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Articles

Stoicism in History & Modern Life

Dermot M. Griffin reflects on the sources and relevance of this ancient wisdom.

Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in interest in Stoicism. Founded by Zeno of Citium around the third century BC, Stoicism is one of the many great schools of Hellenistic thought, and it is still relevant for several reasons. The root word for the school comes from the Greek stoa, referring to the porch that Zeno gave his lectures on in Athens marketplace. This is no accident: Zeno wanted his tenets to be useful for everyone. Stoicism is not a philosophy well suited to the college or the academy, since it does not emphasise abstract thinking or setting up hypothetical scenarios and models.

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