The Stoic Guide to a Happy Life

Author Massimo Pigliucci
Narrator Peter Coleman
Publisher Ebury Publishing
Publish Date 1 January 1970
Run Time 2 hours and 26 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Popular philosophy.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

Learn how to survive life's hardships and enjoy its pleasures with the modern stoic mindset.

In this enlightening book, philosopher Massimo Pigliucci offers a thoughtful and modern reinterpretation of Epictetus' 53 lessons for living a good life. Drawing on the ancient wisdom of the Stoics, this is a comforting guide that will help you reclaim the power of your emotional response and let go of the things you can't control.

'Bursting with practical wisdom and engaging stories ... a stoicism 2.0 for twenty-first century happiness' Skye Cleary

'A bold, contemporary updating of Stoicism for the present day' John Sellars, author of Lessons in Stoicism

© Massimo Pigliucci 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critics Review

A user-friendly manual for applying Stoicism to daily life in the twenty-first century. Stoicism 2.0 tweaks the philosophy in order to adapt it to the moral intuitions shared by most modern readers. It therefore provides a good place to start your journey when exploring Stoic practices

Donald Robertson, author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor

A wonderfully fun introduction to Stoic philosophy, bursting with practical wisdom and engaging stories. I particularly admire how Pigliucci revisits and reinterprets Epictetus’s Enchiridion while showing why we need a ‘Stoicism 2.0’ for twenty-first century happiness, and clearly illustrating how his version differs from the original. It’s an excellent book, written in Pigliucci’s splendidly lucid and accessible style

Skye C. Cleary, author of Existentialism and Romantic Love

This short book is a ‘field guide,’ written with busy non-specialists in mind. By dipping into its pages, readers can simultaneously develop an understanding of Stoicism and gain important insights into how best to live

William B. Irvine, author of A Guide to the Good Life

This is a bold, contemporary updating of Stoicism for the present day. Taking the ancient Stoic Epictetus as his inspiration, Pigliucci has rewritten Epictetus’s Handbook in order to update it, make it more relevant to a modern audience, but also to ensure that the core Stoic ideas shine through. The result is what Pigliucci calls Stoicism 2.0. This is a manual for living for those who approach the ancient Stoics as guides, not masters

John Sellars, author of Lessons in Stoicism

An engaging introduction to the Stoic life through an updated version of Epictetus’s Handbook. An unusual and helpful feature is an appendix in which Pigliucci highlights his modifications of the original Stoic text to take account of modern thinking

Christopher Gill, author of Greek Thought

Pigliucci reimagines Epictetus’s Handbook (a.k.a. the Enchiridion) and updates it for the twenty-first century. The result is a work more timely than ever, for it warns us of the dangers of superstition while it reminds us that reason and virtue are essential to happiness. Pigliucci speaks directly to us as readers and justifies his updates along the way. He thereby invites us to treat Epictetus and this very book as a reasonable guide rather than as an oracle from on high

Brian E. Johnson, Fordham University

A shrewd take on Stoic philosophy that’s one part inspiration and one part manual for cultivating resilience in daily life

Publishers Weekly

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