Re-reading the Stoics

A bicommunal reading group that meets every fortnight at Goethe Institute Nicosia and reads and discusses Stoic philosophy. Organized by Dr Christos Hadjioannou. Starting on Thursday 8 October, 6pm-8pm. To register* or for more information, please email chadjioannou@gmail.com

Interest in Stoic philosophy is booming globally. The Stoic ideals of the “good life” and “well-being”, along with the emphasis on rationality and the view that emotions are “errors of judgment”, are enjoying unprecedented popularity throughout the world. Psychologists and therapists have been quick to embrace “Stoic mindfulness” because it can contribute to our well-being and helps us to overcome the stresses of the modern lifestyle.

However, Stoicism is not just a lifestyle or a form of therapy; it is a philosophical system that includes ethics, logic and cosmology. What is more, the Stoic conception of the ideal state is often seen as a precursor to modern anarchism and cosmopolitanism, while the concomitant physicalist cosmology is a humanistic alternative to metaphysical religious systems.

Stoicism was founded by the Cypriot philosopher Zeno of Citium and remains the most influential philosophical school of Cypriot heritage. Reading and discussing Stoic texts in Cyprus offers the possibility of an encounter with immeasurable transformative potential in the form of sumphilosophein, understood as a necessary precursor to the emergence of an autonomous society.

*Depending on the coronavirus situation and pertinent movement restrictions, online participation will be an option. Information will be published in due time.