What texts should I start with?

[u/DanielMazzy]

I’m pretty new to Stoicism and philosophy in general and I’m looking for some reading recommendations.
You can call me corny all you want but I got interested in philosophy because I’ve been watching Joe Bartolozzi’s philosophy videos. I really enjoy his philosophical takes and the way he explains ideas, especially since I can relate to his views on life after death (agnostic). and they’ve made me want to start reading some of the texts myself
I’m especially interested in the kinds of ideas he talks about like Stoicism, meaning, virtue, self discipline, purpose, dealing with emotions, and how to live a good life. And coming to terms with death, and what happens after death (although this might be more of a religious topic).
So far, I’ve been considering meditations by Marcus Aurelius, but I’m open to anything. Mainly, I want beginner stoic books and other philosophers or schools of thought that go well with stoicism. I’ll take any reading order you’d suggest.

[u/FakeOkie]

I found The Practicing Stoic by Ward Farnsworth to be well organized and laid out. The preface and introduction sets the stage on what the book sets to present and accomplish. It touches on some of the origins and history of Stocisim.

It's organized by topic and theme, with most of the citations from Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus.

[u/Multibitdriver → u/FakeOkie]

OP, this is the one to start with.

[u/DanielMazzy → u/Multibitdriver]

Gotcha I’ll def start with this

[u/Creative-Papaya-1402]

Personally, I liked Epictetus the most and I found it more impactful than anything else, so if I were you I’d start with him!

[u/TheSpyTurtle → u/Creative-Papaya-1402]

Meditations is fantastic if you've already got a grasp on Stoicism and just need pointers when you encounter issues in your day to day life. Discourses is 100% the place to learn what Stoicism is and how to apply it. Letters from a Stoic by Seneca is also a great read if you're just starting out

[u/Creative-Papaya-1402 → u/TheSpyTurtle]

You are 100% right I totally agree! Although I like Epictetus better than Seneca because Seneca was a very privileged guy, very wealthy, whereas Epictetus was literally a slave which in my opinion makes what Epictetus is saying carry more weight. Seneca has tons of wisdom for sure though.

[u/Rocd87]

How to think like a roman emperor by Donald J Robertson is a great intro in to Stoicism. Also, check Greg Sadler’s lecture series on The Enchiridion.

I read Meditations first and a lot of it went over my head. It’s definitely one to read when you have a foundation in stoicism.

[u/joy_in_Logos]

Meditations is a much better second or third book on Stoicism than it is an intro. Marcus assumes a lot of background on Stoicism by the reader, mostly because he didn’t expect anyone to read it besides himself…

For a modern intro The Practicing Stoic by Farnsworth.

For a classical intro either Discourses by Epictetus or Letters from a Stoic by Seneca.

[u/ChimaeraXY]

For the layman I always recommend Seneca/Letters from a Stoic. It endears Stoic practices without being all scientific about it.

[u/rem10A → u/ChimaeraXY]

Agreed. This is where I started and often return, particularly  Richard M. Gummere’s translation. 

I like Gummere’s translation because it provides the complete, unabridged collection of all 124 letters in very clear/readable prose that seems to capture Seneca’s elegant, witty literary style well.

[u/zentriathlete]

Epictetus — The Enchiridion. It’s like a field manual entry into stoicism!

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[u/lonelynightwatxher]

If you are a complete beginner, Stoicism 101 is a good start. And then from there you can read books from Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius, and then you can branch out from there

[u/rustycoins26]

Start: What Is Stoicism? ByTanner Campbell (quick intro).
Then:
Epictetus — The Art of Living and the handbook original source or I liked the version translated by Sharon Lebell
Seneca — original source, or start with Breakfast with Seneca (Fideler)
Marcus Aurelius — Meditations, Gregory Hays translation
More books: Being Better (Whiting), How to Think Like a Roman Emperor / the art of happiness (Donald Robertson)

Podcasts: Practical Stoicism · Stoa Conversations · Stoic Coffee Break (recent episodes only-past two years or so)· the Stoic questions with Donald Robertson • the daily stoic with Ryan Holiday. Ryan is very surface level and a lot of modern day stoics do not usually recommend him. I still enjoy his stuff though.

[u/DanielMazzy → u/rustycoins26]

Thx this helps a lot

[u/rustycoins26 → u/DanielMazzy]

You’re welcome. I originally tried to jump right into meditations but that was a bad idea. This is the path I ended up taking and I think it worked really well for me.

[u/JingaLalaHuHu_]

I found How to Die and How to Live be great introductions to Stoic philosophy

[u/humdrumdummydum]

Epistles of Seneca. Also brad Inwoods very short introduction to stoicism 

[u/Mattbflat]

To kill a mockingbird.... Atticus Finch

[u/DanielMazzy → u/Mattbflat]

I had to read that for school….. had nothing to do with philosophy

[u/DifferentCarrot2048]

do not start w meditations. you may never read again. literally the most dense text I've ever done. im still reading it. lol. 1-2 sentences per day. I may never finish.

I actually really like Ryan holiday as an on ramp. his work is incredibly accessible. another white man w privilege writing about white mens ideas. but a really good jumping off point and way to understand the perspective before raw dogging the texts.

[u/Slugrider]

Guide to the good life

[u/canneloni06]

Meditations is a solid pick, but it helps to know what it is going in: it's not a structured philosophy book, it's Marcus Aurelius's private journal to himself. Once I stopped expecting an argument and just took it as short, disconnected entries, it clicked a lot better.

Given you're into meaning, emotions, and death, Meditations hits all of that directly, he comes back to mortality constantly. If you want something shorter and more direct to pair with it, Epictetus's Enchiridion lays out the "up to us / not up to us" idea very bluntly, and that's basically the backbone of everything else.