Fortitude to Failure: Pseudo-Stoicism's Effects on Young Men

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

This week, I undertook the pleasure of beginning my rewatch of “The Good Place”. At the time of writing, I have consumed approximately 8 hours of content, and have been entertained far longer by considering the ethics and dilemmas that Michael Schur poses in his signature light-hearted flair. Each episode feels like a bite-sized lesson on some broad topic within the fields of ethics and moral philosophy, ultimately culminating in a discussion of ethical consumption within a capitalistic society.

Regardless, I digress. This post isn’t a critical review of The Good Place, nor is it commentary on moral consumerism. Being gently nudged back into a philosophy headspace and ricocheting from last week’s blog post on the evolution of the internet, I began thinking about how classical philosophers would interpret our behavior on the internet. My immediate thoughts jumped to Nietzsche growing even crazier as he saw his 50th “We literally live on a floating rock in space” TikTok butchering nihilism, or Sartre having a heart attack trying to cope with the fact that an influencers job consists of being constantly perceived (and therefore living in a perpetual state of objectification, as discussed in his work, Nausea). However, what I found to be more relevant and important was the mangling of stoicism that has taken over the algorithm of vulnerable youth – young men, in particular. This misinterpretation of the stoic lifestyle has been weaponized as a false light, illuminating the path towards alternative pipelines.

The Origins of Stoicism:

To truly understand the premise of the modern issue, it’s important to understand the dogma of classical stoicism and its original intent and purpose. Within the community of formal Stoicism, it’s clear that three philosophers emerge as the face of the philosophy. Seneca, Epictetus, and most notably, Marcus Aurelius.

Aurelius, an esteemed emperor of the Roman Empire, faced no shortage of adversity during his reign. Almost constantly under attack, Aurelius was known for his defensive military success, defending invaders from modern-day Belgium, Slovakia, Armenia, Iran, and stopping rebellions all over his empire from Egypt to Spain. Additionally, he led his people through the Antonine Plague, believed to have killed roughly one third of the Roman population (estimated 5 to 10 million people). Due to acts like encouraging fair trials, or exiles rather than executions, as well as being known to give away personal belongings to those in need, Marcus Aurelius was loved among the Romans (unlike his son, Commodus).

It’s not an unfair assessment to say Aurelius was indubitably the most powerful man in the world. An entire empire at his command, Marcus Aurelius, supreme ruler of the world, is best remembered for… a personal diary? Aurelius never intended to publish “Meditations”, his own private work. This diary did not include Aurelius’ plans for world domination, or how to avoid corruption in Rome, but rather was an assortment of thoughts and exercises on how to live a noble and virtuous life. The man who could have gotten away with anything spent all his free time theorizing, reiterating, and philosophizing about how to be a kind and ethical person to himself and those around him. In fact, much of his thinking was heavily inspired by Epictetus, as mentioned earlier, a literal slave.

You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

- Marcus Aurelius

Aurelius is one of the loudest voices on how to live a Stoic life. Stoics have a few key beliefs:

• Virtue (justice, courage, wisdom, and temperance) is the only true good,
• Align yourself with the universe’s natural order (self-righteous way to say everything happens for a reason)
• Momento Mori
• The Dichotomy of Control: You cannot control what happens to you, only how you respond.

When exercised correctly, Stoicism is a beautifully framed set of definitive rules to maximize the amount of good one inflicts upon oneself and those within one’s community in a finite life. Control what you can, and let go of what you cannot.

The Rise of Pseudo-Stoicism:

Okay, enough with that history lesson. Here’s my take: self-proclaimed self-help gurus are preaching a harmfully bastardized and oversimplified version of stoicism to impressionable youth.

It should come as no shock that more individuals are receiving their news from TikTok or Instagram these days. Furthermore, platforms that specialize in short-form media are most popular among the younger generation. Content ranging from five seconds to three minutes in length is an insulting substitution for proper research when considering that Stoicism is a complex lifestyle that philosophers spend years trying to apply effectively in their lives. This is precisely why Gen Z is being spoon-fed an illegitimate form of stoicism – one that usually only speaks on the dichotomy of control, rather than a holistic view of the Big 3 Roman Stoics’ teachings.

The biggest concerns with traditional stoicism are the teachings’ inherent dismissal of emotional expression and emphasis on trained detachment. I personally believe this is where Stoics fall short; to refuse yourself the privilege to feel is to rob yourself of the human experience. Regardless of your perspective on this aspect of the school of thought, it is undeniable that a diluted Stoic system with an almost exclusive emphasis on “letting go of what you cannot control” is skewed towards self-denial and suppression of emotions. Vehemence is a vital part of facing the definition of humanity.

In addition to this, the repression of emotions is not a new phenomenon for maellable youth in society. This has been taught to young men around the world long before the teachings of stoicism had been conceptualized. It’s no secret that the definition of masculinity is evolving – growing from the ashes of the harmful system that burned itself to death. The human mind is resistant to change, and to be vulnerable and feel carries an intrinsic shock value within the manosphere. Millions of people are preaching that “masculinity is under attack,” driving uncomfortable youth back to the state of numbness and apathy that this unsanctioned variant of stoicism preaches.

I believe it is our job as men to re-educate ourselves on what it truly means to be Stoic, and even more so, what it truly means to be a man. Strength is not running from that which forces you to confront yourself. Apathy, expressionlessness, and unconcern are pathetic excuses hiding beneath a trench coat, trying to pose as fortitude. Be a man, and be ambitiously introspective and emotional.

Talk soon, Ahmed