The article, for all its virtues, doesn't seem to mention a famous modern Stoic, Vice Admiral James Stockdale[1].
Stockdale was tortured in the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War and his writings are studied (or at least were 30 years ago) at USNA.
I find stoicism an intellectually useful set of concepts, in a tactical sense. IMO, it seems morally limited, strategically.
For example, taking care of the environment is sensible, but why do I care? If I'm just so many atoms, then the eventual effects of my folly are SEP[2]. The drive to be mature and responsible will _always_ succumb to rationalization.
Case in point: the national debt. Who in their right mond lives beyond their means? Only pretty much _every_ government.
The human flesh is always corrupt; the mind is prone to rationalizations; the only "hope", if one cares to go there, is through the soul. Finding a community of faith to offer moral feedback to the Stoic mind and the fallen flesh is left as an exercise for the reader.
Comments
The article, for all its virtues, doesn't seem to mention a famous modern Stoic, Vice Admiral James Stockdale[1].
Stockdale was tortured in the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War and his writings are studied (or at least were 30 years ago) at USNA.
I find stoicism an intellectually useful set of concepts, in a tactical sense. IMO, it seems morally limited, strategically.
For example, taking care of the environment is sensible, but why do I care? If I'm just so many atoms, then the eventual effects of my folly are SEP[2]. The drive to be mature and responsible will _always_ succumb to rationalization.
Case in point: the national debt. Who in their right mond lives beyond their means? Only pretty much _every_ government.
The human flesh is always corrupt; the mind is prone to rationalizations; the only "hope", if one cares to go there, is through the soul. Finding a community of faith to offer moral feedback to the Stoic mind and the fallen flesh is left as an exercise for the reader.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stockdale
[2] Someone Else's Problem