Lit Stoics
My friends,
Today we had a Situational Assessment with Jordan Hall. I found the session pretty intense. My desire to become deployed has increased. To help with that, Daniel, my fellow Lit Stoic, shared his thoughts on The Metagame Mastermind. I am probably going to stay up late again, drink some OKish whiskey, and see what the daemon wants from me. I am not sleeping much during the meta-crisis, but I am not convinced this is unwise.
Tomorrow’s events:
Memento Mori: An Inquiry w/ Jared Janes. April 5th @ 11:00 AM ET. Learn more. RSVP here.
Communitas Invitation w/ Andrew Taggart. April 5th @ 7:00 PM ET. Learn more. RSVP here.
***
April 4, 2020
I have not yet settled down, after today’s situational assessment with Jordan Hall. I was filled with intensity afterward, and it is still permeating my body. In that session, Jordan said that within the next two months we are going to be increasingly entering the liminal, and there is an increasing potential that shit will hit the fan.
With thoughts of the liminal on my mind, I saw QAnon followers calling out Alex Jones as controlled opposition. First, I thought that this was just a new front in the Culture War 2.0, in which conspiratorial and parapolitical tribes have continued to fragment, like other memetic tribes. While this seems about right, there is perhaps a better term for this: the Liminal War.
My sense is that, within this collective liminal state, fragmentation will rapidly continue, confusion will amplify, and people will become dizzily disorientated. I am concerned that the memetic violence will turn kinetic. How should the Stoics arm themselves in the Liminal War?
To pivot to a lighter note, I am encouraged by the positive support and feedback The Stoa has been getting, mostly from non-Stoics. I especially enjoyed Sarah McManus’s characterization of the Stoics emerging from this space as Lit Stoics. My sense is that it is time to give Stoicism some edge, some sex, some aesthetics.
I will attempt to restrain myself from throwing too much shade at my philosophical colleagues in the wider Modern Stoicism movement, but I do not see them taking the lead here. We do not need another history lesson on Stoicism, or another 101 book on the philosophy. Nor do we need stale stock photo aesthetics or $toic profiteers making coin off the philosophy.
We need embodiment, not disembodiment. We need to be yes sayers to the whole realm of human experience, with prudence—always with prudence. I think it is time for me to leave the Modern(ist) Stoic community behind, and create a digital campfire that Lit Stoics can use to set their lives on fire.
***
Gift Economy / The Stoa currently operates through a gift economy. We are offering the Stoa as a gift, for people to freely use during these troubled times. If you are inspired to provide a gift to The Stoa, email thestoa at protonmail dot com. Your gift can take the form of money, support, services or ideas. If you wish to gift money, you can do so here or here for ongoing gifts.