Socratic Stage Dialogue Series – Stoicism vs. Epicureanism: How Should We Live?
What does it mean to be a good person? Is there a point to our existence, or are we accidents in the multiverse? Is there such a thing as free will? These are questions we still ask ourselves, and in the Hellenistic Era (323-30 B.C.) they were hotly debated among Greek philosophers. Two rival schools—the Stoics and the Epicureans—proposed two dramatically different worldviews that remain locked in competition for dominance today. Stoicism has attracted a huge following among modern readers, as it did among the ancient Romans, for its practical life advice. But Epicureanism might still be, to the dismay of John Adams and the delight of Thomas Jefferson, the default philosophy of 21st-century America.
Classicist Spencer Klavan has edited two collections of Stoic and Epicurean writings. He is joined by Emory professor emeritus and First Things Senior Editor Mark Bauerlein to discuss the opposing philosophies of the Stoics and the Epicureans—which one governs our lives today, and which one should.