knowstuffsolveprobs

Thanks for replying. Makes sense. I guess I'm sympathetic to some of this criticism not because of the books or Daily Stoic stuff, which I admire, but the pricey swag and Stoic Life. Epictetus says I have control over my desire. But I find myself occasionally eyeing the signet ring or wondering if I would benefit from Stoic Life, but knowing I can't justify the expense (and earlier in life would not have been able to afford it). Maybe it's class envy. I grew up working class on a small farm. And desire is absolutely under my control. But I think sometimes whether such things facilitate or even detract from the discipline and the pursuit of virtue. It's as if the marketing implies you become a more legitimate Stoic through these purchases. I know Seneca has a lot to say about this--that wealth is an indifferent--and he practiced some poverty in certain parts of his life. But I do understand to some degree where these critiques are coming from. It's complicated.

I'm a new practicing Stoic who came in via CBT. I love your books--I find them them accessible, challenging, and helpful.

1. How do you respond to criticism I've read in the Stoicism community that your capitalist model of promoting Stoicism and to some degree using Stoicism to advance capitalism is somehow antithetical to the spirit of the discipline?
2. How do you resolve the "god problem" within Stoicism? How can atheists or agnostics (like me) live according to nature if we maintain that the universe is not guided by an intelligent telos? Does removing god from Stoicism make it less cohesive as a framework?