Existentialism vs. Stoicism

[@nachologia]

Very good comparison! I "love" Amor Fati Nietzsche's formula for life, mainly because it contains a dense existentialist meaning, full of passion and revellion in its own acceptance. Differently from the stoic approach of the same sentence that is probably - as Nietzsche could say - the mentality of a modern slave or forced emperor.

[@philosophemes]

Thank you! Do you have a favorite existentialist? I like them all, but find myself always coming back to Nietzsche :)

[@juliancate7089]

Ultra lay person, so my opinion is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Anyway, I was very taken with Stoicism as a young man when first exposed to it. The four pillars of Stoic virtue, the seeming promotion of masculine virtue, enduring hardship and adversity, etc. I was a soldier at the time, so one can see that certain Stoic ideals would appeal to soldiers. However, I never identified as a Stoic. The reason is that I saw the purpose of all these seemingly valuable ideals not as way to successful confront life, but as a retreat from life. I asked, "What's so bad about suffering? Why should one go out of their way to avoid anguish?" It seemed to me that Stoics wanted you to experience a kind of dissociative disorder when forced into adversity - be it psychological or physical. I never saw any advocacy for overcoming adversity, just enduring it. I never read anything that would suggest that accepting pain and embracing difficulty would result in mental and physical resilience, which seemed odd to a philosophy that promoted masculine virtue. What could be more masculine than resilience, and the ability to overcome the hardships of life? Likewise, I was heavily influenced by Nietzsche's views. So like you, I see a few aspects of Stoicism as having worth, but only if the reason behind them is replaced by an embrace of life and reality.

[@philosophemes]

Well said! Thank you for your comment!