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"In A Guide to the Good Life, Irvine offers a refreshing presentation of Stoicism, showing how this ancient philosophy can still direct us toward a better life. Using the psychological insights and the practical techniques of the Stoics, Irvine offers a road map for anyone seeking to avoid the feelings of chronic dissatisfaction that plague so many of us. Irvine looks at various Stoic techniques for attaining tranquility and shows how to put these techniques to work in our own life. As he does so, he describes his own experiences practicing Stoicism and offers valuable firsthand advice for anyone wishing to live better by following in the footsteps of these ancient philosophers. We learn how to minimize worry, how to let go of the past and focus on the things we can control, and how to deal with insults, grief, old age, and the distracting temptations of fame and fortune. We learn from Marcus Aurelius the importance of prizing only things of true value, and from Epictetus we learn how to be more content with what we have." "Finally, A Guide to the Good Life shows us how to become thoughtful observers of our own lives. If we watch ourselves as we go about our daily business and later reflect on what we saw, we can better identify the sources of distress and eventually avoid that pain. By doing this, the Stoics thought, we can hope to attain a truly joyful life."--Jacket.… (more)
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This book starts with a brief review of the Stoics, discusses Stoic psychological techniques, consider a number of aspects of life (social relations, anger, old age) in the light of Stoic thought. I have two criticisms of the book. First, the style, while clear, is pedestrian. Second, and far more important, the author sometimes adds his own ideas to those of the Stoics, without sufficiently clarifying which is which.
Still, I am very grateful to this book. It has set me on a new course -- I have started reading the writings of the Greek and Roman Stoics themselves -- which I think will make my life more joyous and less constrained.
As I continued, the book became more interesting to me. Having decided that I would not commit to the Stoic program, I felt freer to learn from it. For example, the concept of being fatalistic, not about the future, but about the past and the present, is helpful in many contexts. And what Irvine calls “negative visualization,” which isn’t really visualization but a kind of continual reflection, is something I tend to do anyway, and does indeed help mitigate the pain of loss when it comes. I’ve come to appreciate again the value of fortitude in minor matters, of deliberately deciding to accept minor discomforts as a way of strengthening myself, and more importantly, coming to realize that I can be strong in this way, that I need not allow myself to be disturbed when things don’t happen the way I would wish. Simple virtues like this used to be more universally understood and this book does us all a service in reminding us of them.
Still, the Stoic program is not for everyone, and it’s not for me: it doesn’t help me become more myself. The “Stoic Joy” of the subtitle is not joy as I understand it, and I want a fuller engagement with life’s challenges than Irvine’s conception of Stoicism would allow. When I finished this book, I went to the library to learn more about Stoicism and its competing schools, especially Epicureanism. I was disappointed at what I found: the descriptions of Stoicism in other works were nothing like Irvine’s, there were no works like his about other schools of thought, and all the other explanations of Greek thought were abstract to the point of being incomprehensible, not at all concerned with what he calls “psychological techniques.” I’m thankful for Irvine’s book, although it didn’t ultimately aid my personal search for meaning and purpose, and wish there were more like it, aimed toward evangelizing other nearly forgotten ways of thinking and living.
The book starts with a bit of a background on Stoicism, and how it is misunderstood. Since we commonly use the word stoic to mean unemotional and humorless, Prof. Irvine argues that this is not what the Stoics were all about. They can control their emotions, and try not to waste energy on things beyond their control, but at the same time they still experience joy.
The goal for the Stoics is tranquility, and it is achieved through a few different tactics. One is negative visualization, which is where you picture the things you love going away. The goal is to appreciate them while you have them, yet recognizing that at some point they will be gone. It might seem a little dark, but I kind of get it.
Another tactic is focusing our desires on things within our control. We should be able to identify what is totally outside of our control and never worry about that. We should instead focus on things that are wholly within our control (what we do) and somewhat within out control. So instead of creating a goal of being the best X in the world (which is outside of our control), we should focus on being the X we can be. Then if we aren’t the best X in the world we will know its because of things we couldn’t change anyway. That, too, seems useful.
There’s an air of fatalism in Stoicism. There’s also a weird sort of libertarian / Scientology component. At least, that’s the best way I could describe it. I spent on chapter just infuriated by this white guy talking about how most people are unhappy because they let themselves be unhappy, and they should just not let the external world get to them. He laments being politically correct which, if you’ve read some of my other book reviews or comments on Pajiba, you know is the quickest way to get me to stop taking you seriously. If you think being respectful of other people is somehow a bad thing, or that we shouldn’t ask people to be responsible for how their actions and words affect others, then we don’t really have much to say to each other.
There are some things in here that are helpful, and I might try to incorporate into my life philosophy, but I’m certainly not interested in his version of Stoicism.
The main goal of a stoic life is acquiring and maintaining tranquility. It's specifically not about pursuing and fulfilling your desires. This is, according to stoics, a dead end, because fulfilling your desires just begets more desires. Instead, you can learn to be content with what you already have. It doesn't mean living like a monk. But it can remove the dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs.
I was already familiar with ideas of stoicism, but stoic exercises and techniques were new to me. The chapter about dealing with insults was especially interesting. I've never heard any advice on this topic before.
Along the way, Irvine explains in some detail a number of psychological techniques for achieving serenity. These include
- negative visualisation, in which by imagining the worst we both appreciate what we already have and prepare for future loss
- identifying what we can and cannot control and ignoring the latter
- accepting that there is nothing we can do to change the past and little to affect the future
- self denial, which brings the same benefits as negative visualisation
- periodic reflection on our behaviour
I would strongly recommend this book.
Irvine’s tone is different than Pigliucci’s not better, not worse, but different. He is more laid back and truly lived up to the Stoic goal of tranquility. The descriptions and arguments has a very tranquil quality to them, even as he discusses difficult questions like dealing with anger, death, grief, et. al. His voice is that of a gentle guide through the various knotty arguments that is so typical of anything philosophical.
The book starts with a good historical background of Stoicism, we meet the philosophers who make up the bulk of what we are about to read, and we are introduced to both the Greek and Roman Stoics. The second part of the book is devoted to the psychological tools used by the Stoics in order to practice Stoicism. This can be considered as teaching the reader to use the tools and to becoming comfortable wielding the weapons of great import.
The third part of the book is devoted to specific topics which have proven to be difficult for people to navigate as they attempt to live a Stoic life. The aforementioned topics of anger, death, grief, insults, social relations, etc. were covered in short compact chapters detailing the ways a philosopher could approach the discussion and ensuing argument. This section was a touch pedantic but it was a necessary exercise because it allowed us into the mind of a practicing Stoic and gave us a glimpse of what practicing philosophers do: state problems, formulate arguments and most importantly guide us through his reasoning.
The most impressive and important section of this book to me is the last section: Stoicism for Modern Lives. Three excellent chapters proceed from the description of the fall of Stoicism in the public eye and throughout history, to reasons why we should reconsider Stoicism as a personal philosophy, the meaning of having a personal philosophy, and finally he describes his own journey through making Stoicism his own personal philosophy. The last two chapters made the most impact on me personally as Dr. Irvine drew us into his personal experience and allowed us to look behind the curtain into how he was able to explore Stoicism in his own way. His chapter on reconsidering Stoicism is particularly impactful as he made some very salient arguments for taking the personal journey into investigating the practice.
Even though I had committed myself to practicing Stoicism on my own, this book made the act seem much less dramatic and much more matter of fact for someone to partake in this most personal of journeys. I am at a beginning stage obviously, but I feel reassured and comfortable in knowing that I can always reach back and gain wisdom from this remarkable book.
Ever since I heard William B. Irvine on the "Waking Up" app (as it turns out reciting some paragraphs from the book in question), I've
However, there is something about the fact that regardless of how well-conditioned we are to say such things, they don't quite click. After all, we are more used to repeating them than living by them.
Unlike small talks, which handed me each tool at a time, this book provided a kit to put those tools into and a framework. Each tool - be it negative visualisation, trichotomy of control, self-deprecating humour - found its screws and nails in rich-enough context, with repetition legitamasing. Quotes by Stoics such as Seneca and Epectitus, as well as a neat guide through the history of Stoicism, were a much welcome addition to an overall strategic (self-helpy) structure of the book.
This book is not extremely persuasive - and that's exactly what turns it into a pleasant read.
What, if not impressive, then at the very least commendable is that the author, though sharing his personal journey with Stoicism and the kind of effect it had on his overall well-being (which was, thankfully, only sprinkled in the book itself and was served as a desert by the end of it), underlined "the benefit of the doubt". You don't think that Stoicism suits you? Well, you might be right. There is no "the only way", with many other apart from Stoicism to explore in pursuit of one goal - a philosophy of life.
Even the author himself questions whether he won't look back a couple of years after at his "Stoic phase" in dismay.
The author does a great job presenting a somewhat neo, modern-age Stoicism, with evolution instead of Zeus and no suggestions to go outside barefoot or live in barrels.
Coming from personal experience, I assume this book might be helpful for those working consciously through their anxiety-related issues (especially when it comes to formulating narratives) and those willing to challenge their pessimistic inclinations - this book calibrates pessimism to be more realistic, with positive things not being swept under the rug as well. Though it primarily focuses on moderation and appreciation of what one already has, it provides a basis to seek happiness in it - happiness which may remain undiscovered until consciously awakened and assessed.