The 3 Major Flaws of Stoicism

Stoicism is not doing bad at all for an ancient philosophy in 2024..

For many, like me and hopefully you, Stoicism has stood by our sides and has made our lives a bit (or a lot) better.

But critics are everywhere and are always ready to say what’s wrong with Stoicism and where it fails.

Here are the three most common accusations about Stoicism.

1. Stoicism suppresses human emotions

   People who read Stoicism for the first time believe that the Stoics are these emotionless creatures that never cry, never laugh, never fear.

   The Stoics stated the exact opposite.

   They understand that we do have an emotional self, and that certain responses, such as the freeze-fight-or-flight response or the blush of our cheeks, exist in animals too.

   However, lots of the time, emotions like foolish enthusiasm and pointless grief rob us of our potential and waste our time—big time!—and these are the emotions the Stoics urge us to diminish, not suppress.

2. Stoicism’s readers believe that the Stoics view pleasure as a sin or something only shameful people do.

   Seneca would laugh at this ‘cause he was known for throwing the best parties and being the most fun to be around.

   Cato would also do the same.

   For the Stoics, there are ‘good’ pleasures and ‘bad’ pleasures.

   Anything that makes you enslaved—smoking, drinking, excessive sex, mistresses, drugs, social media addiction—is a ‘bad’ pleasure; nothing should have that much power over you, the Stoics believed.

   Not only that, but most of the time, a moment of pleasure could be a period of pain in disguise.

   If you wake up sick and unable to do basic stuff, was the last night’s hangover really enjoyable?

   Instead, working towards meaningful goals, laughing and talking with friends, meaningful hobbies, and exercising are all pleasures you can freely indulge yourself in.

   When it comes to pleasure, moderation is the word you need to remember.

   As Socrates put it, “Isn’t moderation in drinking, sex, and eating the very trait that makes these things enjoyable?”

3. Stoicism advocates for passivity

   Stoicism advocates for acceptance, not passivity.

   Some people confuse acceptance with passivity.

   Passivity is waiting for God or luck to make things better for you. It’s the lazy and arrogant—and honestly, cowardly—route.

   Acceptance is the opposite. It means you accept the event exactly as it is because its occurrence is out of your control. And instead of dwelling on everything you can’t control and don’t like, you fixate your mind on everything you can do to improve things.

   Do you also have doubts or grey areas about Stoicism?

   If so, feel free to respond to this email, so we can clear things up for you.

   Till next time,

   Said The Stoic

   PS. Got lost for two months. I appreciate your patience. Be ready to receive two emails from now on—every Monday and Friday.