Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

by William B. Irvine

4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 · rating details · 3,494 ratings · 288 reviews

One of the great fears many of us face is that despite all our effort and striving, we will discover at the end that we have wasted our life. In A Guide to the Good Life, William B. Irvine plumbs the wisdom of Stoic philosophy, one of the most popular and successful schools of thought in ancient Rome, and shows how its insight and advice are still remarkably applicable to ...more

Hardcover, 326 pages

Published November 1st 2008 by Oxford University Press, USA

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

Or buy for

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about A Guide to the Good Life, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about A Guide to the Good Life

Lists with This Book

A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine

Popular Books on Stoicism

1st out of 25 books — 52 voters

Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus

Books on Stoic Philosophy

2nd out of 29 books — 39 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 23, 2012 Sophia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I picked this up from a recommendation on the Stoicism subreddit. I went there from a passing curiosity I developed while reading about Zen Buddhism, and I was curious about how they differed. I basically discovered a doctrine (sorry: philosophy of life) I was already living by, and it was kind of eerie reading it. I cleared it in 3-4 hours.

The book could've used less arguing with invisible people. It quickly adopts a defensive tone, as if universally persecuted - you're not selling Satanism to ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2015 Maryam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

رواقیان هم مثل بودایی ها ما را به فکر کردن به سرشت ناپایدار جهان فرا می خوانند. سنکا تاکید می کند که هر چیز انسانی زودگذر و ناپایدار است.مارکوس هم همین نکته را به ما گوشزد می کند که همه ی چیزهای ارزشمند ما انسان ها همچون برگ درختان به وزش بادی بندند.او تاکید می کند که ناپایداری و تغییر در جهان پیرامون ما امری تصادفی نیست بلکه جزء ضروری آن است

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Jan 18, 2009 Jeffrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

There aren't many books written on a philosophy of life as there are 'philosophies' for life out there; and there aren't many books that exist in the great divide between academic philosophy and water-downed caricatures of philosophy (think Consolation of Philosophy but PART TWO...). Mr Irvine's book, however, provides one fairly detailed philosophy of life as Stoicism goes and bridges the divide by not only describing what is Stoicism but also, how to practice Stoicism for both tranquility and There aren't many books written on a philosophy of life as there are 'philosophies' for life out there; and there aren't many books that exist in the great divide between academic philosophy and water-downed caricatures of philosophy (think Consolation of Philosophy but PART TWO...). Mr Irvine's book, however, provides one fairly detailed philosophy of life as Stoicism goes and bridges the divide by not only describing what is Stoicism but also, how to practice Stoicism for both tranquility and joy in the context of our insane and insatiable consumerist culture amid other existential fears and anxieties.

Let me say this first: this is a timely book in view of the Financial Crisis of 2008 transforming into something Unknown and Monstrous for 2009 and beyond. Here, Mr Irvine's book contains not just sound advice for living amid hardship, but also useful tidbits of wisdom in the face of calamity and unrest. But as the Fates would have it, it may be all good but a tad too late.

Even so, Mr Irvine's book is part self-reflection, part 'what is Stoicism' (and who the Stoics were), and part how to be a Stoic. If you find yourself immediately put off by the word 'Stoic', don't. Mr Irvine has done marvelously well on explaining why the modern interpretation of 'Stoic' has been more of a misinterpretation than the lived reality of a good life: his reflection of those mundanely trivial but existentially heroic accounts of his own life suffice.

However, what I find singularly troubling is Mr Irvine's ambition in explaining Stoicism at an extremely high level of evolutionary psychology; that the Stoics techniques have been designed to short-circuit what might be the undesirable consequences of human evolution on "autopilot" to the ultimate demise of the human psyche and society (e.g. insatiable greed for security and an extreme one, an eye for an eye to ensure one stays as the Alpha Male for reproduction). But consistent to the claims of the evolutionary psychology one can also find himself inevitably suggesting that because Stoicism exists, it must have also been somewhat effective in increasing the chance for successful reproduction; that merely than short-circuiting anxieties, fears, greed and so on for 'short-term' tranquility, it also acts as a long term catalyst, if not a direct cause for successful reproduction. So is Stoicism a cure or a cause? Is it both? In trying to explain the causes of the symptoms Stoicism tries to cure via evolutionary psychology, Mr Irvine opens up new questions he was not prepared to answer.

In fact, what I find most satisfying, and also where the philosophical lore is the richest, are those direct and honest accounts of living as a Stoic in today's world. For example, in one of Mr Irvine's account of changing a 16 year old car for a 9 year old 'new' one with neither a radio nor a cup-holder brought a smile to my face--indeed, why do we need three jumbo cup-holders and 8000 channels on our car radios today? By 'downgrading', Mr Irvine suggests (he would probably use the word, 'simplifying') our materialistic lives, we are in fact 'upgrading' in virtuous Stoical character-building. I think I see Mr Irvine nodding.

Yet, Mr Irvine shies away from those difficult, pressing questions as the contemporary mouth-piece, if not a modern peer to philosophers like Seneca and Epictetus. Sure, one can see how a new Ferrari can disturb one's newfound Stoical tranquility and joy. But what if one is not choosing between a materialistic entity which works on the principle of decreasing marginal satisfaction (hence an increasing indifference, if not dissatisfaction ) and a virtuous good, but between two competing virtuous goods, for example, in being responsible to my children, spouse or parents and being responsible to the duties and commitments of the workplace? The ultimate good of both choices are no different than the Stoic version of the highest goods of tranquility and joy, yet one is often compelled to choose only one, assuming that an acceptable balance between the two means some compromise to this tranquility. To this ultimate competition of ultimate goods, Mr Irvine's Stoicism has nothing to say. This is not to say that Mr Irvine's account is a straw-man account. But very often, perplexities and anxieties in life has to do with the competition of virtuous goods, and not to the marginal acquisition of a Ferrari or a Renoir. Perhaps this was why Marcus Aurelius hastened his own death as a public servant-emperor, who most likely, had to choose between two competing goods as a Stoic.

In addition, what about those who collect Ferraris and Renoirs so they can appreciate their beauty? Because Mr Irvine assumes that crass materialism has solely been undertaken for the envy of our neighbors, Mr Irvine also misses the point that a good number of 'materialists' out there can also be aestheticians. Sure, Stoicism dismisses connoisseurship, especially connoisseurship that overly commits one to dependency on luxury, Mr Irvine argued. But surely a Stoic would not dismiss the appreciation of beauty through materialism as a path to Stoic tranquility and joy, as one may collect humble stamps and common vases, or grow roses?

Lastly, Mr Irvine's overall account tacitly position his interest in broadly speaking to a certain class of citizens in certain advanced capitalistic economies. Tacitly, I think he was speaking to the middle and upper middle class of the American society. I don't know if Marcus Aurelius or Seneca made that assumption, though both were reputably wealthy individuals who had SOMETHING they can imagine themselves losing and hence, feel content through the practice of negative visualization. But it is true that in the world today, there are many who have NOTHING to lose; that is, they are not even substantively well-off and have nothing but their own bodies to be exploited and harvested by others. To tell these folks about practising negative visualization is to also mock them. If so, does this demonstrate that Stoicism is a philosophy predicated upon the class structure? To some extent by the absence in Mr Irvine's depiction, yes. But since we know the classical Stoics were not unreasonable brutes, then we must commit to the possibility that something is lacking in Mr Irvine's modern account in an unreasonably unjust world. This, I suppose, would be up to the readers' own musing, for Mr Irvine has nothing to say to this regard.

Indeed, what Mr Irvine fails to mention--and I think if he did, aptly in a time like this--is that personal tranquility and joy may be necessary but not sufficient for a Good Life. Unlike the Greeks or the Romans who blissfully lived their circumscribed spheres thinking that theirs was the known world, Moderns can no longer afford the luxury of a the Good Life based on a Personal notion without relating to the Others (who often do not have it so Good). What we seem to need today, if Stoicism is indeed the philosophical practice for the Good Life, is not only to deflect insult for insult; or to abandon crass materialism for character-building; or to be justly indifferent to external circumstances, but in fact, to broadly engage these external circumstances in a fast-deteriorating and destructively spiraling external world we all inhabit, Stoics and 'materialists' alike. Mr Irvine lamented the demise of Stoicism after the Empire; but likely is the possibility that its notion of the Good Life is limited when Others don't have it so good.

Without such an engagement, even a Stoic may find it difficult to attain the Good Life. ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Jun 06, 2012 B. Rule rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book gets 5 stars for subject, 2 stars for execution. The Stoics themselves are fascinating and every quote is a gem. However, the author doesn't trust the ancient Stoics to carry the argument. Instead, his account is a series of straw man arguments ("you might think that a Stoic would eat babies, but there's another reading..." Not quite that bad but almost.). Further, when he gets to the section on updating Stoicism for the modern world, the section where he has to do the heavy lifting by ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Mar 07, 2014 Darryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy, stoicism

This popular book won't be of much interest to those who have already read Seneca, Epictetus, Musonius Rufus, and Marcus Aurelius, or, indeed, to anybody who has read a solid introduction to their thought.

Nor would it satisfy those looking for a clear and concise description of Stoic psychological techniques or 'exercises': for that, one might turn to "Stoic Spiritual Exercises" by Elen Buzare.

However, the book may be of interest to those seeking an easy-to-digest introductory exposition of Stoi ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2012 Paul Toth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lucky for me, some years back I stumbled into Diogenes, who refused to write prescriptions but referred me to the Stoics and Cynics. Slowly, I learned how to better bear the onslaught of life's unnecessary absurdity and how to remember how, despite myself and you. If my reasoning seems circular, so's the earth. Irvine renders Stoicism a relevant and applicable philosophy of life, especially for those lacking the time and inclination to read the source material. I don't pick bones, but I will not ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Aug 20, 2014 Nick Klagge rated it 4 of 5 stars

(tl;dr--nice book, Stoicism is awesome)

This was a very enjoyable and accessible book on Stoicism. The author describes himself as a "congenital Stoic," i.e. one whose mind is naturally in accordance with many aspects of Stoic philosophy, and I think I could be described as the same (thus my interest in reading this). For anyone who is interested, I also highly recommend some of the primary sources: the "Handbook" of Epictetus and the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius. They are very accessible too (tl;dr--nice book, Stoicism is awesome)

This was a very enjoyable and accessible book on Stoicism. The author describes himself as a "congenital Stoic," i.e. one whose mind is naturally in accordance with many aspects of Stoic philosophy, and I think I could be described as the same (thus my interest in reading this). For anyone who is interested, I also highly recommend some of the primary sources: the "Handbook" of Epictetus and the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius. They are very accessible too. (After reading this book, I know I need to read some of Seneca as well.)

In addition to giving a broad overview of the major Roman Stoics and the tenets of their philosophy, Irvine talks about some Stoic practices you can do. Some of these are things I've done before, and others I've only recently tried, but in general I think they are quite useful. To use some modern terminology, they seem to me to fall under the general category of avoiding hedonic adaptation. The Romans did not have "happiness economics," but they were certainly aware of this tendency in people, and its negative effects on our lives. So for example, Irvine talks about practicing regular minor deprivations, which has the positive effect of making us appreciate things more when we do have them, and also of getting us more comfortable with deprivation (which is often unavoidable). In my own life, I practice a very basic form of this: I alternate "beer nights" and "dessert nights," meaning that on a normal day, I may have a beer (or less often wine) with dinner or I may have dessert, but not both. (I don't always have either, and I'll occasionally break this rule for a special dinner out.) It's an almost absurdly minor deprivation, but I have found that it greatly enhances my appreciation of each--I have the minor excitement of "beer night!" or "dessert night!" most nights. Similarly, I think that one of the things I enjoy about backpacking is the way it entails temporary enforced deprivation of things we usually take for granted. When you come back to the "real world," you really appreciate these things! (Bill Bryson is really funny writing about this phenomenon in "A Walk In The Woods.") Another practice Irvine talks about is "negative visualization," which means occasionally imagining not having some of the good things in life that we take for granted. This can feel a little forced or silly sometimes, but I have found it to be quite effective in certain cases. The main example is a practice I read from David Cain of the "Raptitude" blog, which is: when you are in a normal situation, imagine that you have been dead or in some kind of limbo (I always picture the underworld from "The Amber Spyglass"), and that you have been temporarily granted a short time back in the world of the living. Try it some time and see what you think.

Irvine also spends some time writing about why Stoicism might be effective (in achieving its goal of increasing tranquility). The Roman Stoics thought that the gods had given man reason as his distinguishing characteristic; therefore, allowing our reason to rule was the best way of living in accordance with nature and "being the best we can be." Irvine wants to give his own description of why it is effective, without drawing on any religious beliefs. He gives an "evolutionary psychology" explanation that is closely linked to the ideas in "The Selfish Gene." Humans are "wired" with the emotional reactions that are most conducive to reproductive success, but these are not necessarily--in fact not at all--most conducive to human happiness. These include the fact that dissatisfaction tends to overtake temporary satisfaction (leading us to pursue more resources and more potential mates), and the preoccupation with what others think of us. Humans can overcome these evolutionarily coded triggers through the application of our reason and regular practice. Ironically, says Irvine, his explanation is in a sense exactly the opposite of the classical explanation--in his reading, we must overcome our nature rather than live in accordance with it.

I think there is some truth in Irvine's description, but I am also somewhat skeptical of it, since ev-psych explanations for phenomena can often be "just-so stories." Specifically, I am not convinced that genetics are the whole story, or even the main story. From my fairly minimal knowledge of "primitive" societies (mostly from non-authoritative sources: "Ishmael," "Debt," "Mutual Aid"), they are not actually that stressful of places to live for the most part--a lot of leisure with fairly rare stressful periods. The differences in observed social behavior between bonobos and common chimpanzees (our two closest cousins) also call into question any "pure" evolutionary explanation. Briefly, my feeling is that Irvine does not give enough "credit" to modern consumer society, which tends to play upon and accentuate these particular human instincts, because they are profit-generators. I wonder whether similar societal forces were at play in the Roman Empire; it certainly seems plausible. But whatever the reason, I feel that Stoic thought and exercises are extremely insightful.

Irvine also discusses the general idea of a "philosophy of life," of which Stoicism is an example, but also rival schools such as Epicureanism or other traditions such as Buddhism. He laments how selecting a philosophy of life is not seen as an important personal endeavor in our culture as it was (for the upper classes) in classical Greece and Rome, which, inter alia, has deeply changed the role of philosophy in culture. He sees it as important to adopt a philosophy of life, because otherwise there is a risk that you will come to the end of your life and feel unhappy with how you have conducted yourself. I would add that in our culture, if you don't make a point of doing this, your philosophy of life will probably end up being some version of "enlightened hedonism," which is again what is most agreeable to consumer capitalism. Religions also may play this role, but in my view, they are so tied to cultures as to make conscious individual choice quite rare--and they also come with many aspects that are not strictly philosophy-of-life. I thought this was a very interesting point, and I agree that it's lamentable.

A final note--Irvine has a related blog that I've started following: 21stcenturystoic.org. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 07, 2013 Paula Vince rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

The author's first book, On Desire: Why We Want What We Want was great, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to read this new one. Professor Irvine suggests that many people are dissatisfied and gloomy because we unconsciously live a lifestyle he calls "enlightened hedonism", in which we try to maximise the pleasure we experience, believing that as soon as we achieve a given goal, we'll be happy. The problem is that other unfulfilled desires instantly well up to take their place. He puts for The author's first book, On Desire: Why We Want What We Want was great, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to read this new one. Professor Irvine suggests that many people are dissatisfied and gloomy because we unconsciously live a lifestyle he calls "enlightened hedonism", in which we try to maximise the pleasure we experience, believing that as soon as we achieve a given goal, we'll be happy. The problem is that other unfulfilled desires instantly well up to take their place. He puts forward the alternative of living as the ancient Stoics used to, adapting their philosophy for our modern lives. Like many of us, he'd assumed that Stoicism was an outdated creed all about bottling our emotion and keeping stiff upper lips. Instead, he discovered that it may well hold the answers to a lifestyle of joy, satisfaction and peace.

Basically, this is it in a nutshell.
1) To appreciate blessings more, we should take time to reflect how much worse off we'd be if we had them ripped away from us. He calls this "negative visualisation." Having read many books on the law of attraction, this idea of focusing on the negative bothered me at first. I guess that taking the advice in many of the books about gratitude on the market may achieve a similar result.
2) We shouldn't worry about dealing with things over which we have no control, and for things over which we have only partial control, we should internalise our goals. Instead of declaring, "I aim to win this tennis match" we'd be better off saying, "I'll play to the best of my ability." Then, even when results are not ideal, we can rest easy knowing that we've accomplished our goal and done our very best.
3) We should occasionally put ourselves in the position of being uncomfortable (cold, hungry, thirsty, nervous) to better appreciate the value of what we have at other times.

I was interested in the Stoics' opinion about not seeking fame. It comes at a price which they thought far outweighed any benefit it could confer. The Stoics were careful to be indifferent about the opinions of others, whether positive or negative. Their attitude to wealth and an affluent lifestyle was that these may deaden our ability to take delight from simple things. Connoisseurs with an inability to enjoy anything but 'the best', rather than being admired, are to be pitied for seriously impairing their ability to enjoy life. And the Stoic Epictetus' advice on how much wealth we should acquire was, "an amount that doesn't descend to poverty but isn't far removed from poverty." That's way different to many other self-help books written in the 21st century. As far as that goes, I'm already pretty well there.

He concludes with the point that it does take effort to follow stoic principles but more effort not to. I'm intrigued to keep it all in mind and give it a bit of go. I think the areas discussed do address the areas in which I've felt most dissatisfaction. It directly contradicts advice in other popular books, such as, "achieve more, become admired, live like a king." Interestingly, I couldn't help thinking that although Jesus was not a Stoic, he was a contemporary of them and shared many of the same characteristics. It seems the best way to gain satisfaction may be not to do as the world tells us and work our butts off to satisfy our desires, but instead, to work to master those desires. Although I noticed some scholarly type reviewers ranked this book low because it doesn't read like a dry, university text book, I believe the author intended it for ordinary, laymen types like me, and I appreciated it. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2012 C. Derick Varn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dr. Irvine presents Stoicism in its own context from the Roman period (which is the one where the ethics are more clearly developed, although it doesn't deal with the virtue and proto-physics of the Greek Stoics) and then puts it in a modern psychologized and evolutionary context.

First, this book is wonderfully layman friendly. He doesn't use the exact Greek and Roman terms. He doesn't discuss apatheia, prohairesis, and sunkatathesis. Dr. Irvine discusses tranquility, virtue, and reason. Dr. Irv Dr. Irvine presents Stoicism in its own context from the Roman period (which is the one where the ethics are more clearly developed, although it doesn't deal with the virtue and proto-physics of the Greek Stoics) and then puts it in a modern psychologized and evolutionary context.

First, this book is wonderfully layman friendly. He doesn't use the exact Greek and Roman terms. He doesn't discuss apatheia, prohairesis, and sunkatathesis. Dr. Irvine discusses tranquility, virtue, and reason. Dr. Irvine also uses some sound psychology in talking about hedonic adaption and how it leads to anhedonia--or, in short, how the more desires you have, the more you fullfill them, the less the things you lusted over make you happy.

The there are a good fifty pages devoted to putting Stoicism in its context, including all the Zeus-driven bits that alienate atheists and agnostics like me. Dr. Irvine, however, makes a fairly convincing polemic that Stoic philosophy is perfectly consistent with an evolutionary worldview and nontheistic elements.

The majority of the book is devoted to various psychological techniques that are designed to head off hedonic adaption. Or, as I like to call, "how to shoot the alcoholic, nymphomaniac, shopping-addicted inner-voice in the head." These include fatalism in regards to the past and present, negative visualization, voluntary discomfort, and delaying gratification. Irvine develops these from the writings of Seneca the Younger, Marcus Aerilius, and Epictetus. Dr. Irvine also puts these in a modern context and admits the difficulties of many of the techniques in modern culture.

If there are explicit flaws in the book, it could be that it is too layman-driven for people already somewhat familar with Classical philosophy and doesn't go into what the Stoics (particularly the Greek varieties) thought about politics and virtue. In fact, the Greek Stoics are largely ignored after the historical chapters in the beginning of the book. These faults will annoy people with my background, but I don't think we are the primary audience for this book.

I think if you want to take internal moral philosophy more seriously and perhaps attempt to slow hedonic adaption, this is a good book to start with. Dr. Irvine may not convince you to become a full blown Stoic, but he will have you take the classical philosophers of lifestyles much more seriously. It also gets a rationalist framework for ethics--including how to drive your own mind--in a way that does not demand either an explicit political OR theological point of view. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2013 Robin Friedman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Academic life often leads people in unexpected directions. William Irvine is Professor of Philosophy at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. After receiving his PhD from UCLA in 1980, Irvine taught and practiced analytic philosophy for many years before gradually losing interest in it as overly technical and removed from life. Irvine looked for other philosophical and personal options and came close to adopting a Zen Buddhist practice. He ultimately rejected Zen because it did not fit the anal Academic life often leads people in unexpected directions. William Irvine is Professor of Philosophy at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. After receiving his PhD from UCLA in 1980, Irvine taught and practiced analytic philosophy for many years before gradually losing interest in it as overly technical and removed from life. Irvine looked for other philosophical and personal options and came close to adopting a Zen Buddhist practice. He ultimately rejected Zen because it did not fit the analytic quality of his mind. Irvine then began a serious study of the Greek and Roman stoics, philosophers he never had to read during his years of philosophical study. The result was his book "On Desire: Why We Want what we Want" (2006) followed by this book, "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy" (2008) in which Irvine articulates a contemporary stoic philosophy.

Irvine writes for the educated lay reader rather than for academic philosophers. He argues that an important task of philosophy is to help individuals form a "philosophy of life" that gives meaning and purpose. Without a philosophy of life, Irvine argues, "there is danger that you will mislive-- that despite all your activity, despite all the pleasant diversion you might have enjoyed while alive, you will end up living a bad life. There is, in other words, a danger that when you are on your deathbed, you will look back and realize that you wasted your one chance at living. Instead of spending your life pursuing something genuinely valuable, you squandered it because you allowed yourself to be distracted by the various baubles life has to offer."

Besides helping a person to discover his or her "grand goal in living", philosophy also has the task of pointing out a path or strategy for realizing the goal. As mentioned above, Irvine seriously explored Zen Buddhism but found ancient stoicism more suitable to his character in setting out a goal and a means for its attainment.

In his book, Irvine explains the need people to reflect and form a philosophy of life, the value of stoicism, and the means of practicing stoicism. He also takes stoicism out of its ancient theological and teleological (teleology means finding that nature acts purposefully) bases and restates it under assumptions of naturalism.

In the first part of the book, Irvine offers a rapid overview of ancient philosophy and ancient stoicism, culminating in four philosophers of the Roman Empire, Seneca, Musonius Rufus, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.Irvine shows that the "grand goal" of these philosophers shifted gradually from the reason and "eudamoneia" (a difficult word meaning roughly "virtue") of the Greeks to a goal of emotional tranquility. This, rather than the Greek goal, is the goal Irvine adopts. The goal of tranquility does not advocate supressing emotions or becoming a zombie. Rather, Irvine defines "tranquility" as "a psychological state marked by the absences of negative emotions, such as grief, anger, and anxiety, and the presence of positive emotions, such as joy."

After identifying the goal, Irvine offers steps towards its attainment. He recommends living modestly, being content with what one has, letting go of the past and of feelings of remorse and guilt, and meditation and reflection on one's goals. A stoic life is internalized, which means it depends of developing what is in one's control rather than seeking for happiness in things outside one's control. To give examples from my own life. I get frustrated when my teachers and others do not rate my piano playing as highly as I would like. I have to remember that the goal of playing the piano is not to have a concert career or to impress others but to bring out music for myself and for those who want to hear. Then again, closer to home, I get angry when I spend time on an Amazon review only to have it curtly negated. I have to remind myself that I write to read and to learn rather than to seek approval from negginators. When I find myself overly bothered, I post here on Goodreads which has the virtue of not negators.

In the third part of the book, Irvine offers more broadly-based discussions of stoicism as a guide to life. He discusses the control rather than the repression of emotions such as grief, and strategies for living contentedly with others. He focuses on his own and on his reader's mortality by eloquently reminding of the inevitability of old age and death and of the stoic wisdom of loving life in its transience and letting go.

In the fourth part of the book Irvine, describes again the metaphysical bases of ancient stoicism, which Irvine rejects by rephrasing stoic insights against a backdrop of evolutionary naturalism. Many readers may not be convinced by this attempt to jettision stoicism out of its original context. I think Irvine's point could be better made not by substituting one metaphysical view for another but rather by eliminating the need for a metaphysical "underpinning" for a philosophy of life altogether. The latter stoics showed little interest in teleology or metaphysics. In other words, stoicism stands of falls on its own merits and results as a philosophy and does not require a metaphysical support. This conclusion is consistent with much modern "technical" philosophy, as I understand it, which Irvine claims he no longer wishes to pursue. In the final part of the book, Irvine turns autobiographical and offers insights on what a stoic practice has meant to his own life.

Throughout the book, Irvine approaches his subject with enthusiasm and with at times an almost missionary zeal. There are two parts to the story to be distinguished. The first is the value to a person of developing a philosophy of life. Convincing the reader of the value of a philosophy of life is Irvine's greater goal and, most of the time, it is the source of his enthusiasm and preaching to the reader. The second is the stoic philosophy that Irvine has adopted for himself. Here too, Irvine develops his stoic philosophy and tries to persuade his readers. But he recognizes that a single philosophy will not suit all temperaments, and that there are varied approaches to the good life. His approach has strong components of pragmatism as taught by William James.

This is an excellent work of philosophy for non-specialists. A growing number of philosophers work to make their thoughts accessible, and Irvine is, perhaps, too harsh on the academic study of philosophy. The book has received substantial attention, with many thoughtful reviews and valuable criticisms.

...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 24, 2014 Aniket rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book after having read The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman, and The obstacle is the way by Ryan Holiday, and parts of "Meditations". I would suggest the beginner to Stoicism to read Burkeman's book first, the concepts and principles involved stick better in Burkeman who backs up the principle tenets of Stoicism with extensive anecdotes, and cites psychological findings. Irvine's book is much more qualitative and self-help like, which is useful to refresh your understanding of Stoici ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 05, 2011 Neil White rated it 2 of 5 stars

As much as I wanted to like this book, I'm forced to give it little more than a resounding "meh" with a B+ for effort. As much as I enjoy the subject matter, and appreciated the author's attempt to bring an ancient philosophy in line with the present day (which he does do with success), the writing itself feels stuck somewhere between a soft, feel-good self-help title that helps one live their life to the fullest, and a serious academic study of an influential philosophy. It seems Irvine couldn' ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 07, 2015 Micole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very accessibly written, easy to apply guide to stoicism

Appreciate what you have (negative visualization)

Focus on what you can control (dichotomy/trichotomy of control) and do not concern yourself with things that are actually irrelevant (who invited you where, who complimented or insulted you)

Ask yourself, are you living by your values, not are you succeeding by someone else's (misguided) measures of success (wealth, material things, status symbols)

Practice poverty, discomfort, challenge... T ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 07, 2014 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book rather helpful and enjoyable to read. It's a good combination of the theoretical and practical. Earlier this year, I had been reading-up on Buddhism and, before that, on Taoism; I can see a pretty fair amount of overlap with Stoicism as it was outlined here...it feels like a good midpoint between the two. And where Stoicism does diverge a bit, I'd say that is an even better fit for me. For instance, I have been doing some form of negative visualization my whole adult life, and ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2015 Pooya added it · review of another edition

خواندنی

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 04, 2015 Joost rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy-of-life

An introduction to an ancient philosophy of life in the form of a self-help book. One might be irritated by the form, if one feels themselves above such things. One might be irritated by the tone, which is, in a sense, defensive. It is exactly this tone that captures the point of this book, though. It is not a thorough essay on the virtues of stoicism, on its history, or a thorough philosophical investigation. It is not supposed to give the ardent student of ancient philosophy new material to st ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2010 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is a great introduction to the basic ideas of Stoic philosophy - not "stoic" in the common meaning of the word, but the ideas and practices of the Greek and Roman Stoic philosophers. Professor Irvine's wonderful book achieves a number of great things. First, he clarifies what Stoic philosophy is and isn't. But just as importantly, he does so by bringing the stoic philosophers to life for the reader. In doing so, he encourages the reader to go beyond his book and dive into the original ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2013 Sam Torode rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a beautiful book in every way, starting with the cover image and design. It's an introduction to ancient Stoic philosophy (primarily Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius), with a focus on applying Stoic insights to modern life.

For me, the most important (and difficult) aspect of Stoicism is letting go of all things outside of our control. The only path to tranquility is to focus on our own thoughts and actions, do our best, and not worry about outcomes. One helpful example Irvine gives ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 11, 2013 Nick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Nick by: Todd Becker

Very actionable and has already improved my subjective experience countless times. I made a checklist for a few Stoic habits I can run through once a week to keep my mind on the practice:

- Negatively visualize: imagine losing something.
- Negatively retrospectively visualize: imagine never having had something I lost.
- Have I been careful to internalize my goals?
- Have I paid attention to the future and refrained from dwelling on the past?
- Have I been practicing self-denial?
- Have I been respond ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 18, 2014 John Doyle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Modern interpretation of Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus that describes a path to "peace-of-mind." Friends won't be surprised that much of the advice seems quite natural to me.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2015 Fatima rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, philosophy

I read about the idea of negative visualization as opposed to thinking positive in a different book and I was really interested in learning more about it and more about the Stoics who introduced it. In this book the author takes us through a journey of learning the Stoics practices. The ultimate goal of those practices is to achieve tranquility through various techniques such as distinguishing between the things we can control and the things we can’t control and observing those people who can me ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 13, 2015 AlamoJack rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book is one man’s interpretation of various Stoic source materials blended into a pseudo-scientific philosophical snack bar. “Eat my special blend of Stoic ingredients and you too can live a tranquil life!”

Admittedly, Stoicism, like many philosophical systems, is not static, and Mr. Irvine has done a fine job interpreting some key points of Stoic philosophy in an attempt to develop a practical philosophy that, according to him, has positively impacted his life. I enthusiastically agree with This book is one man’s interpretation of various Stoic source materials blended into a pseudo-scientific philosophical snack bar. “Eat my special blend of Stoic ingredients and you too can live a tranquil life!”

Admittedly, Stoicism, like many philosophical systems, is not static, and Mr. Irvine has done a fine job interpreting some key points of Stoic philosophy in an attempt to develop a practical philosophy that, according to him, has positively impacted his life. I enthusiastically agree with him (and the Stoics) that philosophy must have a practical approach. (“Vain is the word of a philosopher which does not heal any suffering of humankind. For just as there is no profit in medicine if it does not expel the diseases of the body, so there is no profit in philosophy either, if it does not expel the suffering of the mind.” -Epicurus.)

This book, however, is an end product, and should not be a reader’s first foray into the field of Stoicism. I recommend avoiding a book that states “I’ve read it all, pulled out the important stuff, and developed a plan for you to follow.” A careful reader will wonder what is left out and whether the conclusions about Stoic thought are the author’s own interpretation. For example, the author largely bases the entire project on his conclusion that the ultimate goal of Stoicism is simple mental tranquility, and works backwards from this conclusion. “Tranquility” is an odd word. It certainly has its place in Stoicism. Does “tranquil” mean the same to you as “content” or “satisfied”? Not to many readers, and these nuances are lost in the author’s pursuit of tranquility. He glosses over the important Stoic calls for public service, social duties, and the development of virtues.

This book is not a comprehensive summary or digest of Stoicism. It has some well-intentioned summary material that the author selected towards developing his own plan. If you have read a few Stoic materials, then it may be worth your time to compare his approach and interpretation with yours. The author invites you to do the same in the chapter “A Stoic Reading Program.” ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 02, 2012 Anthony rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-and-social-sciences

The advice and practicalities outline by the author in order to practice Stoicism made perfect sense to me. In fact, I have probably had the experience of engaging all or some of the techniques involved which made me realize perhaps either I have been a closet Stoic all along, or the philosophy is amenable to my natural temperament and outlook on life. I found the book to be a great guide to further incorporate Stoicism to my life in a disciplined manner, as well as a great motivator in whetting ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 23, 2010 Nathan added it

This book pushed a lot of my buttons: practical philosophy, Greek and Roman history, and an attitude to tranquility (you achieve it by not stressing over things you can't control) that's very in line with my own. I should have enjoyed it more than I did.

The takeaways were good: some practical exercises and attitudes to help maintain calm in the face of a life that doesn't always go one's way. The most useful is the negative visualization: rather than focusing on what life would be like if you go ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 20, 2015 Cinematic Cteve rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves:

Quite simple, really. Deceptively so. Always remember: you're alive, so be grateful. Never complain. It serves no purpose and nobody cares, anyway. Similarly, jettison negative people from your circle. They serve no purpose other than to drag you down. Above all, think not of what you want in life, but what you want out of life. What is the passion, which if followed, means you will never fear of living a life wasted? Pursue that.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 16, 2012 William1 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: us, nonfiction, 21-ce, philosophy

This is a very practical guide to living well. Please don't let the grounding in philosophy put you off. The Stoics were the most useful of philosophers. What Irvine has done is to distill the teachings of Seneca, Epictetus, Musonius, Marcus Aurelius and the others into concise guidelines that can be applied to everyday life. No abstractions heaped on abstractions here. This is lively prose intended to instill a number of basic mental concepts that can bring tranquility--the overarching Stoic id ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2015 Adam Fullerton rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

This book was introduced to me a friend and college who was aware of my interest in Zen Buddhism as a philosophy of life. I read and was immediately convinced of the quality of stoicism in modern life. It fit almost perfectly into my already established paradigm and I now practice it regularly.

As a student of stoicism, you will find that the information presented in this book is somewhat different from the Greek and Roman Stoics of the past. I found that the blending of the two worked well as i ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 08, 2010 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book was divided into four parts: history, techniques, advice and stoicism today. My favorite section was on techniques. Although some of the terminology was different, many of the ideas are common:
1) Negative Visualization (Imagining the worst and planning through it)
2) Dichotomy of Control (Making your sphere of concern match up with your sphere of influence)
3) Fatalism (Similar to 2 but related to time - we can't change the past)
4) Self-Denial
5) Meditation (Mindfulness with reflection)

My ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2014 K. rated it 4 of 5 stars

A clearly written and easy to digest book on one philosophy of life that enlivens its ancient beginnings. Though the author begins with a brief introduction of its history, the depth of this book is in how one lives the stoic philosophy. It changed my vision on what Stoicism is. Take what you want from the philosophy to incorporate in your own life, if only a better understanding on how the ancients viewed the world.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 04, 2015 Ellen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Looking for a philosophy of life that can bring you joy? Ancient Stoicism may be for you depending on your personality and circumstances. This author does a good job at making philosophy easy to understand and a reasonable way of living.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

Philosophy

289 users

Non Fiction

126 users

Psychology

36 users

Self Help

31 users

History

14 users

Spirituality

12 users

Self Help > Personal Development

10 users

Religion

4 users

Classics

3 users

Menage > M M M

2 users

See top shelves...

Books by William B. Irvine

A Slap in the Face: Why Insults Hurt--And Why They Shouldn't

AHA!: The Moments of Insight That Shape Our World

More…

Share This Book

+ Share on your website

Trivia About A Guide to the Go...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from A Guide to the Good Li...

“Indeed, pursuing pleasure, Seneca warns, is like pursuing a wild beast: On being captured, it can turn on us and tear us to pieces. Or, changing the metaphor a bit, he tells us that intense pleasures, when captured by us, become our captors, meaning that the more pleasures a man captures, “the more masters will he have to serve.” — 11 likes

“Your primary desire, says Epictetus, should be your desire not to be frustrated by forming desires you won’t be able to fulfill.” — 8 likes

More quotes…

title link	preview: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
avg rating	preview: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy Goodreads rating: 4.16 (3494 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5617966-a-guide-to-the-good-life?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429872677l/5617966.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5617966-a-guide-to-the-good-life?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine[/url]

See a Problem?

Preview — A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

Books by William B. Irvine

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About A Guide to the Go...

Quotes from A Guide to the Good Li...

See a Problem?

Preview — A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

Books by William B. Irvine

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About A Guide to the Go...

Quotes from A Guide to the Good Li...

new topic
Discuss This Book