Today marks the seventh annual Stoicon – the world’s largest gathering of modern people interested in understanding and applying the ancient philosophy of Stoicism! It brings together academics, practicing psychotherapists, professionals of other sorts, and people of all walks of life in an intense one-day set of talks, workshops, and conversations, capped off each year by a longer talk by an author who has made major contributions to the understanding of Stoicism (this year, it is Anthony Long).
If you couldn’t make it to Stoicon in London this year, never fear! We’ll be videorecording some of the talks and workshops and posting those as they become available. We’ll also be publishing transcripts and summaries here in Stoicism Today over the coming months, starting with Professor Long’s keynote address.
Here are the talks and workshops – and the people providing them – at Stoicon this year.
- A Welcome to the Conference by John Sellars
- Report on Stoic Week by Tim LeBon
- Imagining the Worst: Strategies of Visualisation in Seneca’s Letters by Catharine Edwards
- Stoicism and Sustainable Development by Kai Whiting
- How Buddhist is Stoicism? by Antonia Macaro
- Marcus Aurelius: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson
- How Seneca Can Help you Manage Anger and Frustration by Tim LeBon
- The Stoic Heart: Stoicism and Partnered Relationships by Greg Sadler and Andi Sciacca
- The Proper Application of Preconceptions: Curing “the Cause of All Human Ills” by Greg Lopez
- Stoic Rationality in an Irrational World by Walter Matweychuk
- Happiness, Stoic and Aristotelian by Chris Gill and Gabriele Galluzo
- Lessons in Stoic Leadership from Seneca by Liz Gloyn
- A Stoic Approach to Travel and Tourism by William Stephens
- Comparing Stoicism to Minimalism: Two Paths to Virtue by Dan Lampert
- Two Great Misinterpretations of Stoicism: Ascetic and Conservative by Piotr Stankiewicz
And of course, our keynote address, Stoicisms Ancient and Modern by Anthony Long!
Stoic Week follows almost immediately after Stoicon, and runs from Monday, October 1 to Sunday, October 7. If you haven’t already enrolled in the Stoic Week online class, here’s the link to do so. It’s free, and it’s a great way to “Live Like A Stoic” (the original title, back in 2012).
There are also local events happening all over the world that you might be able to participate in, depending on where you live. Here is our listing of them so far:
Upcoming Stoicon-X Events Worldwide
Thursday and Friday, October 4 & 5- Bonn, Germany – Stoic Camp Bonn. Hosted by Dr. Markus Rüther and Ralph Kurz at the University of Bonn. Come for a set of talks, workshops, and discussions. Email Dr. Markus Rüther or Ralph Kurz or go here for more information.
Sunday, October 14, 2:00-4:00 PM – San Lorenzo, USA – StoiconX Bay Area – Information Day, includes an introduction to Stoic philosophy and for an opportunity to learn about The International Stoic Fellowship, showcasing local groups including San Francisco-Berkeley, Fremont and Sunnyvale. Location is the San Lorenzo Library, Learning Center. For more details, go to their meetup site
Sunday October 21, 1:00-5:00 PM -Worcester, USA – StoiconX New England. Includes an overview of Stoicism, 5-minute “Lightning Speeches” and discussions, readings from Stoics, and a host of discussions. Location is 90 Main St. Worcester, MA 01608, and cost is $10 per person. To purchase tickets or get more information, go here
Sunday, October 28, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM – Brisbane, Australia – StoiconX Brisbane – A full day of events, including an interview with Massimo Pigliucci, presentations by Alex Magee, Allan Hare, Brian Pringle, Peter Oram, Shannon Murray, and Lars Andersson. For more details, go to their meetup site.
There may be additional Stoicon-X events in other locations. We’ll add them to the list as soon as we have full information about them.
Upcoming Stoic Week Events WorldWide
Saturday September 29, 1:30 PM – Seattle, USA – the Seattle Analytic Philosophy Club has invited Thomas Opryszek to give a talk on Stoicism in Action and Stoic Week 2018. Location is the Seattle Public Library, Northgate Branch. For more information, see their meetup site.
Sunday, September 30, 4:00 PM – New York City, USA – the New York City Stoics and the Stoic School of Life will be hosting Dr. Massimo Pigliucci, discussing Stoic practice, to celebrate the upcoming Stoic Week. Location is 550 Madison Avenue, New York City. For more information, see their meetup site.
Monday, October 1, 7:00 PM – Orlando, USA – The Orlando Stoics will be hosting an “Open House Monday” at the Panera Bread Cafe, 296 E. Michigan Street, Orlando FL 32806. For more information, see their meetup site.
Tuesday, October 2, 6:00 PM – Denver, USA – The Denver Stoics will be hosting a meeting, “Stoic Week: The Big Picture and How to Practice” at Coffee at the Point. More information available here
Tuesday, October 2, 6:30 PM – Greeley, USA – The Department of Philosophy at the University of Northern Colorado will host a guest lecture and discussion by Evan Oakley in Ross Hall 1040. For more information, email Nancy Matchett.
Wednesday, October 3, 7:30 PM – Chicago, USA – The New Acropolis Chicago will be hosting a workshop, “Can You Trust Your Feelings? Mastering Your Emotions”. More information and tickets available here.
Thursday, October 4, 7:30 PM – Chicago, USA – The New Acropolis Chicago will host another workshop, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want? – The Stoic art of Contentment”. More information and tickets available here.
Friday, October 5, 7:30 PM – Chicago, USA – The New Acropolis Chicago will host a third workshop,”Stoic Love – Stoic Guidelines for Successful Relationships”. More information and tickets available here.
Friday, October 5, 8:00 PM -Poços de Caldas, Brazil -The Poços de Caldas Stoics will he hosting a “A Night with the Heroes” at Rua Paraibuna, 21 – São Benedito – Poços de Caldas. More information and tickets available here.
Saturday, October 6, 8:00 AM – Winnipeg, Canada – Stoicism Winnipeg will be hosting a discussion of Stoic Week at the Forks Market at a booth close to the Fools & Horses coffee bar. More information is available here.
Saturday, October 6, 3:30 PM – Milwaukee, USA – The MKE Stoic Fellowship and SOPHIA-MKE are sponsoring a talk by Gregory Sadler, “Stoic Philosophy and the Value of Money”, at the central branch of the Milwaukee Public Library. More information and tickets available here.
Saturday, October 6, 9:00 PM – Orlando, USA – the Orlando Stoics will be hosting a “Stoics Night Out” at the Universal City Walk, 6000 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819. For more information, see their meetup site.
If you’re planning an event, email me with the details, and we’ll add it to our list and to the post right before Stoic Week.
Groups, Institutions, and Organizations Meeting In Stoic Week
Here are the groups, organizations, and institutions that will be meeting at least once to participate together in the Stoic Week class together:
Stoic Week Discussion Group: London, UK – organized by Bryce Peterson, meeting daily 1-6 October in Bloombury. A survey is available to determine what times people would like to meet. Time and location TBD at this point.
The Colorado Springs Stoa, USA – organized by David Emery, meeting several times over the course of Stoic Week at Peak Place, Colorado Springs. More information available here.
University of Northern Colorado, USA – organized by Nancy Matchett, meeting on campus. For more information, email Nancy Matchett
Houston Stoics, USA – organized by Andrew Sauls, meeting on Tuesday, October 2nd. For more information, email Andrew Sauls or check their Facebook page.
Vancouver Stoics, Canada – organized by J.B. Bell, meeting Wednesday, October 3 to discuss Stoic Week. For more information, check their meetup page.
Aims Community College -partnering with the University of Northern Colorado, meeting several times in Stoic Week at UNC with members of the Philosophy Club. For more information, contact Bridgette Peterson or Evan Oakley
Praetoria Stoics, South Africa – organized by Leon Stander, they will be meeting virtually and in person through Stoic Week. For more information, go to their Facebook page
I wish there would’ve been a post or note advertising Stoicon 2018 before the day of the event itself! I, like many others I would think, just signed up to do Stoic Week in the last week or so, and I didn’t see any mention anywhere of Stoicon 2018 taking place in London or when. I would’ve love to go!
The first post about Stoicon in London in Stoicism Today ran in February – here it is: https://modernstoicism.com/save-the-date-stoicon-2018-in-london/
Then we ran additional posts in Stoicism Today during June and July.
We posted about Stoicon pretty regularly in all the social media groups as well.
Not sure how you missed all of that