Inside the Comic-Con for stoic philosophy

I went to Toronto and brought my will in accord with nature

A statue of Roman empire Marcus Aurelius.
(Image credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)

I found myself last year in a Holiday Inn in Toronto surrounded by Stoics. It was Stoicon 2017, and for an entire autumn Saturday, I and 400 other fans of this ancient Greek philosophy sought to bring our wills in accord with nature.

Begun in Athens around 301 B.C., Stoicism teaches you to ignore things outside your direct control. Parental pressure, your reputation in the world, that story in the news that fills you with dread? Forget them. Focus on moderating your passions and desires, and accepting the present moment as it is. This is what thinkers like Epictetus, Seneca the Younger, and, perhaps most famously, the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius espoused.

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Benjamin Shull

Benjamin Shull is an assistant books editor with The Wall Street Journal and a contributor to The Week. Follow him on Twitter.