Stoicism

By: Tom Miles

Narrated by: Adam Schulmerich

Length: 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

It's a well-recorded phenomenon that words are liable to develop different meanings in common modern usage compared to those they had their origins and how people "in the know" would use them. This is doubly true for philosophical concepts - the word Epicurean, for example, has been transmuted from identifying the very sober and level teachings of the Greek philosopher Epicurus to being a synonym for wanton pleasure-seeking and hedonism.

Stoicism hasn't suffered as severe a distortion. The modern understanding of what it means to be stoical is never showing any form of outward emotion regardless of all circumstances, good or bad, and indeed not having any emotions whatsoever. The entire species of the Vulcans in the popular science fiction franchise Star Trek exemplifies the popular definition. But it's easy to recognize an absence of outward emotion as not necessarily being a good thing; it is possible, after all, for someone to have a calm and blank exterior and yet be screaming inside. Having no internal emotion at all is also a less-than-ideal situation, as well. Without emotion, how could one possibly enjoy life?

Being immune to the negatives and vicissitudes of life in this way is something we can all stand to benefit from. Our modern lives are so full of worries and insecurities, and peace and fulfillment are something most people try to find outside of themselves. Stoicism teaches that these are things we can only find from inside ourselves, and gives us the tools and mindset necessary to build them up.

What this audiobook will endeavor to do is to introduce the philosophy of Stoicism to the modern person and make a case for how it can drastically improve our outlook and quality of life.

©2015 Tom Miles (P)2015 HRD Publishing

A short but effective primer on Stoic thinking.

I came to this book after having read STOICISM: The Ultimate Handbook to Philosophy, Wisdom, and Way of Life, which was, if nothing else, a cost-effective entry point into the school of thought. intrigued, I decided to take it further, and began to read Meditations, and sought out a practical book for modern Stoic application. In a word, this book is that, in that it is less an answer, and more of s next step in Stoic learning. I recommend it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great subject matter but a lacking work

The author touches on Epictetus and Seneca, as well as Marcus Aurelius and others, but just gives such a fleeting overview that the value I got from listening was pretty shallow. The narrator also is overly careful in his reading and makes it slow to listen to.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Super short. Barely a pamphlet.

It's not bad and would be useful as a basic introduction. But certainly not worth the money.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Way too short…

TARGET AUDIENCE: Anyone looking for an introduction to Stoicism.

NARRATOR: Excellent narration. Prosody and flow of the reading was superb. I usually listen to my books on 2x or 3x, and it was still easy to listen to and follow as this narrator read this book.

OVERALL: Great introduction. I loved stoicism, and would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a brief understanding of what stoicism is and how it can help us. The author successfully shows us how this philosophy, which has been around for hundreds of years, is still very applicable in our everyday lives. I absolutely loved it.

“This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

excellent philosophy for life

very good quick read on a form of philosophy that I was always curious about

Easy to listen to many times.

The book was interesting to the novice stoic as well as an old head philosopher. Because of its ease of reading/listening, you can stop to absorb and continue.

Stoicism

Little more than a 3 dollar glorified definition... empty superficial. Book lacked substance An depth.

Excellent

The book broke down questions i had on stoicism and explained a lot it it’s a first step book to understanding stoicism

Good as a very quick intro to Stoicism

Very easy listen. Quick finish, and also have follow up materials for the reader to continue.

Very easy to use in my life

Loved it, but was a little short. All in all it gave me even more interest in the topic an gave me a couple ways to practice it.

surprisingly applicable to modern life.

I first heard about stoicism in the book antidote and wanted to find out more. this book doesn't really go into any great depth but gives a very simple overview of stoicism and how it can be applied to modern day life (which it turns out has resonated surprisingly well with me).

6 of 8 people found this review helpful