Is Stoicism Flawed and Naive? An Analysis of Stoic Principles

There are many criticisms of Stoicism, and some might even call it flawed or naive. This has been apparent in the texts of Friedrich Nietzsche, where he said that Stoics are stage players and self-deluders. On the other hand, people like Bruce Lee have included Stoic practices in dealing with life. However, the question remains, is Stoicism Naive?

Stoicism is not naive. Instead, what causes Stoicism to look naive is the wrong application and conflicting views from other people. Stoicism is a great way to deal with stress and live life to the fullest. However, applying Stoic principles all the time can cause someone to look naive.

This blog post will talk about the possible flaws and if Stoicism is naive. What makes it naive or immature, and how to prevent Stoicism from looking naive.

Is Stoicism Naive

The Stoics were an old school of philosophers who emphasized tranquility and apathy. They believed that people should control their emotions and strive for tranquility.

Contemporary thinkers highly criticize the approach of controlling and striving for stability for being too simplistic. Critics claim that the Stoics are naive in assuming that people can distance themselves from their emotions.

To get us on the same page, let’s take a look at the word naive.

According to Meriam Webster, they define naive as having or showing a lack of experience or knowledge: innocent or simple.

As someone who learned Stoicism back in 2017 and still learning until now, I don’t see Stoicism as flawed or naive. However, I see the people practicing the philosophy to have that tendency.

There is nothing wrong with Stoicism. It is a great way to help us calm and resilient in times of stress. Furthermore, we can see that the ancient Stoics respect and learn from other philosophies.

The reason why I am saying this is that Stoicism, as a philosophy, is not naive. However, some people might use Stoicism the wrong way.

For example, when we are stressed, and things look out of control, Stoicism gives us a way to stay calm and be contented with life.

When emotions overrun us, Stoicism helps us stay logical and decide what’s best.

In these instances, Stoicism is helpful. However, there are instances where we shouldn’t apply stoic practices.

For example, when we lose our job, a person can use Stoic principles to remain calm and grateful for their things.

While this is a good idea and a great way to apply Stoic principles, it can cause us to be completely satisfied and prevent us from gaining new skills to prevent the same thing from happening again.

This is also the same with heartbreaks. While Stoicism can help us cope with the pain, it can also cause us to be resilient and not see this as a way to improve our social skills and look at the things we did wrong.

During these instances, in the eyes of others, it may seem that Stoics are naive.

They might ask how someone who made a mistake does not feel guilty about what they did? How can they aren’t seeing that it’s their fault?

This is where the criticisms of the Stoic principle apply. Furthermore, this can also come from others who have a different view of life.

For example, Friedrich Nietzsche talked a lot about the flaws of Stoicism in his writings. The truth is the reason why he is saying those things is that Nietzche is a nihilist.

Conflicting views can cause someone to see Stoicism as a flawed philosophy. Furthermore, people applying Stoic principles all the time can also make it look naive.

Stoicism can be flawed not because the philosophy is wrong but because of the people who practice the philosophy. Furthermore, it can also be flawed because of the people who have conflicting beliefs.

This doesn’t mean that Stoicism is wrong or naive. The truth is, balance is necessary.

That’s why you can see ancient Stoics writing about other philosophies. They kept their mind open to learn new things. Of course, they can apply Stoic principles on some occasions, but there are times where they know that other philosophies can help.

In fact, Stoicism is a direct descendant of Cynicism. That’s why some principles of Cynicism can be seen with Stoics. However, that doesn’t mean they’re the same.

Nothing is one-size-fits-all. Stoic principles can help us remain resilient in times of stress.

Stoics focus on their current actions and thoughts. However, there are also times where we need to see the past and hope for the future.

While we can’t change the past, we need to look to our past to learn. Likewise, while we can’t control the future, we can at least have goals and plans to achieve.

Plans and goals indeed lead to expectations, and expectations can lead to frustrations. That’s why Stoics try to stay away from them.

However, balance is necessary.

We shouldn’t be a by-the-book Stoic since it’s not ideal. This is also why some see it as naive.

I can see where they are coming from by seeing it as naive. I can imagine someone who 100% practices the philosophy and doesn’t improve their life since they can’t control the future.

I can also see someone who rejects all emotions since they see it as something that can harm their logical thinking.

But this is not the right way to use Stoicism. Furthermore, Stoics aren’t emotionless. Applying the dichotomy of control, we should accept emotions since it makes us human.

Instead, we should prevent emotions from turning into passion. We shouldn’t let them harm our rational thinking.

But we shouldn’t reject emotions such as happiness, sadness, and love.

As you can see, Stoicism is not naive or flawed. Instead, it is how people apply it that is flawed.

Think of Stoicism as a guide. It is our guide to living a good life. However, we can’t apply that guide at all times.

Stoicism in itself isn’t flawed. It only looks flawed when people apply and look at it incorrectly.

Lastly, a gentle reminder from someone who knows Stoicism.

Suppose you’re here because of people’s opinions that Stoicism is flawed. Remember that other people’s thoughts are outside our control. We can’t please everybody, and they have the right to have their opinions.

What’s next? Now that you understand what makes Stoicism look naive, I also made a blog post talking more about what specific things in Stoicism look flawed to others. You can find the blog post here: Is Stoicism a fad?