Ancient Stoicism in Modern Times: How an Ancient Philosophy Has Made a Resurgence in the Contemporary World

Many people today use the word “stoic” to describe someone’s character, often in a positive way. But what exactly does being stoic mean and where does the word come from? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stoic as “someone who is calm and unemotional, even when faced with pain or adversity” (Merriam-Webster.com, 2024). Or as Ryan Holiday, a self-proclaimed modern Stoic, defines it, “the word ‘stoic’ means the unemotional endurance of pain” (Holiday, R. and Hanselman, xi). The word “stoic” comes from the Greek school called Stoicism, and the people that practiced it were called the Stoics. There were many competing schools of Greek philosophy, such as Epicureanism, Skepticism, and Cynicism, but Stoicism was perhaps the most popular school of thought amongst the Greeks. Not only was it widely practiced in the Classical Greek world and subsequent Roman Empire, but it has recently seen a resurgence in popularity in the contemporary world. There are countless numbers of books, videos, and social media pages dedicated to becoming a modern Stoic. Interestingly, the Stoicism resurgence is very evident in the modern tech world in particular. But why has Stoicism resurfaced in this modern day and age, more than any other Greek school of philosophy? What makes Stoicism relatable centuries later, and what lessons did Stoics leave that are still relevant today? One reason is the access that the modern world has to so many of the primary sources. In this paper, we will explore the history of ancient Stoicism, evidence of Stoicism in the contemporary world, and why the specific ideas of Stoicism have made it the only school of Greek philosophy to gain so much popularity in the twenty-first century.