• Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience
  • Author: Nancy Sherman
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • Publication Date: May 11, 2021
  • Print Length: 304 Pages
  • Product Description

How do we find calm in times of stress and uncertainty? How do we cope with sudden losses or find meaning in a world that can easily rob us of what we most value? Drawing on the wisdom of Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and others, Nancy Sherman’s Stoic Wisdom presents a compelling, modern Stoicism that teaches grit, resilience, and the importance of close relationships in addressing life’s biggest and smallest challenges.

A renowned expert in ancient and modern ethics, Sherman relates how Stoic methods of examining beliefs and perceptions can help us correct distortions in what we believe, see, and feel. Her study reveals a profound insight about the Stoics: They never believed, as Stoic popularizers often hold, that rugged self-reliance or indifference to the world around us is at the heart of living well. We are at home in the world, they insisted, when we are connected to each other in cooperative efforts. We build resilience and goodness through our deepest relationships.

Bringing ancient ideas to bear on 21st century concerns–from workers facing stress and burnout to first responders in a pandemic, from soldiers on the battlefield to citizens fighting for racial justice–Sherman shows how Stoicism can help us fulfil the promise of our shared humanity.

In nine lessons that combine ancient pithy quotes and daily exercises with contemporary ethics and psychology, Stoic Wisdom is a field manual for the art of living well.

  • About the Author

Nancy Sherman is University Professor at Georgetown University, Guggenheim Fellow, member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the Inaugural Distinguished Chair of Ethics at the United States Naval Academy. Sherman is a New York Times notable author whose publications include Afterwar, The Untold War (a New York Times editors’ pick), Stoic Warriors, Making a Necessity of Virtue, The Fabric of Character, and over 100 articles and essays. An ethicist with research training in psychoanalysis and a Ph.D. from Harvard in ancient philosophy, Sherman lectures worldwide on ethics, the emotions, moral injury, and resilience. She has received honors and awards for her work from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the Wilson Center, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, and others.

  • Reviews

“Moving with grace and nuanced human understanding from ancient Stoic texts to our world today, drawing vivid examples from hospitals, the military, the world of Silicon Valley, and recent protests seeking racial justice, Sherman proves a sure-footed and appealing guide to what is truly worth holding on to in ancient Greek and Roman Stoicism. Engaging sympathetically yet critically with the ancient texts, she ultimately fashions her own Stoicism for today: based not on detachment but on resilience and adaptability, not on emotional hardness but on empathetic attunement to the needs of others, not on a retreat from politics but on a commitment to change what we cannot accept.” Martha C. Nussbaum, University of Chicago

“What a delight this book is! Stoic Wisdom is a lively, deeply knowledgeable, and wide-ranging exploration of the Stoic tradition, and how it can inform modern life.” Phil Klay, Winner of the National Book Award and author of Missionaries and Redeployment

“Seneca and Epictetus would greatly appreciate Nancy Sherman’s subtle and elegant elucidation of Stoicism. Modern Stoic popularizers embrace a philosophy of individual self-mastery and toughness. Yet Sherman shows that they fail to grasp true Stoic wisdom. She persuasively argues that Stoicism encourages action in pursuit of a virtuous life aimed at overcoming both individual and shared challenges to realize our collective well-being.” Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Vice Provost of Global Initiatives and Levy University Professor, University of Pennsylvania

“Stoicism is directly relevant to the way we live our lives, but it appears at first to make unrealistic demands on us–and it appears to require us to extinguish our emotions. Nancy Sherman introduces us, with grace and liveliness, to the deep, striking, and complex ideas behind the seemingly harsh demands. Appealing to today’s events as well as the ancient world, and on our full range of sources as well as the ones familiar from self-help guides, she presents Stoicism in the round. She shows us how we are called on to enlarge our lives as Stoics in our everyday mundane dealings as well as in extreme and testing situations–because Stoicism strengthens our social and political energies as well as our resilience and grit. Sherman makes Stoicism appealing without oversimplifying it and calls attention to its relevance to us while keeping us aware of our distance from the world in which it developed. This is much the best introduction to Stoicism.” Julia Annas, University of Arizona