Victoria Philosophy Salon

Topic: Nietzsche on Stoicism

Chairman:
Robert Light

Moderator:
Spencer Sinclaire

Meetup Date:
Wednesday, April 29th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with a 15 minute break at 8:00 p.m.

Meetup Location:
Upstairs at The Bent Mast, 512 Simcoe St. Victoria, BC, V8V 1L8

Members:
If you plan to attend, please take a moment and RSVP. If your plans change and you cannot attend, to the right of your name there are three dots, please click on them and move yourself to “Not Going.” Thank you.

Quotes:
"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

"Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Synopsis:
Stoicism, developed by Zeno of Citium in the 3rd century BCE, centres around the pursuit of virtue, tranquillity, and living in harmony with nature. At its core, Stoicism teaches that happiness comes from controlling what is within our power—our thoughts, emotions, and actions—and accepting what is beyond our control.

The Stoics divided life’s events into two categories:

What we can control—our own actions, beliefs, and judgments.

What we cannot control—external events like death, illness, and the actions of others.

Through this distinction, the Stoics cultivated ataraxia (inner peace) by focusing on personal virtue and emotional resilience. They taught that suffering arises when we attach too much importance to things outside our control, and that by accepting life’s hardships with a calm, rational mindset, we can live a fulfilled and serene life.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) was a German philosopher who sought to redefine traditional morality and reject what he called the slave morality promoted by conventional institutions like religion and philosophy. Nietzsche believed in the will to power—the drive to overcome, create, and assert one’s own values as the primary force in human life. Central to Nietzsche’s thought is the concept of the Übermensch (Overman or Superman), an individual who transcends societal norms and conventional morality, creating their own path and values. Nietzsche rejected passivity and promoted the idea of embracing suffering as an essential part of life, viewing challenges as opportunities for growth and self-actualization. Nietzsche’s rejection of pessimism and embrace of amor fati (love of fate)—the idea of embracing all of life’s events, including suffering, without resentment—echoes aspects of Stoicism but also stands in sharp contrast to the Stoic emphasis on emotional detachment.

The connection between Stoicism and Friedrich Nietzsche is both complex and intriguing. While at first glance, their philosophies may seem at odds with each other—Stoicism advocating tranquility through self-control and acceptance, and Nietzsche promoting the idea of the Übermensch (Overman) and a life-affirming will to power—a closer examination reveals nuanced overlaps, contradictions, and deep philosophical insights.

Watch: Why Friedrich Nietzsche HATED Stoicism (Did he really?) on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SoRRElkBaj8?si=dvdWslzkQKdn2mmP