Includes index

The unstraightforward path -- A road map for the journey -- The discipline of desire: what it is proper to want or not to want -- Some things are in our power, others are not -- Living according to nature -- Playing ball with Socrates -- God or atoms? -- The discipline of action: how to behave in the world -- It's all about character (and virtue) -- A very crucial world -- The role of role models -- Disability and mental illness -- The discipline of assent: how to react to situations -- On death and suicide -- How to deal with anger, anxiety, and loneliness -- Love and friendship -- Practical spiritual exercises -- Appendix: The Hellenistic schools of practical philosophy

An engaging guide to how Stoicism--the ancient philosophy of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius--can provide lessons for living in the modern world. Whenever we worry about what to eat, how to love, or simply how to be happy, we are worrying about how to lead a good life. No goal is more elusive. In How to Be a Stoic, philosopher Massimo Pigliucci offers Stoicism, the ancient philosophy that inspired the great emperor Marcus Aurelius, as the best way to attain it. Stoicism is a pragmatic philosophy that teaches us to act depending on what is within our control and separate things worth getting upset about from those that are not. By understanding Stoicism, we can learn to answer crucial questions: Should we get married or divorced? How should we bank in a world nearly destroyed by a financial crisis? How can we survive great personal tragedy? Whoever you are, Stoicism has something for you-and How to Be a Stoic is your essential guide