1st Edition

Stoic Ethics: The Basics

By Christopher Gill, Brittany Polat Copyright 2025
172 Pages
by Routledge

172 Pages
by Routledge

172 Pages
by Routledge

At a time of unprecedented interest in Stoicism, this book offers a comprehensive introduction to Stoic ethics for students and for readers interested in Stoic life-guidance. It combines an explanation of the main philosophical ideas in ancient Stoic ethics by Christopher Gill with discussion of how to put these ideas into practice in our own lives by Brittany Polat. The first seven chapters... Read more

Introduction: Opening the door to Stoic ethics

1. Does happiness depend only on virtue?

2. How does virtue relate to other values?

3. Is Stoic ethics grounded on nature?

4. How do we learn to be good?

5. How do we learn to make good decisions?

6. How do we learn to have good emotions?

7. How should we relate to other people and society?

8. What does Stoicism contribute to modern virtue ethics and life-guidance?

9. What does Stoicism contribute to modern environmental ethics?

Glossary

Bibliography

General index

Index of quotations

Biography

Christopher Gill is Emeritus Professor of Ancient Thought at the University of Exeter, UK, following earlier appointments at Yale, Bristol and Aberystwyth Universities. He has published many books and articles on ancient philosophy, especially Stoicism. These include The Structured Self in Hellenistic and Roman Thought (2006), Marcus Aurelius: Meditations Books 16, translated with an introduction and commentary (2013) and Learning to Live Naturally: Stoic Ethics and its Modern Significance (2022).

Brittany Polat holds a PhD in applied linguistics but is currently devoted to the study and practice of Stoicism. As a philosophical writer, speaker and community organizer, she specializes in conveying complex philosophical ideas in a form that is accessible to a wide and diverse audience. Her most recent book is Journal Like a Stoic: A 90-day Program to Live with Greater Acceptance, Less Judgement, and Deeper Intentionality (2022).