Anyone Can Strive for Virtue

“Where are all the Stoic women? Surely this is not a philosophy only for and by men.” It is a common and reasonable criticism of this philosophy, one that Daily Stoic seeks to understand and ameliorate whenever possible. Recently, we had the opportunity to interview Lauryn Evarts Bosstick, a wellness influencer who reaches millions of people—mostly adoring young women—through her blog, social media, and podcast. Lauryn is a vocal advocate of Stoicism, so we asked her about why the philosophy can seem so male-centric and and what might be done about it:I WANT TO CHANGE THIS. It’s so interesting to me how it’s seen as a male dominated philosophy. It has nothing to do with gender, it has to do with just being a better person and being the best version of yourself. My brand ‘The Skinny Confidential’ is all about being the best version of you. It’s not about being someone else, it’s about taking what you have and creating your own strategic future. Anyone can benefit from stoicism because it teaches invaluable lessons like perseverance, serenity, and resilience. The Stoics believed that philosophy transcended any individual human being or society. It’s not rooted in any one gender, but in the universal principles of life, the human experience. Musonius Rufus—Epictetus’s teacher—was one of the pioneers of gender equality, at least in philosophy. “It is not men alone who possess eagerness and a natural inclination towards virtue,” he said, “but women also. Women are pleased no less than men by noble and just deeds, and reject the opposite of such actions. Since that is so, why is it appropriate for men to seek out and examine how they might live well, that is, to practise philosophy, but not women?”Stoicism isn’t male or female. It’s human. It’s for anyone trying to get better. It’s for all of us—since everyone needs more perseverance, serenity and resilience. It’s even for you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com.

• 0:29Ryan Holiday?

  Anyone can strive for virtue. It's a common and reasonable criticism of this philosophy. Where are all the Stoic women? Surely, this is not just a philosophy only for and by men. Daily Stoic recently had the opportunity to interview Lauren Everts-Bostic, a wellness influencer who reaches millions of people, mostly adoring young women, through her blog, social media, and podcast. Lauren is a vocal advocate of Stoicism, so we asked her about why Stoicism can seem so male-centric and what can be done about it. She responded immediately, "I want to change this." "It's so interesting to me," she said, "how it's

• 1:11Ryan Holiday?

  seen as a male-dominated philosophy. It has nothing to do with gender. It has to do with just being a better person and being the best version of yourself. My brand, The Skinny Confidential, is all about being the best version of yourself. It's not about being someone else. It's about taking what you have and creating your own strategic future." Anyone can benefit from Stoicism because it teaches invaluable lessons like perseverance, serenity, and resilience. The Stoics believed that philosophy transcended any individual being or society. It's not rooted in any one gender, but in the universal principles of life, the human experience. Musonius Rufus, Epictetus's teacher, was

• 1:54Ryan Holiday?

  one of the pioneers of gender equality, at least in philosophy. "It is not men alone who possess eagerness and a natural inclination towards virtue," he said, "but women also. Women are pleased no less than men by noble and just deeds and reject the opposite of such actions. Since that is so, why is it appropriate for men to seek out and examine how they might live well, that is, to practice philosophy, but not women?" Stoicism isn't male or female. It's human. It's for people. It's for anyone trying to get better. It's for everyone, since everyone needs more perseverance, serenity, and resilience. It's even for you.

• 2:36Ryan Holiday?

  Check out Lauren's awesome interview with us at DailyStoic.com. Check out her stuff on social media, The Skinny Confidential. She's awesome, really cool person. And you can also listen to me, Ryan Holiday, on her podcast as well. So, check it out. Anger is a problem that faces us all. We don't all have anger problems, but anger is a problem for everyone. You can learn how to control your temper with Daily Stoic's new course, Taming Your Temper: The 10-Day Stoic Guide to Controlling Your Anger. Stoics recognized anger as a weakness to be mastered. They knew that anger left unchecked would consume you and take over your life. We can help you. I hope you check it out. Go to DailyStoic.com/anger.