Readers of this blog will know that a revival of public interest in ancient Stoic philosophy is well under way. But why?
The answer, I believe is straight forwaerd but two fold. First it’s needed; second, it works.
The need is clear in many ways, not least in in the adolescent mental health crisis we are suffering through. ( The best discussion, I believe, is in The New York Times’ podcast .
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/30/podcasts/the-daily/teens-mental-health-crisis.html
But it’s not just adolescents who are affected. . Adults, too, though not necessarily in crisis mode, often report feeling that life is not as rich and rewarding as they hope. They are turning t Stoicism fr help.
Second, Stoicosm works: Evidence: People are voting with their feet for a reason. The evidence is coming in that Stoicism contains insights that really help. That became understandable to me when I read D. Robertsons book How t Think Like a Roman Emperor. It‘s a brilliant fusion of. ancient Stoic practices and modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Wee are now getting solid evidence of the effectiveness of CBT. It’s a good guess, then, that Stoic practices, in so far as they intersect with CBT are genuinely helpful to many people. .
Laypeople like us will benefit from a look at some of that evidence, even if the technical aspects of it are beyond our reach. …. Rigorous studies are now being published, notably a meta-study, “ Neural Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Psychiatric Disorders:“ recently published in Frontiers. I have no expertise in this field but from a layman’s point of view the conclusion is clear and compelling:
“ Many studies have demonstrated the efficacy of CBT in psychiatric disorders … And a subsample of … meta-analyses was compared response rates between CBT and other treatments. The result showed CBT was highly effective for depression, anxiety disorders, cannabis, and nicotine dependence. And CBT demonstrated superior efficacy as compared to other forms of psychotherapies in personality disorders, bulimia, positive symptoms in schizophrenia … . Moreover, much cbt
addressed that CBT produced long-term persistence of therapeutic effects following the termination of treatment). A meta-analysis suggested CBT was related to symptom improvement in social anxiety disorder … posttraumatic stress disorder. Similar findings were observed in depression. A meta-analysis found that there was the same effect between antidepressant medication and CBT at follow up-… ““ “
It’s not surprising, then, that Stoicism should produce some of the same effect. But, is there any reason to seek such therapeutic benefits through the study of ancient philosophy rather than through reliance on contemporary psychiatric practice? Obviously one needs to be wary of substituting a private engagement with a Stoic text for professional help with a mental illness. There are, however, two considerations that underline the value of Stoicism. First, , while the Stoics have their own phraseology, their writings are relatively jargon free and hence easier to put into practice. .
Second, their testimony comes with real world backing, that is from people who lived more productive lives thanks to Stoicism, That is most evidently the case with Marcus Aurelius, and at the other end of the social spectrum by the ex-slave Epictetus. And don’t forget Seneca! They knew how to use Stoicism t live a better life.
Be cautious, though! One feature of Stoicism not found in CBT is its fierce hardening of the body. The goal was to inure oneself to pain and suffering. – the plunge into the icy Tiber, clothing too thin to protect from the chill winds, gruel equally thin. No thanks!
I mention these only as a reminder that Stoicism is not the same as CBT, and to ask what other parts of Stoicism differentiate it, for better or worse, from CBT and to probe into what more needs to be brought into focus about ancient Stoicism. My hunch is that we are just at the beginning of the road of understanding Stoicism and benefitting from it.
The answer, I believe is straight forwaerd but two fold. First it’s needed; second, it works.
The need is clear in many ways, not least in in the adolescent mental health crisis we are suffering through. ( The best discussion, I believe, is in The New York Times’ podcast .
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/30/podcasts/the-daily/teens-mental-health-crisis.html
But it’s not just adolescents who are affected. . Adults, too, though not necessarily in crisis mode, often report feeling that life is not as rich and rewarding as they hope. They are turning t Stoicism fr help.
Second, Stoicosm works: Evidence: People are voting with their feet for a reason. The evidence is coming in that Stoicism contains insights that really help. That became understandable to me when I read D. Robertsons book How t Think Like a Roman Emperor. It‘s a brilliant fusion of. ancient Stoic practices and modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Wee are now getting solid evidence of the effectiveness of CBT. It’s a good guess, then, that Stoic practices, in so far as they intersect with CBT are genuinely helpful to many people. .
Laypeople like us will benefit from a look at some of that evidence, even if the technical aspects of it are beyond our reach. …. Rigorous studies are now being published, notably a meta-study, “ Neural Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Psychiatric Disorders:“ recently published in Frontiers. I have no expertise in this field but from a layman’s point of view the conclusion is clear and compelling:
“ Many studies have demonstrated the efficacy of CBT in psychiatric disorders … And a subsample of … meta-analyses was compared response rates between CBT and other treatments. The result showed CBT was highly effective for depression, anxiety disorders, cannabis, and nicotine dependence. And CBT demonstrated superior efficacy as compared to other forms of psychotherapies in personality disorders, bulimia, positive symptoms in schizophrenia … . Moreover, much cbt
addressed that CBT produced long-term persistence of therapeutic effects following the termination of treatment). A meta-analysis suggested CBT was related to symptom improvement in social anxiety disorder … posttraumatic stress disorder. Similar findings were observed in depression. A meta-analysis found that there was the same effect between antidepressant medication and CBT at follow up-… ““ “
It’s not surprising, then, that Stoicism should produce some of the same effect. But, is there any reason to seek such therapeutic benefits through the study of ancient philosophy rather than through reliance on contemporary psychiatric practice? Obviously one needs to be wary of substituting a private engagement with a Stoic text for professional help with a mental illness. There are, however, two considerations that underline the value of Stoicism. First, , while the Stoics have their own phraseology, their writings are relatively jargon free and hence easier to put into practice. .
Second, their testimony comes with real world backing, that is from people who lived more productive lives thanks to Stoicism, That is most evidently the case with Marcus Aurelius, and at the other end of the social spectrum by the ex-slave Epictetus. And don’t forget Seneca! They knew how to use Stoicism t live a better life.
Be cautious, though! One feature of Stoicism not found in CBT is its fierce hardening of the body. The goal was to inure oneself to pain and suffering. – the plunge into the icy Tiber, clothing too thin to protect from the chill winds, gruel equally thin. No thanks!
I mention these only as a reminder that Stoicism is not the same as CBT, and to ask what other parts of Stoicism differentiate it, for better or worse, from CBT and to probe into what more needs to be brought into focus about ancient Stoicism. My hunch is that we are just at the beginning of the road of understanding Stoicism and benefitting from it.