understanding as to why I’ve been called Stoic in recent years. It’s not something I know anything about through education but, can now readily see their point, with your commentary. Right on 🤙 I’m a natural 😂 Stoic 😊 I appreciate you 🎉
Interesting episode, I was somewhat repelled by stoicism since my knowledge of it came from those "coach" types, but now after seeing your vid, stoicism seems fascinating from a spiritual point of view.
This is a cool topic. Ive only read the writings of epictetus and senecca so far. What ive quite enjoyed is seeing a lot of parrallels between Epictetus writings and Dao, De, Jing i felt that Lao Zi and Epictetus could have talked to each other but i more feel that they both similarly learned how to listen to nature and read its wisdom.
Good to know that the “global means globe baal” etymological nonsense flat earthers use to claim round earthism or “globalism” is secretly Baal worship goes back thousands of years. Amazing video as always Justin. I promise you once I am no longer horribly dirt poor I will donate monthly to your Patreon. You do such amazing videos and are my favorite UA-cam channel
Why wouldn’t they? And why shouldn’t they still? Be connected to Nature and Spiritualism. Understanding is watching Nature. They’re not wrong, Stoicism has been crucial, it’s “Captain Obvious” much needed. Love this channel. It keeps those navigational beacons and the stars of olde.
This is very interesting, more of the origins of stoicism vs. just useful and cool things that Seneca and Marcus Aurelius said. I know you're bashing "don't feel your feelings" bro or whatever, but stoicism is actually very helpful to disassociate from feelings. Not because you're able to forcefully not feel (I can't). But because it's ok to feel and still remove attachment from that. It helps to know that it's You feeling something, not other people (like the crush that mislead you) directly causing your feelings. You feel terrible because of your own expectations or assumptions and actions, the other people are just triggers. This was a freeing revelation for me. It means the feelings are my own and I am changing how I feel (over time).
As usual Dr. Sledge, the content you provide gives a balanced perspective on the subjects you teach. The bro stoics have always been very off putting to me and the skewing of the philosophy as a whole has become very misguided. Thank you for the clarification and the facts on stoicism. Par excellence
Thank you very much, this was a delight. I enjoy stoicism but am painfully aware of its current negative adoption. I cringe when I see content creators associate the likes of Andrew Tate with this ancient philosophy. Good work on calling that out. One more thing. One thing I do enjoy about stoicism is how each stoic writer (of what remains of their work), has a different flavour or approach. Many included their god/ gods as part of the machinations, so to speak (epictetus and musonious for example) and then you have the likes of Seneca who wrote "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." I like that these subtle interpretations are left for us to read. I'm fascinated by how a concept or religion can be shared but change from person to person. I'm a new subscriber to your channel. There is so much content here, thank you for your hard work. I will be picking up one of your metal shirts, no doubt 😆
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Nice
Watching learning quantum and astronomy physics they are suspecting higher over all connected dimension to explain the spooky at a distance connected paired particles and how eletromagnetic to gravity & quantum fields work. So it all is returning to similar human way to interpret reality. I just don't believe in gods but how people construct beliefs fascinates me.
The comments after me read like a Chatbot repeated words no grammar word salad.
@@klyanadkmorr a lot of that stuff is speculation. humans are terrible with dealing with abstract concepts, like you know, the future. its fascinating to see the Ted Talk on The Secret Science of Happiness, and how much habits influence the lens we use to view the world.
The broicism shade in the intro gave me life 😂
I’d love to see an introduction to Broicism video 😂
I have never seen anyone make this subject so accessible and I have studied classical philosophy.
I appreciate it - I love this stuff. Always loved historical stoicism.
To be fair, most traditional modes of studying philosophy are just not accessible in general.
@@UsurpedLettuce nope and it's a pity because it turns people off philosophy
Not to divert any attention from this channel, but Donald Robertson, Ryan Holiday, and the Stoa app also make this school very accessible. I'd recommend them, if you don't already know them.
Dr. Sledge has a real gift for presenting the material. S-tier communicator, in my opinion.
Finally, someone separates real Stoicism from the people who've heard the phrase and just try to act stoic. I've grown to dislike people who use these ideas to be more successful. It's just shallow to the nth degree. As always, superbly eloquent Dr. Sledge.
Do you similarly dislike a giraffe for having a long neck?
I agree as the the real Stoicism should be learned which is intended for true happiness that comes from within and is not dependent on external factors such as wealth or social status, but is it wrong to use its wisdom to help better your life from a financial perspective?
stoic is an adjective now. stoicism as a philosophy is an entirely separate thing yes but it is also an adjective. it is possible for a word to have more than 1 meaning.
🚬
I've always thought it a shame that the ideological vehicle which gave apatheia meaning was stripped of it's potency for the sake of mass commodification; that the entire cosmos is bound together by a common thread and shares a single fate of it's own making illustrates the collective importance of the macrocosm of communal life as much as it does the microcosm of the individual's journey within it. The Stoic cosmology carries with it the implicit awareness that suffering can have a purpose, just as love of virtue compels us to seek to benefit others and not just ourselves. In a world where benefiting self comes first and foremost in life, the paternalistic long-suffering stoic alpha-male becomes the marketable good that self-help books appropriate.
I imagine this is exactly how Marcus Aurelius' philosophic tendencies came off to his peers, and the syncretism of the Roman state condensed his universalist and quasi-religious worldview into the quaint iconography of the platonic Philosopher King- an instantiation of Republican mores and Augustan chivalry. Many people appropriate philosophical and religious ideas from other cultures into their own paradigms, but this is just part of human nature. One can't blame others for missing the point, because ultimately, all that matters is that humanity develops a love for virtue. Surely there is nothing wrong with success, financial or otherwise, but it is where and how this success is directed which constitutes the lasting value of stoic philosophy. Thanks for reading.
Terrible etymologizing is a time-honored tradition stretching back to the ancient sages, so it's definitely good enough for us.
My favorites are the ones in the comments doing etymologies on English translations of Hebrew words as if those are the original Hebrew words or some variation e.g. "British" as 'brit' + 'ish' = 'covenant man' = British israelism. Though I love PIE roots, hence my vote that the American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots is pound for pound the best little volume for language nerds.
@@TheEsotericaChannel I like how not a single etymology that Cicero gives for the names of the gods in De Natura Deorum is legit. I've been waging war on bad green language online for a decade now, and it's funny to think that the practice itself all goes back to the Stoics.
That's hilarious - we're just lucky Latin has written vowels, the rabbis and kabbalists manipulate Hebrew/Aramaic in all manner of bizarre ways. ⭐ For creativity, though.
@@TheModernHermeticist you forget the argument of the modern memers: "Source: It was once revealed to me in a dream" or its most based cousin: "Source: I made it up".
Today of all days; you decided to post this. Stoicism is hiding behind every corner that i look around these days. Today I noticed a connection between the Stoics and the Gnostics in the way that they each hold the "I am" or "Self" as the source of all and knowing what is not "Self" as the way to fullfilment. I would love to listen to a conversation between you and Miguel on Aeon Byte Radio. I feel you would be a good scholarly balance to his...lack of.... Thanks!
As a practicing Stoic I’ve definitely seen hints of this in the writings of the classic Stoics
Curious question, what kind of stoicism/how do you practise? Apologies for the personal question, I mean in no way to demean your conviction, it's just I've never met a self-proclaimed stoic. How did you come to be a stoic?
Same here..
@@burnedbread4691 He put the words together bro
As somebody who reads Epictetus almost weekly I thank you very much for making this video. I can't tell you how excited I was to see this title as one of my notifications
That handbook of his is 🔥 helped me out of a few tight spots
Although it is tough to find quality readings. I also cheat by listening to Seneca, Rufus, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius on audible at work. Might as well sharpen my philosophy and theology while selling my soul to corporate America 🤣
@@soraxp1 That's the spirit
@@soraxp1 to be fair, Roman period stoicism is remarkably useful for an audience looking to work within a larger system. Epicurean philosophy seems to support an audience unwilling or incapable of functioning with such a system. Unfortunately not even our greatest minds have an easy time avoiding tribalism and allowing co-existing context dependent truths, instead seeking to establish their perspective as absolute at the detriment of others.
Your channel is an actual gem, thank you for making this content
The doctor killing it again! I cannot thank this man enough.
You are bestowing a great benefit upon society by making these videos freely available to everyone. It seems in this modern age that we often times mistake that which is simply sensory, with That which is sincerely sublime. Your content truly helps in distinguishing between the two. Thank you for your service.
Thanks!
Your description of the Stoic Sympatheia to my mind sounds like a reflection of current physics theory of Entanglement. Everything in the Universe is entangled with everything else. Everything old is new again.
I'm glad you point out the problem with dude-bro internet Stoicism right from the beginning.
Broicism....yeah, not for me.
@ESOTERICA would it be fair to say I'm actually lucky to not have found "bro dude broicism" and not have identified it as such much less bought into it? I count myself lucky to have found actual intellectual and historical popular even flame-holding context for the insights from Stoicism and thanks to Gladiator! A model of warrior masculinity that has a story of inner strength there. Coming into philosophy and more from popular fiction, I'm a regular old Roman style audience, I suppose. Am I not to be entertained??
@@genghisgalahad8465 Gladiator is not an accurate depiction of Stoicism or the life of Marcus Aurelius
@@genghisgalahad8465can't tell if you're trolling or if you're really this far gone... You seem really committed with the multiple comments you've left
I know it isn't much, but something's better than nothing I guess (wish I could give more!). I hope if lots chip in a little, it will all add up to sustain your high quality academic work of schooling the misinformed UA-cam influencer bros 😅. Thanks so much!
Thanks! second time of listening, just wonderful
Still the best content on the internet! Thank you.
Thanks
Doctor, this might be your most foundational and contextualizing video yet, in respect to categorical Western practice. Amazing stuff, thank you very much.
almost all old traditions around the world mention the fact the proto humans were on the higher mental level. also - great channel, real gem.
One of the recent popular pointers to Stoic philosophy is the Cognitive behavioural therapies and especially the ACT and Mindfulness techniques, which reminds of those magical techniques of thought control presented by Franz Bardon in his step 1 in Initiation to Hermetics.
I thought the same thing about CBT and Mindfulness. It really just sounded a lot like my old therapist in general.
@@dannahbanana11235 Mindfulness Therapy is based on Theravada Buddhism, which is the closest remaining Buddhist sect to original Buddhism. It teaches people to pay attention to their physical Body sensation and breathing, and then to pay attention to our emotions, and how they feel in our body, and then to pay attention to our thoughts, and how they relate to our emotions, which are derived from and or lead to our emotions and then to our physical sensations. It is intended first to create calm, then to build up concentration, and, then to give us insight not only into our own kinds, and how much of what we think is reality versus how much is fiction, and finally, to profound experiential insight into the fundamental nature of reality, such as that we have no fixed unchanging self, that everything is temporary and nothing is permanent, that nothing is as we perceive and think about it, and that everything is interconnected.
Of course, this had to be secularized, with all the religion taken out of it, to be presented and be pailtable to the masses. But the amazing thing is, it could be. Evan with the metaphysical aspects, such as Karma and rebirth, and profound reverence for the Buddha removed, it still results in a secular technique that totally works. I don't think that one could say the same of any other religion.
And yes, you are not the first to note the similarities between Theravada Buddhism and Stoicism.
@@milascave2 Well Buddhism isn't exactly like other religions, is it? Most of the clinics I've been to offer religious counselors as well. They don't really have to take the religion out of it.
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I love the birds in the background. You can tell he is used to not having to think of birds chirping. All joked aside another great video from the channel that reignited my interest with religious historical studies even as a long time atheist.
Stoic metaphysics *and* esotericism?! Best. Day. Ever.
Hi Dr. Sledge. Thank you for commenting on the Tech Dood-bro brand of stoicism that has permeated the self-improvement industry. Awesome commentary on classical Stoicism as well. I've only read The Meditations, so I was unaware of the depth of the philosophy. Thumbs up!
Stoicism is the crown for which enlightenment stays humble. It is possessing all the strengths of this world and the spirit one, but choosing to participate and thrive in society and not become a “hermit”
It’s how the enlightened stay humble with their newly given powers.
It’s the “antidote” to having so much power and not being able to contain it. It’s the set of rules he enlightened are forced to go by to thrive in a world of ignorance in practical society. We can’t always stay in the heavens… we must build an outter temple as well as the inner. 🙏
Love the tie-in to Deleuze’s “The Logic of Sense” at 23:34 with the logic of lekta making possible the concept of “being” to subsist in soma (or bodies).
Wow what a fantastic episode Dr S. I love this stuff. Having gotten a bit lost in ‘traditional’ Stoicism I went the path of bro Stoicism only to realise it’s ‘trendy’ nature fits right into the personal development vibe. Look forward to more of this if possible…please!?
I've personally yet to come across the dude bro stoicism trend content but I have happily gotten into author Ryan Holiday's Daily Stoic for personal development! Definitely worth looking into! And I'm blown away by Esoterica's insightful treatment!
@@genghisgalahad8465 he is part of $toicism
@Domenik that's great! Good to know! It's not often one encounters a bot-like fraidy groupthink stereotype account in the comments in these parts! Not a grownup critical thinking indication there. Thought I was in twitter or fb for a moment.
Bro-icism?
@William Newman if there's anybody to watch out and avoid are the American/Murican appropriating C-bros! C, and not understanding the essential tenets whatsoever, only surface level showiness.
Big Thank you as always Dr. Sledge, don't know if those ideas are common in academia, but would never would have reached me if it was not for Esoterica.. Being native in greek helped me maybe absorb around 7% of the episode, the next 10 times I hope I 'll be around 50%.. Please follow up on the item with additional episodes!
I didn't know anything about Stoicism when I started this video. Now, I know enough to a) realise how many fascinating ideas I've missed by not studying it before now, and b) be disappointed that the dudebros have reduced it to the pop-culture imitation that most people know about. Thanks for educating me, Dr. Sledge.
Never knew I needed to read Philo, Origen and especially a reader of Stoic fragments (Hackett- got it). Loved this video. Absolutely wonderful.
I see that I only scratched the surface after this episode. Thanks Dr. Sledge! Appreciate the recommendations for further study.
Amazing video! Thank you dr sledge
It threw me for a loop when I realized that most ancient books weren't these huge, biblical tomes, so 700 books might be a very reachable number for an ancient writer.
It is unbelievable how @esoterica can bring and relate hundreds of references, to present one of the best contents on UA-cam. Thanks a lot for everything 🙏
My favorite video yet! I'm finally going to buy a shirt, as a thank you for this enjoyable and intellectually interesting half hour (well, I've watched more than once, so half hours). Thank you, indeed.
Amazing content and such clear delivery on Stoicism. Thank You.
Valeu!
Hands down the GOAT, D J Sledge. We’re all blessed for you sir
I can’t believe how amazing your channel is, Dr Sledge. Thank you so much for brilliant work and generosity.
What a fascinating topic. I'm a huge fan of the latter stoic writers, but never read up on the origins of stoic thought. Appreciate your insights and your book recommendations!
Thanks to modern internet culture, it took me way longer than it should have to realize there are reasons to appreciate stoicism.
Thanks for clearing it up, Justin. You saved a great teaching from the Linkedin Loonies.
Excellent once again.
Saw the title in my notification and said "oh helllll yes Dr Sledge, let's gooo." I've been on a big stoicism kick so this had perfect timing.
Your channel as a whole had gotten me into the history of jewish/Christian theology, which in turn got me into history of philosophy, so its really fun to see this video tapping into all of those themes; as always your videos remain just as accessible as they are packed deep wells of knowledge.
Incredible, Dr. Sledge, I had no idea about this clear link, even as an occult nerd for 30 years
Thanks - it's odd that it's not more widely known.
By far one of my favorite videos so far.
Any chance we could get a video on Epicureanism one day?
@29:02 Loved the double meaning of “pathetic”. Great work Dr. Sledge! Contemporary, arcane and accesible, you breathe pneuma into ancient works making them seem like they were written yesterday!
A rigorous and for me revelatory Esoterica treatment of Stoicism! And insightful overview of the study itself and its framing, in the blurb alone! Signature Esoterica badassness and along with The Modern Hermeticist, seems sleeves were folded and this video was the result and hopefully the beginning of a badass Esoterica playlist!
Great video, fantastic stuff. I wouldn't mourn the dude-bro Stoicism, what I'd call pop-stoicism, all that much; plebs are going to pleb, people will always lean on the misunderstandings of any and all systems of thought to validate and color in their worldview arising organically from their interaction with the world, to lament it even a little seems to be the utter opposite of the apatheia espoused by Stoicism. I think it's a great thing, because initial exposure will beg for more clarity by anyone competent enough to seek it and those people will find the original texts and scholarly analyses of those texts, alleviating misconceptions and clarifying confusions.
Excellent episode! Wow. There's a LOT more here then expected. So, it sounds like the Stoics very much did have several significant under-pinnings in Western esotericism. Perhaps, it would seem, unwittingly. I fucking love it.
The bredth of knowledge on the backgrounds of texts you have is remarkable!
Thank you
Dig deep, dig often ;)
Absolutely loved this episode- great job Dr Sledge 👏
Many ppl don't realize the huge debt the Allegorical method owes to Stoicism; also how Neo-Platonism wouldn't be what it came to be without those developments.
Second Brennan (thanks for the recommendation); don't forget Boys-stones'Post-Hellenistic Philosophy though. Great overview there as well!
It's really true - Stoicism is so absolutely foundational in this respect.
I just found this channel a few days ago, and I love it.
Welcome!
Man, you'd have a lot of bro-Stoics really pissed off at this video... If they could read, that is. The fact that the comments aren't filled with that is a testament to your ability to wait out the Jordan Petersonites.
By the way, you explained why Peterson talks about myths incredibly succinctly and clearly. Better than any of his acolytes I've ever heard... Learned more about him here than anywhere else, and I rather decidedly wasn't coming here for that. Always something unexpected from your videos.
The sexy Marcus Aurelius quote was just gravy on top...
Be sure to check out The Modern Hermeticist's exploration of Stoic Theology in Cicero here - ua-cam.com/video/AP2ypOkAaMo/v-deo.html
Towards the second third of the video, a passage greatly captured my attention and a few connections with Taoism immediately came to me.
First, with the task of the stoic being to align one's inner will with the pervasive divine will, rejecting the externals, and so on, sounds much like finding a way to align one's will the Dao. The parallel, in my understanding, is very much there.
Second, in the way that nature or the divine will manifests itself to the keen mind in signs, and that these signs can be analyzed and systematized was understood also in that context and put into the divinatory oracle system of I Ching, with their systems of hexagrams pairing their naturalistic understanding through the symbologies of fire, water, and so on, with the complexities of human experience.
This is only making me appreciate the work of C. G. Jung and Richard Wilhelm even more.
Thank you very much for the work you are doing Justin.
I find your topics refreshing due to the fact you do your research. Bravo my friend, brovo
Thank you so so much for posting ISBNs of your recommended books in your description. Very helpful.
You are doing a great service to society by addressing topics such as these in your videos, sir. In this modern age, it seems that we actively confuse that which is simply sensory, with That which is sincerely sublime. These videos greatly help in distinguishing the authentic from the less than genuine.
This makes an important point that I never guessed at. I've read all of the extant classical Stoics (as Dr. Sledge says, there are only 4!) but did not pick up on these connections (I more interested in ethics anyway.) Great talk, thank you.
This was so cool! Coming out of fundamentalism, I always wondered how the literalist movement gained so much traction. Come to find out that the use of allegory goes much further back than strict literalism does. I definitely will delve into this some more. Thanks!
Bruh, I loved all the jabs you made about Sigma Male Grindset.
This is a great video! I became interested in the occult nature of Stoicism since I found out that Austin Osman Spare used to call himself a Stoic ("the Stoic smilingly awaits the shitstorm from Heaven" also his correspondences with Kenneth Grant talking about this) which made me curious since I always thought Stoicism was supposed to be really materialistic, but looking at people like Posidonius as you mentioned this isn't true at all. Really great channel, love everything you talk about!
You're the Bob Ross of philosophy! I put you on in the morning and relax all through the workday! Seriously, thanks for calling out fake dudebro stoicism!
Excellent treatment of the subject! I’ve been working through McClennon’s “Wisdom of Hypatia” a complication of Epicurian, stoic and Neoplatonic practices.
Thank you. Bro.
U sir are far ahead of any other channel about the occult in my opinion..bravo!!
The vision of soldiers emulating Zeus during battle was quite the theater in my mind, super funny to think about, very Monty python like haha. Great episode as always. Picked up a shirt recently to support. Cheers
Another gem of learning Brother, many thanks. Amor Fati
Thanks ! Glad you found it interesting!
Hey Justin. This was an amazing video and it blows me away how well you are able to speak about these concepts and the vast wealth of knowledge you bring to it.
Thanks for another awesome video!!
Wonderful episode! Thank you sir!
I'm very grateful for the information in this video. I appreciate the light shade thrown at modern simplifications of Stoicism. That said I can't say I didn't feel a prick from it. A lot of us lack proper classical educations and have huge gaps in our knowledge. I came to Stoicism initially through Massimo Pigliucci. While not a Broic, he does basically completely disregard all Stoic metaphysics, and does think of the endeavor as more of a bullet-point kind of style of approaching ethics and (Gasp!) "leadership." Again, I appreciate the critique of that sort of lackluster approach, and I'm willing to be enough of an adult to sit with the discomfort of insult if it's of benefit to my education. That said, I did detect a whiff of condescension in this video. Not unwarranted, perhaps.
I saw someone above say that you are the Bob Ross of philosophy and laughed so hard. 😂 But just a positively wonderful video!! I look forward to more on the subject. Off to buy a shirt to support right now!
"Just beat the devil out of it."
Fascinating! I would describe myself as a practitioner of stoicism and I had very little idea of the link between the philosophy and western occultism, though on futher thought there are snippets in the surviving texts. Really enjoyable, educational video.
Thank you Justin. Good one.
A great episode! Thx Dr. S.
As someone with a strong interest in knowledge in general and science in particular, I am struck by the parallels between Esoterica and the topics addressed by the PSB SpaceTime UA-cam channel. There are similarities between the "ancient" Stoics and the modern-day Quantum Physicists. Both try to understand the underlying "reality(?)" of the world/universe.
This is interesting and something I've pondered. There's an fascinating book called The Stoic Sage: The Early Stoics on Wisdom, Sagehood and Socrates by René Brouwer. It pretty much shows that Stoics very much idealized Socrates, to them the ultimate Sage and in a way, similar to the Buddhist Bodhisatva concept, they had an almost mystical reverence for this archetype. I can see that it would lead to occult like powers in the eyes and minds of ancient Stoics, as rational as they were reputed to be, their world was still heavily steeped in magical lore and explanations.
Best video yet.
Thoroughly enlightening and entertaining episode - thank you immeasurably.
On page one of The Stoic Life the poem written by William Earnest Henley called Invictus is a perfect summary of the stoic idea.
Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.
The allegorical interpretations of myths and poets. I loved it as so powerful. Thankyou for sharing and more on the stoics at this level of thought please.
Excellent episode. Heck, this would be a perfect one to show to newcomers to see if they'd enjoy your channel.
Thank you Dr S 🎉 great subject! You’re right, of course, not a lot out there on the web. I appreciate being pointed in the right direction “for further study”. What you’ve touched on today has given me greater understanding as to why I’ve been called Stoic in recent years. It’s not something I know anything about through education but, can now readily see their point, with your commentary. Right on 🤙 I’m a natural 😂 Stoic 😊
I appreciate you 🎉
Thank you
Interesting episode, I was somewhat repelled by stoicism since my knowledge of it came from those "coach" types, but now after seeing your vid, stoicism seems fascinating from a spiritual point of view.
Love your work!
This is a cool topic. Ive only read the writings of epictetus and senecca so far. What ive quite enjoyed is seeing a lot of parrallels between Epictetus writings and Dao, De, Jing i felt that Lao Zi and Epictetus could have talked to each other but i more feel that they both similarly learned how to listen to nature and read its wisdom.
Good to know that the “global means globe baal” etymological nonsense flat earthers use to claim round earthism or “globalism” is secretly Baal worship goes back thousands of years. Amazing video as always Justin. I promise you once I am no longer horribly dirt poor I will donate monthly to your Patreon. You do such amazing videos and are my favorite UA-cam channel
Why wouldn’t they? And why shouldn’t they still?
Be connected to Nature and Spiritualism. Understanding is watching Nature. They’re not wrong, Stoicism has been crucial, it’s “Captain Obvious” much needed.
Love this channel. It keeps those navigational beacons and the stars of olde.
Thank you so much for such effort and brilliance ❤️
Watching this again and it's dreamy af
This is very interesting, more of the origins of stoicism vs. just useful and cool things that Seneca and Marcus Aurelius said.
I know you're bashing "don't feel your feelings" bro or whatever, but stoicism is actually very helpful to disassociate from feelings. Not because you're able to forcefully not feel (I can't). But because it's ok to feel and still remove attachment from that. It helps to know that it's You feeling something, not other people (like the crush that mislead you) directly causing your feelings. You feel terrible because of your own expectations or assumptions and actions, the other people are just triggers. This was a freeing revelation for me. It means the feelings are my own and I am changing how I feel (over time).
Given how much Stoic thought influenced later beliefs and practices, perhaps an episode that is a primer on Stoicism wouldn't be a bad shout.
This is great stuff. Thank you.
wonderful as always! thank you for sharing Dr. Sledge ❤
As usual Dr. Sledge, the content you provide gives a balanced perspective on the subjects you teach. The bro stoics have always been very off putting to me and the skewing of the philosophy as a whole has become very misguided. Thank you for the clarification and the facts on stoicism. Par excellence
Thank you very much, this was a delight.
I enjoy stoicism but am painfully aware of its current negative adoption. I cringe when I see content creators associate the likes of Andrew Tate with this ancient philosophy.
Good work on calling that out.
One more thing. One thing I do enjoy about stoicism is how each stoic writer (of what remains of their work), has a different flavour or approach.
Many included their god/ gods as part of the machinations, so to speak (epictetus and musonious for example) and then you have the likes of Seneca who wrote "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."
I like that these subtle interpretations are left for us to read. I'm fascinated by how a concept or religion can be shared but change from person to person.
I'm a new subscriber to your channel. There is so much content here, thank you for your hard work. I will be picking up one of your metal shirts, no doubt 😆
I love you Justin. 🌷
What a great episode!!!
Don't comment much but just wanted to say thank you for your work! ❤ I appreciate the effort you put in to make these educational videos for us!!!