Marcus Aurelius. Photo: Daniel Martin

WHAT do John Steinbeck and LL Cool J have in common? What links the author and rapper with Fabian Beatrice Webb, US revolutionary George Washington and Haitian freedom fighter Toussaint Louverture?

The answer is the study of a philosophy dating from the days of ancient Rome and Greece, a system of thought and behaviour that has, gradually in recent decades, found a new interest in everywhere from academia to people searching for a better understanding of how they can tackle the task of living.

Stoicism, the theory of how to live a good life, was founded by the philosopher Zeno in Athens in the early 3rd century, BC. It takes its name from the Stoa – a porch where Zeno would meet with others to discuss his theories.

His philosophy, taken on and evolved by the likes of ex-slave Epictetus and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, has enjoyed periods of intense interest through the centuries – and now, its philosophies of how to manage the stresses and strains of life has found new proponents. This coming week, the group Modern Stoicism invites people to live for a week using Stoic philosophy as a guide.

The week-long event, taking the form of online lectures and workshops, was established by Christopher Gill, professor emeritus of Ancient Thought at Exeter University.

He and his colleagues, founded a not-for-profit, volunteer run body in 2012 called Modern Stoicism. It includes academics and psychologists, and they manage a blog, publish works and run courses. In 2013, they established Stoic Week – the free, global seven-day experiment where participants live according to the teachings of an ancient philosophy and record the results.

The Stoics believed in four key virtues: wisdom, courage, justice and moderation.

For Professor Gill, these ancient ideas have connotations that over the centuries many found relevant – and do so today.

“People really find it helpful. It is good stuff,”

“It presents a very cohesive, well-considered, well-thought-out body of ideas and values that have stood the test of time,” he told Review. “A lot of our work has been to make it accessible. That doesn’t mean just translations, but put the ideas in a form that people can relate to and apply to their daily lives.”

Drawing on a range of experts, Stoic Week has acted as a gateway for thousands of people discover a system of thought that helps rationalise the human experience.

“They have found these ideas credible and enriching,” says Professor Gill. “It resonates with people, it does not need selling, or taking something that is not much good. It really is a matter of just bringing out what is there,” he adds. “Everything we do is free.”

The rise of Stoicism in the modern age can be related to various circumstances.

“It is a combination of things,” he says.

“The decline of organised religion, of Christianity, has left a gap for a lot of people. That is certainly a factor.

“I think also people feel politics, in its various forms, it is not responsive enough, not giving people what they want to meet their political and moral ideas.”

And unlike New Age belief systems based on nonsensical, anti-science beliefs that many subscribe to in an attempt to answer life’s big questions, Stoicism has stood the test of time.

“The core idea is a good life is grounded on values. This is an ethically strong idea. You do not find happiness by acquiring money or fame, you get it by trying to become a better person. It is a simple idea, and true,” Professor Gill says.

“From the original Greek and Roman societies, early Christianity, a resurgence in the 16th century, people have found it valuable over the ages. What has made a difference in recent times is it has been presented in a way that makes it accessible and people are able to get their heads round it.”

And for Professor Gill, his entry into a Stoic way of thinking has been nurtured over a lifetime of academia.

“I got involved in a gradual way,” he reveals.

“I have studied Ancient Philosophy through my career. I studied all the ancient philosophers – Aristotle, Socrates, Plato. In my later years I was more and more attracted to Stoicism. It is a framework I could imagine myself living my life by. It’s quite an idealistic but also naturalistic.

“You don’t have to turn away from the world like Plato or adopt a different way of living – you don’t have to go and sit in a desert. It isn’t spiritual, and is compatible with science. It can inform your way of living.”

And as we live in a fast-moving, fractious and complicated world, Professor Gill believes we could collectively improve our lot if we adhered to the four Stoic virtues.

“It would be a good idea for MPs to take part in Stoic Week,” he adds.

“It may help them ask themselves what really matters. Before they say ‘Growth At All Costs’, they may ask what growth really is? It would be interesting for MPs to have a Stoic framework to grow their integrity, justice and humanity. It would make a big difference if they were to get up every morning and think to themselves: this is what I am trying to do. It would be good because it would bring people back to the fundamentals – integrity, consistency in character, beliefs.”

And there is one politician particularly fond of showing off his classical education who could have done with concentrating a little more when his Eton teachers spoke of the Stoics.

“It would have been very valuable to see Stoicism applied under the last prime minister,” adds Professor Gill.

“I do not think he was a very good Classical scholar. I suspect he probably copied someone else’s work. It would help if people were not occupied with fame, celebrity and instant appeal. These things only flow from being a good person to start with and by exercising the virtues of wisdom, courage, justice and moderation.”

• For more information on how to take part in Stoic Week, see: https://modernstoicism.com/stoic-week-2022-learn-more-and-register/