Стоикот во време на Covid-19

Abstract

Stoic philosophy was revitalized in the 21st century through the development of several intellectual and popular movements ("Modern Stoicism", "Daily Stoic", etc.), which aim to adapt ancient Stoicism to the language and conceptual framework of the present, as well as to try to answer the questions that torment the modern man. Due in part to this popularization, Stoic theory and practice have emerged as an effective philosophical and psychological antidote to our COVID–19 times. The philosophy that emphasizes logic and self–control as life guidelines proves to be an excellent guide to self–help in conditions of self–isolation and practicing social distance. In addition to the theoretical background, some additional relevance of Stoicism to the pandemics is given by the fact that the Stoic life recommendations have been practically tested in a similar, and an even more severe, pandemic. Namely, Marcus Aurelius’ book Meditations can easily be recognized as a guide for developing spiritual skills for dealing with a pandemic because it was written in the midst of one ("Antonine Plague"). This text will actualize some of the Stoic ideas in the context of the coronavirus crisis by returning to some of their philosophical concepts: the dichotomy of control, praemeditatio malorum, memento mori, amor fati and οἰκείωσις.