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Practical Stoicism

Practical Stoicism

Written by: Tanner Campbell
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 Stoicism is the pursuit of Virtue (Aretê), which was defined by the Ancient Greeks as "the knowledge of how to live excellently," Stoicism is a holistic life philosophy meant to guide us towards the attainment of this knowledge through the development of our character. While many other Stoicism podcasts focus on explaining Ancient Stoicism in an academic or historical context, Practical Stoicism strives to port the ancient wisdom of this 2300-plus-year-old Greek Philosophy into contemporary times to provide practical advice for living today, not two millennia ago. Join American philosopher of Stoicism Tanner Campbell, every Monday and Friday, for new episodes.Tanner Campbell and 134 Labs Limited 2026 Philosophy Self-Help Social Sciences Success
Episodes
  • Seneca: Avoiding Crowds and Group Think

    Seneca: Avoiding Crowds and Group Think
    Jan 11 2026
    I am a public philosopher, it is my only job. I am enabled to do this job, in large part, thanks to support from my listeners and readers. You can support my work, keep it independent and online, at https://stoicismpod.com/members Looking for more Stoic content? Consider my 3x/week newsletter "Stoic Brekkie": https://stoicbrekkie.com In this episode, I revisit Seneca, a Stoic who often gets dismissed because of his wealth and his close relationship with Nero. I argue that these compromises do not disqualify him as a Stoic, and that he may, in fact, have been one of the most Stoic Roman thinkers precisely because he was aware of his flaws and struggled against them. I introduce and reflect on Seneca’s letter On Crowds, focusing on his warning that being around the wrong people can quietly undo our moral progress. Seneca admits that he often returns home worse than when he left, more indulgent, more ambitious, and more cruel, simply because he has been among others. I connect this to modern experiences of habit, addiction, and relapse, especially how difficult it is to maintain self-control when surrounded by people who excuse or celebrate the very behaviors we are trying to leave behind. I discuss how habits are formed through repetition, how crowds can weaken our resolve by offering permission and comfort, and why leaving unhealthy environments often comes at the cost of strained relationships. I also emphasize that anyone who has successfully changed a destructive habit deserves real admiration, because reversing habituated behavior requires extraordinary effort. Finally, I qualify Seneca’s position. While crowds driven by vice and groupthink are dangerous, not all crowds are. What we should avoid are antisocial and unjust groups, not communities of people sincerely trying to improve. The goal is to surround ourselves with those who want our moral progress and to be that person for others who are earlier on the path. Listening on Spotify? Leave a comment! Share your thoughts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    22 mins
  • ✅ 2026 Audience Survey

    ✅ 2026 Audience Survey
    Jan 7 2026
    This one is incredibly valuable to me, folks. Your answers will help me succeed this year. Please fill this out! Survey is here: https://stoicismpod.com/audience Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 mins
  • Difficult People and Moral Progress

    Difficult People and Moral Progress
    Jan 5 2026
    This podcast is supported entirely by you, the listener. Without your patronage, none of this is possible. Become a patron of my work for as little as $0.50/week here: https://stoicismpod.com/members -- In this episode I reset Practical Stoicism back to its foundations and begin a new chapter for the show by returning to the classical texts themselves. I explain why this version of the podcast will move deliberately across the Stoic corpus rather than reading a single work straight through, drawing from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, Musonius Rufus, and, where possible, the early Greek Stoics like Zeno of Citium, Chrysippus, and Cleanthes. From there, I focus on Meditations 2.1, one of the most concise and powerful passages in Meditations, using George Long’s translation. I explain why Marcus is so often misunderstood, why he should be read as a deeply committed practitioner rather than a philosophical instructor, and why Meditations was never meant to teach Stoicism to anyone but Marcus himself. We then unpack what Marcus is really doing in this meditation: preparing himself to meet difficult people, refusing to moralize or dehumanize them, and grounding his response in the Stoic claim that ignorance of good and evil (virtue and vice) is the root of wrongdoing. I explain why, in Stoicism, there is only one good and one evil, how this reframes resentment and anger, and why Marcus sees hostility toward others as fundamentally anti-social and contrary to Nature. The episode closes by showing how Stoicism combines sympathy, personal responsibility, and moral resolve, and why caring for others is not optional if one is genuinely pursuing virtue. This is not a philosophy of withdrawal or toughness for its own sake, but a demanding ethical system aimed at producing better human beings. Key takeaways from this episode include: Why Meditations is a private practice document, not a Stoic instruction manual, and how misunderstanding this leads to shallow readings How Meditations 2.1 reveals the Stoic view that vice is ignorance, not malice, and why this matters for how we treat others Why Stoicism is fundamentally pro-social, and why turning away from others undermines the pursuit of virtue itself If you'd like to provide feedback on this episode, or have question, you may do so as a member. Email sent by non-members will not be answered (though they may be read). This isn't punitive, I just cannot keep up. Limiting access to members reduces my workload. You're always invited to leave a comment on Spotify, member or not. Thanks for listening and have a great day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    21 mins
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