What we’re about
Welcome to Orlando Stoics! We are a very active group, with 3300+ members and 5 meetings a week. Some meetings are online and others are in-person. All classes are free. We also have annual events, like "Stoicon-X Orlando" in November (for the Modern Stoicism movement) and our Winter Social in December (Stoics are allowed to have fun, too).
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 limit the emails and notifications. 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, when you want to.
What is Stoicism? It's an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded about 300 BC in Athens. 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.
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 major influence on Shakespeare, JD Salinger, Tom Wolfe, and Nelson Mandela. It’s also attracted political and military leaders, such as Frederick the Great, President Bill Clinton, and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who said he 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!
Upcoming events (1)
See all- ONLINE / ENGLISH: 5000 Years of Skepticism, Part 2, Ancient PeriodsLink visible for attendees
This is a new Sunday lecture. Meeting starts 9:00AM with friendly conversation, then a dialogue at 9:15AM and a Q&A discussion follows.
DESCRIPTION
Our new series is on Skepticism. We will start in Egypt, India, and Greece, and then move forward through the centuries. We will consider how Skepticism has helped humanity make progress, including correcting old notions and fixing mistakes. The schedule appears below, so you can mark your calendars. We hope you will join us for this interesting series on Skepticism.
SCHEDULE
4-27 Part 1: Introduction
5-04 Part 2: Ancient Periods of Skepticism
5-11 Part 3: Skepticism in the Common Era
5-18 Part 4: Skepticism in the Renaissance Period
5-25 Part 5: Skepticism in the Enlightenment Period
6-01 Part 6: (TBD)
6-08 Part 7: (TBD)READING MATERIALS
Part 2, Ancient Periods of Skepticism
- Ptah Hotep, Egypt (c. 2500 BCE), https://www.willbuckingham.com/ptahhotep/
- Charvarka, India (c. 600 BCE) https://www.worldhistory.org/Charvaka/
- Pyrrho of Ellis, Greece (c. 300 BCE) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_skepticism#Pyrrho_of_Elis
- Zhuang Zhou (c. 300 BCE) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_skepticism#Zhuang_Zhou_(c.369%E2%80%93_c._286_BCE)TIMEZONES
For our members in other states:
6:00 AM Pacific Time USA
7:00 AM Mountain Time USA
8:00 AM Central Time USA
9:00 AM Eastern Time USAIn other countries, please convert time using this free tool:
https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/ZOOM INFO
The meeting starts at 9:00AM Eastern Time. After 15 minutes of chat, the presentation starts at 9:15AM sharp.
CLICK TO JOIN - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86390590096
This group enjoys open-minded, respectful conversations. If we differ in our opinions, then "we agree to disagree". The long-term goal is to improve our minds via group discussions.
This meeting is free and open to the public.
