Stoicism

Stoicism

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

An ancient philosophical tradition whose writers Ryan Holiday draws on to treat obstacles as material for action.

What it is

A Hellenistic school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium around 300 BCE, with a system of logic, physics and ethics. Its best-known surviving voices are Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, whom Ryan Holiday draws on in The Obstacle Is the Way.

In effect

The article on why people fear failing uses Holiday's book for the idea that an obstacle can be treated as material to work with.

What it does not say

It is a philosophical position and not a research finding, so it is not graded as evidence. It does not say that the modern self-help version matches the ancient system.

Sources

  1. Holiday, R. The Obstacle Is the Way.