The Free Thinker Institute

https://www.meetup.com/orlando-stoics/

Welcome to Orlando Stoics! We are a very active group, with over 3,800 members and five meetings a week. Some meetings are held online, while others are in-person. All classes are free.

What is Stoicism? It's an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded in Athens about 300 BC. The first teacher was Zeno of Citium. The school taught that virtue (the highest good) is based on knowledge, and that wise people live in harmony with nature. The school also taught tolerance and self-control. Famous Stoics were Seneca the Younger, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. We also study modern Stoics.

Why Stoicism? In our world of instant gratification, constant stimulation, and endless distractions, Stoicism offers a novel perspective on life. Interested in developing an unconquerable mind? Stoicism has the answers. We also link ideas to Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Existentialism, Minimalism, and other "lived philosophy" systems. We love in-depth discussions!

If you join our group, feel free to adjust the email and notification settings to suit your preferences. Since we have new meetings every week, those emails might be too much for your inbox. Feel free to turn them off (go to our meetup page, click "You're a Member", and then click group notifications). You can still check our meetup page for upcoming events whenever you want.

The goals of our group:
1. We read the ancient books, plus the modern books on Stoicism.
2. We discuss Stoicism in the media, pop culture, and arts & literature.
3. We compare recurring themes in Stoicism to history, religion, and psychology.

There have always been people attracted to Stoicism. It was a significant influence on Shakespeare, JD Salinger, Tom Wolfe, and Nelson Mandela. It has also attracted political and military leaders, such as Frederick the Great, President Bill Clinton, and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who stated that he has read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations over 100 times.

We hope you will join us. The group is open to the public and has no subscription fee. Stoicism can help you cope with life's stresses, while retaining your ethics & character.

We hope to see you soon!

Please Join Stoic Philosophy Practice Group for fortrhcoming event descriptions and RSVP there.
https://www.meetup.com/stoicism/
This group is dedicated to the serious study and lived practice of Stoic philosophy as a way of life. Together, we explore how the teachings of the ancient Stoics can be applied thoughtfully and rigorously to the challenges of modern living.
We welcome newcomers and experienced practitioners alike. No prior background is required, only a genuine interest in examining one’s beliefs, habits, and character. Our discussions are structured to meet people where they are, while also encouraging steady growth in understanding and practice.
Our meetings focus on engaging directly with Stoic texts, reflecting on real-life situations, and considering how Stoic ideas apply to the choices we face. We emphasize virtue, self-discipline, sound judgment, and responsibility for one’s inner life not as abstract ideals, but as habits formed through daily attention and effort.
How the course works
We run an ongoing 12-chapter Stoicism 101 course that repeats continuously throughout the year.

• We meet Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
• Each night covers a different chapter
• After Chapter 12, the course loops back to Chapter 1
• You can join at any point

If you attend one night per week, you will complete the full course in about three months. If you attend multiple nights per week, you can move through the course more quickly. Each session stands on its own while also fitting into the larger structure.
Alongside the main course, every week we host Sunday Stoa, a more community-oriented, book club–style gathering.
If you’re looking for thoughtful conversation, sincere self-examination, and a community committed to practicing philosophy rather than merely talking about it, you’re very welcome to join us.

August 25 - We are reading chapter 18, of Topics, Book I, at Bekker lines 108a18–108b33. In chapter 13, we found Aristotle outlining four tools by means of which deductions come about: [ch14] obtaining premises, [ch15] distinguishing in how many ways things are said, [ch16] finding differences, and [ch17] seeing similarities. Chapter 18 will explain how the last three tools can be used to support obtaining premises.
.
Our main translator is Robin Smith: Topics Books I & VIII (Oxford University Press, 1997).
.
Smith in his helpful "Introduction" forewarns us that because we don't know what we are ignorant of, we barbarians don't know yet what dialectic is or why we need it. So there will be learning pain involved as we bootstrap ourselves toward knowing and practicing what we will learn. The payoff will be tremendous and will be commensurate with personal effort.
.
A new reading adventure beckons you and your willpower. Join us.
.
----
.
Organon means "instrument," as in, instrument for thought and speech. The term was given by ancient commentators to a group of Aristotle's treatises comprising his logical works.
.
Organon
|-- Categories ---- 2023.02.28
|-- On Interpretation ---- 2023.12.12
|-- Topics ---- 2025.10.21
|-- Topics Book II ---- 2026.09.??
|-- Sophistical Refutations
|-- Rhetoric*
|-- Prior Analytics
|-- Posterior Analytics
.
(* Robin Smith, author of SEP's 2022 entry "Aristotle's Logic," argues that Rhetoric should be part of the Organon.)
.
Whenever we do any human thing, we can either do it well or do it poorly. With instruments, we can do things either better, faster, and more; or worse, slower, and less. That is, with instruments they either augment or diminish our doings.
.
Do thinking and speaking (and writing and listening) require instruments? Yes. We do need physical instruments like microphones, megaphones, pens, papers, computers. But we also need mental instruments: grammar, vocabulary words, evidence-gathering techniques, big-picture integration methods, persuasion strategies. Thinking while sitting meditatively all day in a lotus position doesn't require much instrumentation of any kind, but thinking and speaking well in the sense of project planning, problem-solving, negotiating, arguing, deliberating--that is, the active doings in the world (whether romantic, social, commercial, or political)--do require well-honed mental instruments. That's the Organon in a nutshell.
.
Are you an up-and-coming human being, a doer, go-getter, achiever, or at least you're choosing to become one? You need to wield the Organon.
.
Join us.