Bogus Stoicism

The proliferation of ideas since the invention of the printer has aided the task of informing and moving people to action, but we are only now beginning to see the infectious dangers of bogus and hateful distortions of current affairs, philosophical ideas and the history of human understanding that the world-wide-web has brought.

There are thousands of websites on or related to Stoicism today, but not all are created equal. One in particular was brought to my attention by Pharos, Stoicschool.org (see Stoic School), which deploys Stoicism to insidiously moralize some of the most questionable views related to White Supremacy. My issue, Pharos’s issue, is not (at least not today) with White Supremacy per se, but with the exploitation, and distorted application of Stoic philosophy to support their agenda.

But you make up your own minds.

Here’s a link to Pharos’ post Stoic Philosophy Masking Hate

Published by Elly Pirocacos

Welcome! My name is Elly Pirocacos and this is a personal blog, home to philosophical reflections on life issues. These will vary from philosophically dense scholarly-type papers, to quibbles, annotations, critiques, self-help guides, and problematics. It was the university, first as a student and later as a Professor of Philosophy, that was once home to my philosophical engagement with life issues. Initially this was an ideal forum for an interactive, passionate exchange of commonly entrenched concerns but as education came to suffer the ills of institutionalization more and more, and standardized policies replaced the creative, and biophilous dialectical flux that characterized the inter and intra-human exchange amongst practitioners of philosophy, this became an ever alienating experience. Yet the yearning for meaningful reflection has not waned and the practical application dating back to the Greeks has finally found new footing in Philosophical Counselling. Putting philosophy back on the streets and employing philosophical methods as a form of counselling constitute the two-tier structure of this blog. Negotiating the "truth" in all facets of life and living will be the driving force that both defines the parameters and implications of all philosophical reflections. Still a passionate educator committed to the ideals of college/university learning and philosophical counselling. In both venues, com-passionate, invested dialogue guides and helps content take form. Credentials: BA, MA, PhD in philosophy; APPA certified. Presently studying to acquire my BA in psychology. It's never too late to change your orientation in life! Membership/Secretary Treasurer Canadian Society for Philosophical Practice (CSPP)

deception, Engaged Living, Epictetus, philosophy, stoicism

One thought on “Bogus Stoicism”

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  1. Thanks for pointing this out. These people are clearly pushing a dangerous far-right agenda. Their material is very wacky – their ‘history’ of Stoicism is laughable and obviously mostly fabricated, positioning the anonymous admin of their marginal website as the scholarch of the Stoic school, in unbroken continuity from 300 BC. Give me a break.

    Not to mention that Stoicism and far-right/white supremacist/fascist ideology are completely incompatible. The Stoics inherited the ethos of cosmopolitanism from the Cynics and were pioneers in seeing humanity as one big family undivided by nationhood or race. It is a fundamental Stoic doctrine.

    But trust the far right to try to use the impossible to advance their poison. They’ve even tried to use anarchism (see “””National Anarchism”””)!

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