Is Stoicism Wrong | An Approach to the Flaws and Finding if Stoicism is a Fad

Chances are, you’ve heard about Stoicism and wonder if it is a fad. I’ve also had some share of that doubt when I heard about Stoicism. I tried the philosophy, and I can say it helped me cope with stress. In fact, I wrote many things about the benefits of Stoicism in this blog. Although, through years of my experience with the philosophy, I can say that there are things I find wrong about it which I will discuss in this post.

Is Stoicism wrong? Stoicism is not wrong and can be an excellent way to cope with stress. It is a philosophy that talks about reacting to the things happening around us appropriately. It helps us refocus our attention on the things we can control. However, it can be wrong if used the wrong way.

In this blog post, we will explore the things that can make Stoicism a fad. While I don’t believe Stoicism is a complete fad, some things can make it annoying for some people. First, we will explore some quotes from known people saying that Stoicism is wrong and some things I find wrong about the philosophy. Finally, a conclusion that tells if it’s for you or not.

Is Stoicism a fad?

Stoicism is not a fad and an excellent way to cope with stress. Its principles offer us ways to react appropriately and logically to the things around us. However, as with everything in life, proper balance is vital because there are times where Stoicism can make things worse and can be called a fad.

Stoicism in itself isn’t a fad. On the contrary, Stoicism offers us many ways to cope with the things happening around us properly.

With the increasing number of things outside our control, it can feel overwhelming to try handling them without the principle of Stoicism.

This is also why I was attracted to philosophy. Because I make a living online, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with how fast technology has been improving.

Some say that a year in the online world is like 10 years in the outside world. The fast-changing technology increases the things outside our control.

The problem is for years; our brains aren’t adjusted to this type of environment. For instance, we can get news from the other side of the globe thanks to the internet in just a few seconds.

Furthermore, since we are connected by social media, it is easy to get comments from people we don’t know.

The internet also allowed people to say things they won’t say personally. So, for example, someone we don’t know can instantly comment on our looks, hurting our self-esteem.

Because of the increasing number of things outside our control, we feel overwhelmed. That’s also why I discussed how timely Stoicism is and why it became popular. You can find the post here: Why is Stoicism Popular Today?

I won’t get into too many details, but Stoicism offered a way to live life with less stress. Furthermore, it helped many people be grateful for their things instead of taking them for granted.

As someone practicing the philosophy, I can say that it helped me when times were tough. For example, it helped me cope with my quarter-life crisis, which is typical for people in their 20s.

Like every philosophy, Stoicism has its flaws where it can be wrong.

Many famous people targeted the philosophy telling it is wrong or a fad.

One of which is Friedrich Nietzsche where he said that Stoics are extraordinary stage-players and self-deluders. He also noted that Stoics are people who choose to see things falsely.

This might be attributed to Stoics not caring for the things they can’t control and their deterministic approach to life.

Stoics believe in fate, and they think that you shouldn’t try changing your destiny as it is only a waste of energy. While that may be true for some, it can’t be valid for everything.

For example, if I only accepted my fate and my dead-end job, I wouldn’t start building my blog and doing the things I love.

That’s why I always say when I discuss Stoicism that balance is necessary.

There are times where you can follow Stoic principles to build resilience, and there are times where you need to muster the courage to make the future you want.

Nietzsche is not the only one to bash Stoicism.

Jean-Paul Sastre saw Stoicism as an evasion to put master and slave in their places. He sees Stoicism as a philosophy against freedom.

This may be attributed to also accepting fate and not doing something about it.

However, as I said, balance is crucial.

While these arguments are correct, my personal experience of Stoicism led me to see more errors with the philosophy.

I find wrong things through my years practicing, and I would like to share them with you to have an idea if you decide to try Stoicism.

Why is Stoicism wrong?

Stoicism can be wrong if we see it as a one-size-fits-all solution. While Stoicism can help us cope with stress, it can be a reason for people not to improve their lives. Since Stoics are deterministic in nature, they tend to see things happening around them as fate which causes some people not to work for their future.

While there are things we shouldn’t try to control, such as trying to change the weather and changing other people’s opinions, there are times where we shouldn’t apply Stoicism.

For example, if we want to change our future, there are times where we should go against the odds.

Furthermore, please remember that humans made Stoicism. Since humans aren’t perfect, so is philosophy.

Plus, there are many things in Stoic texts that people don’t follow since they don’t see it as something that makes sense.

Modern Stoics are choosing the texts that suit them because not everything about Stoicism is true in their opinion.

An example is that ancient Stoic texts talk about Zeus since some are Greeks.

However, you won’t see modern Stoics talking about making poems about Zeus since they see it as something illogical.

As you can see, we can’t see everything in the ancient Stoic text as supreme or the things we need to follow. So even Stoics nowadays choose what makes sense.

But there are more things wrong with the philosophy, and in my years of experience, I’ve found numerous ways modern Stoicism is incorrect or can even annoy other people.

Why Stoicism Became Annoying for Some

Stoicism became annoying because many see Stoics quoting Stoic texts, which they don’t follow. This makes some Stoics look like impostors. Furthermore, Stoicism is slowly becoming commercialized, which makes the over-marketing of the philosophy annoying for some people.

Earlier, I discussed what other people said about Stoicism while defending it. However, I know that the philosophy has been experiencing problems, which I will show in this section.

1. Quotes from people practicing the philosophy

If you’re learning about philosophy using my website, there is one thing you’ll see different compared to other people talking about Stoicism.

I rarely to never use Stoic quotes on my blog posts. I prefer explaining the philosophy in an easy-to-understand way rather than confusing people with quotes without explaining.

Stoics quotes are great. It helps us understand what’s on the mind of other Stoics. Furthermore, Stoics appreciate having quotes from Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Cleanthes, Zeno, and more.

However, to the eyes of an outsider, it’s not a good idea to start randomly sending these quotes.

Instead, the correct approach to talking to people who have no idea about Stoicism is to show them Stoicism in a nutshell.

Instead of quotes, please give them the basic understanding of Stoicism, such as the dichotomy of control, memento mori, or amor fati.

The dichotomy of control states that everything around us can be classified into two things we can and can’t control. Therefore, we should focus on what we can control and not mind the things we can’t control.

Memento mori, on the other hand, talks about the impermanence of things. This means we should cherish all our time because we don’t know what tomorrow holds.

Amor fati is the loving of one’s fate. Since we can’t change many things, we should accept and love our fate instead of challenging them, leading to failure and regrets.

As you can see, that is easier to understand for a beginner than giving quotes from the ancient Stoics.

I have nothing against quotes. Stoics love reading these quotes, and I am one of them.

However, for someone researching Stoicism, quotes without an explanation can be pretty annoying.

2. Telling that other people are wrong

Everyone has their way of handling life, and some might teach other people their ways.

The problem here is even if Stoics see it as good, the person they’re teaching might not.

Remember that generally, people don’t want to be wrong. They prefer having their way, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

That’s also why I never force people to live the life I have. Instead, I let them have their way.

By the way, Stoics trying to change others by lecturing them is not a Stoic way of doing since it doesn’t follow the dichotomy of control.

As you can also see, even if my blog has some posts about Stoicism, I still talk about the negative things I’ve found within the philosophy.

I want you to have both the good and the bad sides to decide for yourself if you wish to try it or not.

I also never forced anyone to try Stoicism as I believe we are all different.

3. Commercialization of the philosophy

Commercialization of the philosophy is my biggest problem with Stoicism.

Since Stoicism is becoming a staple of the self-help industry, many see this as a way to earn.

That’s why when Stoicism rose in popularity, numerous courses, books, and materials came with a price tag in them.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Stoic books such as Meditations are good reads, and if you’re planning to try Stoicism, I believe you should read that book.

Furthermore, I make a living online. Thus, I sell things I find valuable.

However, what I don’t like about the commercialization of Stoicism is the overpromising or marketing in the courses that can be considered lying.

There are times where you’ll see Stoic courses or books marketed as the solution to everything.

However, as I discussed earlier, Stoicism is not a one-size-fits-all.

Overpromising to sell a course or book is, in my opinion, a way for people to make money trying to change their life using Stoicism.

If you want to learn Stoicism, don’t fall for those promises. Instead, do your research.

There are free Stoic courses online, and I see them as enough for everyone to try the philosophy.

One of the free ones is my posts about Stoicism. You can find them by browsing this site—a few quotes and pure value from years of practicing the philosophy.

Right now, you have everything you need to know about the things wrong with Stoicism, both with the ancient texts which we discussed earlier and modern Stoicism, which we recently discussed.

The question remains if you should try the philosophy.

Should you practice Stoicism?

You should practice Stoicism if you are in need of things to follow to cope up with a stressful environment or situation. Stoicism has various techniques you can use to build resilience since it helps us accept the things we have no control and enjoy the life we have. However, this philosophy is not a fix to all our problems.

Stoicism is not a one size fits all solution to our problems. On the contrary, it is a philosophy that has its flaws.

As someone influenced by philosophy, I know that all my problems can’t be solved by Stoicism.

However, when the time comes where I don’t know what to do or it seems everything around me is crumbling, the idea of I can’t control everything and I should accept it is a big help in making me resilient.

That’s why despite all of the flaws of Stoicism, I still believe that there are parts of the philosophy that we can apply at certain parts of our life.

While we shouldn’t follow the philosophy all the time due to its limitations, there are times where it can give you the peace of mind you get from a fast-changing world.

As someone in the blogging industry where technology has been changing at an alarming rate, there are times where I feel I can’t keep up since I am not a techy type of person.

However, knowing that, I accepted that I couldn’t do some things, and I focused on the things I could. This helped me keep up in these times.

Furthermore, I accept that there are people who would not agree with the things I say and Stoicism helps me accept that fact.

Finally, because of Stoicism, you could read this blog post.

So, should you practice Stoicism? The thing is, it depends on you.

But I would suggest you try it if you live in a very stressful environment where you think building resilience can help.

Remember that balance is always key. There are times where you should try your best in pursuing your dreams. However, when times get extremely tough, remember that Stoic principles will be there to help you.

What’s next? Earlier, I analyzed the Myers-Briggs personality traits and found the ideal Stoic personality type. If you’re interested, you can find the post here: What personality type is Stoic?

P.S. While I said earlier that I don’t put many quotes on my posts, the recommended post above is an exception since I have to prove that the traits I chose are what the ancient Stoics are practicing.