How a 2300-year-old philosophy can make you happier, less anxious and more resilient
Learn how the ancient philosophy of Stoicism can improve your mind-set, strengthen your character and start you on a journey to wisdom.
Stoicism for Life and Other Dangerous Situations is taught by Jules Evans, an award-winning philosopher and one of the founders of the Modern Stoic revival.
Stoicism is like the western version of Buddhism - a practical philosophy designed to heal you from suffering and strengthen the virtues in your character. It is easy to understand, immediately useful, and a great step on the road to wisdom.
You will learn:
- how your thoughts and judgements create your emotions.
- how CBT was inspired by Stoicism
- how to recognize 'mind traps' in your automatic thinking
- how to lessen anxiety by focusing on what you control
- how to build good habits in life
- how to be able to choose your perspective on what happens to you
Curriculum
- Session One: A brief history of Stoicism (25:51)
- Session Two: It's not events, but our opinion about events, that cause us suffering (31:36)
- Session Three: Focus on what you can control, accept what you can't (18:33)
- Session Four: How to create good habits (24:32)
- Session Five: Choosing your perspective (16:19)
- Session Six: What are the limits of Stoicism? (21:18)
- New Lecture
Course teacher Jules Evans
Jules is research fellow at the Centre for the History of the Emotions.
He is the author of Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations, which was published in 21 countries and was a Times book of the year, as well as three other books.
He has taught Stoicism as a practical philosophy for modern life, to everyone from Arsenal football club to high-security inmates in Scottish prisons. He has also written on philosophy for publications including the Financial Times and Aeon, and presented on it for Radio 4 and Audible.
He has played a central role in the revival of Stoicism in the last decade, organizing the first gathering of Stoics for over two millennia, in San Diego 2010, and two subsequent Stoicons in London. He was part of the Modern Stoicism project launched at University of Exeter in 2013,.
Jules' TEDX talk, How philosophy can save your life, has been watched over 600,000 times. His website is www.philosophyforlife.org, where you can sign up for a free weekly newsletter.