Spartan Philosophy to Become a Valuable Person

Today, Stoicism is a very popular philosophy to face life’s difficulties. But—why exactly do we need help facing life’s difficulties? There is a dangerous therapeutic language that is widely used in popular culture which has the opposite effect of making us feel more fragile and vulnerable. In a way, the rise of Stoicism has been a consequence of this trend to psychologize normal experiences of life and to treat them as if they were insurmountable without help. This has led people to believe that they need to consult with a therapist or a counselor to get through normal life events, such as rejection or confusion, as well as to place too much attention and importance on how they feel. In this light, Stoicism is just another therapeutic mechanism to “face life”, one that only exists because we are seeking methods and hacks to help us feel better when we don’t feel so good. The underlying assumptions here are 1) that we should always feel good and 2) that we need help.

I believe that a more beneficial approach to life can be found in Spartan philosophy. Spartans had strong values, they were extremely practical, and underwent a training to build up their strength and characters. This video will show you how Lycurgus’ Laws can help all of us become valuable people with a strong and just character, true pillars of society.


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REFERENCES:
Sayings of Spartans by Plutarch: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/...

Study on intentions & goal pursuit: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/...

Another interesting study on sharing your goals: https://news.osu.edu/share-your-goals...

0:00 Lycurgus & the Two Dogs
0:51 Sparta or Stoicism?
2:43 1) Be Useful
3:57 2) Focus on Results (Not Intentions)
5:19 3) Disdain Luxuries
7:30 4) Focus on Character
10:12 5) Respect Law Above All Else
11:15 Conclusion