The Manosphere Ruined Stoicism, But We Can Save It 

Join Shortform for a FREE 5 day trial, and 20% off an annual membership: www.shortform.com/fads I think it's a really neat service and it helped a ton with this video!

"...behaving rationally does't mean ignoring your emotions. It means feeling them fully, and deciding whether or not to act upon them." Brilliant, and very eloquently put.

I have always considered my dad to be stoic. He is almost 70, always been quiet, listens more than speaks, he chooses his words wisely, never has a bad thing to say about anyone. very kind and gentle, and always level-headed. Nothing flusters or angers him. It's quite a contrast to his appearance, as he is a very tall, strong builder and carpenter, but the complete opposite in personality to the stereotypical builder. He spends lots of time doing zen activities like tending to his flowers, planting seeds & growing vegetables. He also says that working with wood is very calming. If he had a DnD class, he would be a druid. 😂

It feels kinda weird how redpillism is so huge on the internet, yet I am yet to find an actual primal masculine redpill man in real life. It almost feels like all the redpilled men, become redpilled precisely because they don't live in reality. They live in instagram and onlyfans, and the only women they see are instagram and onlyfans models, which they could never afford to be with. That's why they're angry at women all the time.

Stoicism does not equal sociopathy. That's what the red pill doesn't understand.

"ignoring one's emotions entirely allows us to... ignore the suffering that other people go through" dude, you hit the nail on the head with that one

I remember, 3 years ago, I got super into Stoicism. It really helped at the time to get me heading in a healthy way.. until everyone else jumped on the Stoic train and kind of derailed it's intentions. It felt like it was taken from being about how to be more resilient to.. toxic positivity and how-to guide on being delusional.

most of the manosphere is the complete opposite of stoicism. stoicism teaches you to be humble and live a happy life regardless of what you have while the manosphere insists the path to happiness is the pursuit in material wealth, social validation and an extra large ego

This was such a good video. I like to recommend that people always read the source material, because the online hype around Stoicism really misrepresents it. Epictetus, another famous Stoic, was a Roman slave, and he found great comfort in Stoic teachings. I highly recommend his works!

This is such a gem of a channel. I love your videos so much, man. You’re at a level of knowledge and understanding that very few people on the internet are. Easily worth a million subs!

Common sense: Express your emotions to help you avoid acting on them Broicism: Act on your emotions to help you avoid expressing them

The manosphere in my opinion scares me. I practice stoicism myself, I did it so that I can change my emotions and kinda change my life, not become some "alpha male" or Andrew Tate or Sneako 2.11. I'm myself. I don't want a fancy lifestyle or be an asshole, I just want to be a better version of myself like everyone else that practices stoicism. Thanks for this video sir.

For me, Stoicism was a gateway to more complex schools of philosophy. I started out by reading quotes from Seneca that led to the other notable stoics and later existentialism, pragmatism, Plus some Eastern philosophy like Buddhism and Confucianism. Philosophy is for making people think and challenge their own reasoning, not acquiring material wealth. Something the majority of philosophers thought to be unnecessary after a certain level.

I was at a funeral for a lady I admired in life, who treated me like her grandson despite us being unrelated and who always seemed reasonably pleased to have me in her life. During her eulogy her stoic character was remarked upon several times, with appropriately positive examples. It's interesting to me that when we do that we are perhaps thinking of it in terms of a virtue that we are reasonably okay not to possess, as though we secretly value our inability to exhibit the key traits, that somehow it might signify that we are more frail and therefore more human.

I came across this post a while ago with this mindset of "not caring" as a way to be cool or solve these "grievances". It's a solution which makes you devoid of all emotions by suppressing and ignoring them. It doesn't work. Everything that you suppress either lingers or comes back 10x worse. I commented something along the lines or "this doesn't work" and someone told me I didn't try hard enough. What does getting rid of emotions give us more power to do? We don't need to dominate and control others and ourselves in order to solve emotional pain. It's kind of like the "villain arc" that was trending for a while. There is more control in letting yourself feel emotions than in restraining yourself for the sake of revenge or power. I like these videos. Been waiting for the next one for a while. They make me think.

As someone with anxiety I do find some of the principles of Stoicism to be very helpful and calming. I look at it as being pragmatic. You use your inner self to determine where you can best help others and make change. It isn't about the idea that all you must do is change your mindset, but that trying ti find clarity can help you find the best thing to *do*

I remember learning about Stoicism in an ethics class and thinking it was so interesting, but slowly realizing it was just confirming a bunch of things that are already built into our society in kind of a toxic way. So many traits of Stoicism are used like an ethical map for psycho billionaires, and then they skip over the empathetic parts. Also, loved the end lol

Dude, the amount of empathy you approach these subjects with is so refreshing. Loved the video, take care.

I’ve always said stoicism is not about not feeling emotions but about identifying them and making sure they are truthful and appropriate for the situation. That said, philosophy has evolved significantly past stoicism and it hasn’t been taken seriously for some time even under its most faithful interpretation.

Manosphere is masquerading as a form of stoicism, when in fact it is hedonism.

came to this channel via the FD signifier shoutout and i love this content style! you make videos deserving of hundreds of thousands of views each, and i really hope this channel becomes more popular.

Your delivery is so calming :) also thanks for pointing to the philosophy tube video on stoicism! Abigail’s video are so much fun and thought provoking. I’ve been learning about stoicism and other Ancient Greek philosophy since Ali Abdaal made his first video on Stoicism. Recently, I’ve found myself more inclined towards Epicureanism, which also has been misinterpreted by its modern day use of the lower case word ‘epicurean’.

hi :) i thought i'd share that right after watching a great video on a person's weeklong dopamine detox, i got recommended your video delving deeper into the physiological aspects of dopamine. i really enjoyed it and it shifted my course from thinking about doing a 1 week dopamine detox, to thinking about life and why i really do some of the things i do. you seem really sweet and i love your style and the general relaxed informational aspect of your channel

I can't believe I'm only just discovering your channel, what great content. It's sad the way Stoicism seems to have turned into a way to justify isolation or a lack of emotional awareness rather than a way of connecting with your own emotional experience and improving your overall self-awareness.

I find your personality and way of presenting information to be so calming and comforting. That’s a hard thing to accomplish, considering this stuff is heavy. Your amazing, just subscribed.

stoicism isn't about going it alone, it's about requiring anything from another, because that's when they can enslave us, and that's when we can be made to do evil and suffer. It's not about giving up power or claiming power, it's about knowing what you do and don't have power over and holding back emotional judgement for the things we can't control. (do not mix up the words "don't" and "can't"). Stoicism isn't about having a fancy car and lots of women, it's moreso about how worthless those things are in actuality(not that they can't be used for worth while things, a car can be used to transport people to a hospital, but the car itself is worthless without a worthwhile end). TL;DR: Stoicism is the idea that everything that's truly valuable to you is within your power already, the ability to act virtuously by being just, wise, tempered, and courageous. No man can take your ability to act virtuously, and so no man can threaten you, enslave you, destroy what you love, and you can be free for however long you live. "but the man who is a slave will live longer!" does he really live?

Dude, this channel is so underrated... Keep up the great work!

It's nice to as someone online that has an understanding that one thing isn't dying your life. You have a nuanced perspective on things and I love it.

TERRIFIC video. As an old guy who took several Philosophy classes in college a hundred years ago I see a lot of appeal in Stoicism but I ALSO see how it’s been co-opted by ugly manosphere types. Thanks for this concise, thoughtful examination of the path to reclaim it for everyone.

I just wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation for your thought-provoking videos. I find myself eagerly awaiting each new video, as they always leave me with a fresh perspective on the topic. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion with us. Keep up the fantastic work!

I find it funny that people like Tate are seen as “traditional” too.

The way you explain things is so easy to digest I haven’t seen you in my feed in a while glad to catch a new video 😊

only 3 minutes in but the manner in which you present yourself really calms and enlightens me at the same time. thank you for having such a healthy way of approaching the world and hope youre having a wonderful day :)

Just yesterday i thought about this channel. I was starting to miss your videos. And today i saw that you posted a video. Keep up the good work. It's always nice to see you.

Love your message and how it is presented. So many folks need to discover these ideas and apply them in their own way to their lives. Hope for the best in your future!

The sheer hilarity of you being interrupted mid-sentence by a Tony Robbins advert just perfectly illustrated your point. Great video on Stoicism!

Omg this video is so well made. Love the way you talk and the calm aesthetic of this video. You earned yourself a sub frfr

Your videos are always a breath of fresh air in the noise. Thank you Fads.

I don’t know why but I’m not able to talk how I used to. I used to be able to talk to girls, and basically talk my way into their life and eventually with almost any girl I could have fall in love with me. Then there was a two year gap of no dating, and then a serious relationship happened. It went through its spell, grand beginning, weeded out in the middle, and crashed at the end. That was Nov 11 2023 for me. When everything ended. Now, the only thing I have is imposter syndrome. No matter what situation I’m in, I don’t feel like I belong in my family anymore, around friends, I do not feel like I belong anywhere. Something serious has changed for me, I’m unable to be how I used to be. I was a lot more outgoing, but something changed and it’s made it really hard for me to comfortable. Why? I did feel like for the entire year and a half I lived with my girlfriend that I was nothing more than an imposter with sexual needs. Eventually, I lost myself to that syndrome and slowly drove her away. It’s maddening. Why must I change? Why do I feel like this all the time? Like I don’t belong? I’m slowly healing and starting to feel like I belong in my own room and my own house. I don’t feel like I was created for a job, school, money, or anything the US has made. It’s a depressing reality. If I could’ve chosen where I was Born, id want to have been born into a tribe, or some offgrid family. Because that’s the way a human is meant to live, nothing but relationships, worrying about what you’ll eat, etc. that’s the simple life I feel like I was created for. So now, no matter where I am I always feel like an imposter because of how much stimulation is in the modern life. It’s sickening and makes me depressed. But as I said, I’m healing and I’m slowly adjusting. But I don’t want to feel this way anymore. I look around, everyone is able to function like they aren’t aware of how strange the world is right now. They just live, with almost no ability to question themselves, others, or anything. How? I can do nothing but question and be so excruciatingly aware of everything that just, wouldn’t exist if I had just been born into a life a human was meant to live in, which is a simple life, full of relationships, connections, and perhaps something much more simple than SOFTWARE ENGINEERING. Like being a carpenter, and artist, etc. it’s sad too because I am an artist. I’ve been drawing my whole life. But I’m not going to chase that just because that skill is so useless in comparison to the competitiveness of the field. Please, how does one feel better about all of this? It locks me up. Makes me shutdown. Nearly had to go to a mental hospital. But like I said, I’m barely picking up the things I need to keep going. When another push comes to shove, I may break all the way back down. And that’s what I always do, it’s the same cycle I’ve had since I was 13 when I had all of these realizations and started becoming more and more unstable.

I’m so happy this guy is popping off. Such wholesome and informative content.

amazing cut, clear communication, entertaining script - awesome guy

Really good video! Please keep making these

As I'm sure many people have said already, for anyone serious about Stoicism, reading the source material is essential. Seneca's letters are brilliant (a channel called Vox Stoica has audio recordings of most, and they start only 5-10 minutes long). Marcus Aurelius' meditations and the Enchiridion are also great places to start. My one piece of advice would be to pay attention to the translations. Some are better than others, and the older ones (like the George Long translation for Meditations) can be a little archaic and less reader friendly.

If only more people were like you Fads!

Great video , thank you for the well put together presentation. You sir gained a follower today. Looking forward to the next videos

I want to create a new philosophy of Broicism that doesn’t suck cause it’s such a great word.

Love the content love the vibe!! Maximally pleasant keep it up

Great shoutout to Philosophy Tube. Such an awesome channel!

Hey, great video! I'll have to check out more of your stuff!

Im studying psychology and hav had the pleasure to do internships to gwt real experience. Something i always told my students (i was an intern at a school) is that whatever feelings and emotions you have are ok, you have the right to feel however you feel. You cant control them afterall and they are signs your body gives you to help you decide what to do. But we live in complex environments and to truly grow, we need to develop a healthy relashionship where we listen to our bodies and they listen to us. Feeling something is never wrong, what could be wrong or right is what you do with that feeling.

Thanks for the wonderful content! (As a tip, I think you can definitely turn up the background music a notch)

Thak you for this video, may your wisdom and your humbleness be inspiring for lost young people on the web!

Cool video. Pleased to see people talking about this with some understanding. I've certainly built a lot of Stoicisim into how I live my life and it continually amazes me how people can claim to adopt it yet display no virtue.

I really love watching your channel, not just because of the really high-quality, interesting content, but also because you seem like a really reflected, genuine person. ik one doesn't know anyone on the internet and everyone's presenting themselves a specific way but still, I hope I can be more like you someday

That was easily the smoothest transition into a sponsor I’ve ever seen👏👏 Also I loved the video❤️

Easily the most balanced (and wise) channel on youtube. I'll be binging your videos soon. Thank you for your perspective!

Good job man. Great research and very unbiased opinion, I appreciate. You earned a new sub mate! :)

I just recently found this channel. Its absolutely amazing how much knowledge you have on psychology. where do you learn it? and keep on making this awesome content :)

Fantastic vid! I saw your dopamine detox vid a while back and forgot to subscribe, thankful the algorithm showed me this video. And at a perfect time in my life! I discovered Stoicism a few days ago and realized I had been attempting to practice it for some time now, without ever putting a name to it. I always assumed Stoicism was stoicism and had been dominated by the manosphere, so I never gave it a second thought. So a few days ago, when I discovered what it really meant, I felt cheated that I let these grifters drive me away from a truly incredible philosophy. Oh well, I'm excited to deep dive into it now. This video really resonated with me. There is so much kindness in your eyes! Cant wait to binge your channel

this guy is so good. i'll be here when you reach 1 million in no time bro.

You put words on the feeling I had regarding stoicism. And that was really helpful in a way. Great vidéo.

Love your videos! Would you share where’s your video editing skills from?

The idea of accumulation of wealth beyond what we need in our projected lives is in itself a sign of greed and low self worth. It amuses me how many self help programmes simply feed this greed.

Excited for this one

9:39 is such a powerful line. Really good stuff.

Thanks, I admire your discernment

helpful video, thanks for making it

you have very great content, high quality and educationnal

"it's very often intertwined with wealth, whether it's through articles linking billionaires with stoic ideals." Poor Marcus Aurelius' having his philosophy associated with wealth.

I love this post! Nailed it!

Great video!

My hat’s off to you mate. Bravo 🙌🏼

Very interesting video. Thank you

Seneca said "Show me a man who is not a slave; one is a slave to lust, another to greed, another to ambition, and all men are slaves to fear." Stoicism is misunderstood by the majority, thinking it to be an “unemotional dedication to the hustle”. That’s just capitalistic 21st century, not stoicism. A true stoic recognizes the cost of ambition and any other vice for that matter, and constantly checks himself. Is this what I truly need? Or is this my ambition? Seneca the younger would frequently and voluntarily live on the streets to remind himself that his ambition only fed his ego, not his true needs or wants. Though we need not live on the streets as Seneca did, we should meditate on what’s truly important and live in the present moment.

This channel SHOULD HAVE MORE VIEWS !

amazing video!

I’ve been trying to condense my feelings on this sub genre of “philosophy” and you did it in one title.

Your channel is fantastic and you seem like a really intelligent and kind dude. Upload more!

I really like your content. You seem like a very sensible dude!

great video!

This was well done.👍

Good stuff 😊

Well done 👏👏👏

9:12 I completely disagree with the idea that we are "more connected than ever" the neglect and active destruction of public transport, walkable spaces, and their increased expense (along with the difficulties of car ownership) in many parts of the world actually has made us less physically connected. It's why I have friends that I could have seen in under an hour that now have to spend more than 3 hours travelling to see.

Very good content, got my sub

😮😮😮came here from fd signifier. Loved the video

These people would be completely hated by someone like Marcus Aurelius. Why must people take over definitions to fit their needs.

Loved this.

Because stoicism don't require much change and can be somehow perceived as doubling down on what men already believe. It is mostly choosing what to not do?

beautiful video

I feel bad for Marcus Aurelius. Manosphere took 10% of his Meditations and turned them into an egotic and individualistic thing. It has nothing to do with stoicisim.

I demand your channel blow up and your content is taught in schools

Finaly someone speaking about this trends affects on real and good masculanity.

Thanks!

honestly in a lot of cases the appeal of stoicism is that it "looks cool" and is an appealing male power fantasy, which is why you see a huge audience for such content is young boys (most who have never worked a day in their lives)

I’ve read that the Victorian notion of the “Stiff upper lip” came from their classical education of looking at how the Spartans behaved. I think this expression of Stoicism is one of battle hardened resolve, and has carried through into our modern age of the manosphere. As opposed to the more philosophical and introspective approach of Stoicism that as you rightly pointed out doesn’t deny the validity of such emotions as empathy. Values and principles still have an emotional underpinning, and work in synergy with logic and structure, rather than this idea of logic vs (all?) emotions. Love this video by the way man! 😁

King is back 🎉

We don't necessarily have to name every way a person feels like behaving at the moment. Because that doesn't make them a certain kind of person. It could just mean, thats how they felt at the moment. It is all theory. Yes. people who live by a principle can call themselves stoic though.

After 2 videos of yours I can give you subscription

Thank you for this! Really appreciated your breakdown between classical, philosophical stoicism versus the modern manosphere’s take. Stoicism has a lot to offer as a philosophy and it’s unfortunate to see it depicted as so repressive.