A Field Guide to a Happy Life: 53 Brief Lessons for Living

by Massimo Pigliucci

Overview

A brilliant philosopher reimagines Stoicism for our modern age in this thought-provoking guide to a better life.


For more than two thousand years, Stoicism has offered a message of resilience in the face of hardship. Little wonder, then, that it is having such a revival in our own troubled times. But there is no denying how weird it can be: Is it really the case that we shouldn't care about our work, our loved ones, or our own lives? According to the old Stoics, yes.


In A Field Guide to a Happy Life, philosopher Massimo Pigliucci offers a renewed Stoicism that reflects modern science and sensibilities. Pigliucci embraces the joyful bonds of affection, the satisfactions of a job well done, and the grief that attends loss. In his hands, Stoicism isn't about feats of indifference, but about enduring pain without being overwhelmed, while enjoying pleasures without losing our heads. In short, he makes Stoicism into a philosophy all of us — whether committed Stoics or simply seekers — can use to live better.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541646940
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	924,007
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Massimo Pigliucci is the K. D. Irani professor of philosophy at the City College of New York. The author or editor of thirteen books, he has been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Philosophy Now, and the Philosophers' Magazine, among others. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Part I Betting on the Philosopher-Slave

I.1 Epictetus and Me 3

I.2 How to Use This Book 11

I.3 Stoicism 101 13

I.4 Epictetean Philosophy 101 19

Part II The Field Guide

II.1 Setting Things Straight: Where You Learn the Most Important and Practical Lesson of Them All 31

II.2 Training Your Desires and Aversions: Where You Begin to Reorient Your Likely Misguided Desires and Aversions 35

II.3 Training to Act in the World: Where You Prepare Yourself to Behave Justly Toward Other People 69

II.4 Training Yourself to Think Better: Where You Prepare Yourself to Improve Your Judgments About Things and People 87

II.5 Training to Live Well: Where You Prepare Yourself to Practice the Art of Living 93

II.6 Four Pieces of Advice from Epictetus: Where We Listen to the Master 103

Part III Stoicism 2.0

III.1 Updating Stoicism 107

III.2 This Is Not the First Time, and It Won't Be the Last 129

Appendix I A Conceptual Map of the Differences Between the Enchiridion and the Field Guide 133

Appendix II A Reasoned Bibliography on Epictetus, Ancient Stoicism, and Modern Stoicism 139

Acknowledgments 145

Notes 147

Editorial Reviews

07/27/2020

Pigliucci (How to Live a Good Life), professor of philosophy at City College of New York, delivers a shrewd take on Stoic philosophy that’s one part inspiration and one part manual for cultivating resilience in daily life. Pigliucci advocates for the daily application of the ancient philosophy’s four cardinal virtues—wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation—as an antidote to modern fixations on fame, wealth, and comfort. In his exhortations to readers to simply focus on what they can control, such as one’s personal character, Pigliucci focuses particularly on Epictetus (50–135 CE), who started out a slave and ended up a Stoic sage. Applying the tenets of Epictetus’s guide to the good life (The Enchiridion) to contemporary issues and sensibilities—such as social justice and secularism—Pigliucci offers 53 Stoic proverbs applicable to the 21st century (“reorient your likely misguided desires and aversions”; “prepare yourself to behave justly to other people”) and a summary of how modern Stoicism differs from that of Epictetus (“do not congratulate yourself for things that don’t really belong to you. Do you have a nice car? The merit goes to the engineers who conceived it”). Pigliucci’s prudent advice will have broad appeal among philosophically inclined readers of self-help. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"A shrewd take on Stoic philosophy that's one part inspiration and one part manual for cultivating resilience in daily life. Pigliucci's prudent advice will have broad appeal among philosophically inclined readers of self-help."—Publishers Weekly

"A wonderfully fun introduction to Stoic philosophy, bursting with practical wisdom and engaging stories. I particularly admire how Pigliucci revisits and reinterprets Epictetus's Enchiridion while showing why we need a 'Stoicism 2.0' for twenty-first century happiness, and clearly illustrating how his version differs from the original. It's an excellent book, written in Pigliucci's splendidly lucid and accessible style."
—Skye C. Cleary, author of Existentialism and Romantic Love

"Pigliucci's A Field Guide to a Happy Life provides a user-friendly manual for applying Stoicism to daily life in the twenty-first century. Stoicism 2.0 tweaks the philosophy in order to adapt it to the moral intuitions shared by most modern readers. It therefore provides a good place to start your journey when exploring Stoic practices."—Donald Robertson, author of How toThink Like a RomanEmperor

"This short book is a 'field guide,' written with busy non-specialists in mind. By dipping into its pages, readers can simultaneously develop an understanding of Stoicism and gain important insights into how best to live. Those who are already familiar with Epictetus will appreciate Pigliucci's bold 'update' of Stoicism in the book's closing pages."—WilliamB. Irvine, author of The Stoic Challenge

"This is a bold, contemporary updating of Stoicism for the present day. Taking the ancient Stoic Epictetus as his inspiration, Pigliucci has rewritten Epictetus's Handbook in order to update it, make it more relevant to a modern audience, but also to ensure that the core Stoic ideas shine through. The result is what Pigliucci calls Stoicism 2.0. This is a manual for living for those who approach the ancient Stoics as guides, not masters."—John Sellars, author of Stoicism

"An engaging introduction to the Stoic life through an updated version of Epictetus's Handbook. An unusual and helpful feature is an appendix in which Pigliucci highlights his modifications of the original Stoic text to take account of modern thinking."—Christopher Gill, author of Greek Thought

"Pigliucci reimagines Epictetus's Handbook (a.k.a. the Enchiridion) and updates it for the twenty-first century. The result is a work more timely than ever, for it warns us of the dangers of superstition while it reminds us that reason and virtue are essential to happiness. Pigliucci speaks directly to us as readers and justifies his updates along the way. He thereby invites us to treat Epictetus and this very book as a reasonable guide rather than as an oracle from on high."—Brian E. Johnson,Fordham University

From the Publisher

2020-07-01
An attempt to update the Stoic philosophy as expressed by Roman thinker and former slave Epictetus (50-130 C.E.).

Some things are within our power; most are not. Stoicism offers a path to discerning the difference. Philosophy professor Pigliucci, a staunch proponent of science education, calls his book, based on Epictetus’ Enchiridion, a “field guide” because life is lived in the field, not in theory. The Enchiridion was composed of 53 “units” or principles; Pigliucci modifies half of those to be in harmony with 21st-century realities, knowing that Stoicism, a highly cosmopolitan body of thought, has undergone many alterations through the centuries and will continue to do so. Founded by Zeno (334-262 B.C.E.), Stoicism espouses the idea that a virtuous and happy life requires applying reason to the betterment of self and society. Pigliucci has the same aim, though, like Socrates (and unlike Epictetus), he does not advise total disregard of “externals” (things not under our control), a dominant ethic of original Stoicism. Of course, the word “stoic” did not mean then what it means today. The author’s modernization of Stoicism involves accepting misfortune or adversity with equanimity but also having goals and pursuing them in a manner consistent with one’s integrity and self-respect. However, even some of Pigliucci’s revisions are ideals; there is a difference between moderation and monasticism. What’s missing here is passion. Being virtuous and phlegmatic all the time would make one admirable but rather dull, and other people’s attitudes, opinions, and actions (externals) are of no concern to us only if we live in a vacuum. While Pigliucci agrees that reading philosophy and living a philosophy are two different things, he stresses that the art of living requires discipline.

The value of Stoicism—traditional or Pigliucci’s version—is in the universal ideas it holds about human nature.

Kirkus Reviews