The Practicing Stoic
Ward Farnsworth · 2018
Philosophy
A Philosophical User's Manual
Ward Farnsworth's The Practicing Stoic is the most thorough and intellectually satisfying introduction to Stoic philosophy available. Rather than paraphrasing the Stoics, Farnsworth lets them speak for themselves, organizing extensive quotations from Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius around the key themes of Stoic practice.
Context & Background
The Practicing Stoic fills a unique niche: it is more scholarly than popular Stoic books (Holiday, Irvine) but more accessible than academic treatments. Dean of the University of Texas School of Law, Farnsworth brings a legal scholar's precision to organizing and presenting the Stoic arguments, creating a comprehensive reference that rewards repeated reading.
Farnsworth organizes Stoic thought into twelve chapters covering: Judgment (our opinions cause our suffering), Externals (what we can and cannot control), Perspective (seeing things from a broader view), Death (facing mortality as a source of freedom), Desire (the Stoic approach to wanting), Wealth and Pleasure (preferred but not necessary), What Others Think (freedom from social anxiety), Adversity (using difficulty as training), Virtue (the only true good), Emotion (understanding and managing passion), Perspective Taking (the view from above), and The Stoic Legacy.
The book has been praised by both popular Stoic writers and academic philosophers — a rare feat. It is widely recommended as the best "second book" on Stoicism: after an introductory text sparks interest, The Practicing Stoic provides the depth and primary sources to sustain a serious practice.
