How did stoicism get reduced to its current state of being youtube shorts slop and podcast slop?

>reduced
It was always like this. Marcus Aurelius sulked in his room and distracted himself from dwelling on the fact he was getting cucked by his wife. It’s incel cope from day one OP.

>>24560258
fpbp

>>24560258
>wife
>incel
Retard

>>24560255 (OP)
it had already degenerated by the time aurelius was coping

>>24560255 (OP)
because stoicism is just glorified inaction which accepts the lack of control on your life, basically 98% of everyone who plays lots of videogames.
>>24560258
this but without the incel angle. being "stoic" is the equivalent of putting your hands in your ears and saying lalalalala when somebody says something you don't agree with.

it's sad that young people confuse self-control and moderation as being le epic stoic person

>>24560258
The claim that "Marcus Aurelius sulked in his room and distracted himself from dwelling on the fact he was getting cucked by his wife" is more meme than history. It's a crude and heavily distorted interpretation of his life and writings, usually posted as bait or ironic commentary on stoicism or perceived weakness in classical figures. Let's break it down:


---

1. Did Marcus Aurelius sulk in his room?

Not exactly. He was a deeply introspective man, and Meditations reflects a private journal of philosophical self-discipline, written during military campaigns — not some gloomy diary from a bedroom.

His tone is somber and reflective, but there's no evidence he "sulked." He was emperor during a time of plague, war, and personal loss, so his philosophical focus on endurance and virtue isn’t surprising.
---

2. Was his wife unfaithful?

His wife, Faustina the Younger, was rumored by some ancient sources (like Cassius Dio and the Historia Augusta) to be unfaithful — but these are not reliable, and even among ancient historians, opinions varied.

Marcus never writes anything accusatory about her. On the contrary, he honors her memory and even deifies her after her death.

If infidelity occurred, we have no solid evidence Marcus dwelled on it or was tormented by it.
---

3. Is Stoicism "incel cope"?

This is just online slang meant to diminish Stoic philosophy as a kind of emotional repression or loser mentality.

In truth, Stoicism was a practical life philosophy for both rulers and commoners — it emphasized virtue, self-mastery, resilience, and rationality.

If it was "cope," it was one that helped manage power, loss, and the burden of rule — not romantic rejection.
---

Summary:

The idea that Marcus Aurelius was some ancient incel journaling through heartbreak is a modern joke or cynical reading, not supported by real historical evidence. He was a philosopher-emperor grappling with power, death, and duty — and Meditations is his way of staying grounded, not a "cope" for being cucked.

>>24560747
nigga posting chatgpt as his argument. stoics remain eating shit

Comforting platitudes and severe lack of any edge.

>>24560300
Spell out incel. Now, tell me how that can't apply to anyone who isn't having sex.

>>24560255 (OP)
Because most normies are literal NPCs and aren't aware that they have agency. Stoicism is mindblowing for them because it posits that not only do they have agency, but that most of the time their agency is curtailed by forces beyond their control. Thus is justifies their hitherto lack of exercising agency because they now "know" there's nothing they could have really done, and simultaneously justifies their continued inability to exercise agency because of the same reason.

>>24560255 (OP)
Treating life like a video game seems like a legitimate Stoic viewpoint t.b.h.

>>24561573
Almost no one in this world is not aware they have agency

>>24560255 (OP)
I have the feeling it doesn't only affect stoicism. Nietzsches philosophy is getting raped hard during the last decades or so. Communism is getting reduced to "Everyone can just do what he wants to support society and everybody will be le happy" (I don't like communism but I know there is more to it).
It probably has become a phenomenon when everybody was allowed to just yap their opinion online and pretend to have actually read something. Some stupid people misinterpret something and others find it cool and spread it with no one really knowing what is going on.

Maybe it has hit Stoicism and Nietzsche pretty hard because they can be "easily" misunderstood to be some hyper-masculine -sigma niggas. Other known philosophies focus more on other stuff and just accepting while these 2 more or less include some goal that can be achieved (Übermensch and Ataraxia). They offer some kind of discipline. Something most people yearn for in this nihilistic day and age. So the cling to something that seems kind of logical at first.


>>24560258
I actually find them stoic niggas pretty based at times. Sadly stoicism falls apart at its metaphysics but the basic idea sounded pretty solid. And there is still a lot of wisdom in their texts.
I don't know though why Marcus Aurelius is getting glazed that hard. Only because he was an emperor? I don't think (actually don't know) if he contributed that much to stoic thought. Why is he even counted as an stoic philosopher and not just some philosophical entertainer like Alan Watts. Aurelius was a nigga.

>>24561771
>Sadly stoicism falls apart at its metaphysics
Dont think i have come across a philosphy that did not have holes in it like swiss cheese

>>24561771
Utterly repulsive post. Stop defiling English with your mongrel niggerspeak.

>>24560255 (OP)
English speakers destroy everything they touch. A demonic race of merchants.

>>24560258
>>24560733
Didn't fucking read epictetus or Seneca. Retards.

>>24561771
> Only because he was an emperor?
Yeah, pretty much. People are suckers for titles, by and large. Marcus, unlike Seneca, also happened to have fought in wars, which probably appeals to the masculine dudebro audience that are, superficially, drawn to stoicism. They usually don't read into it deep enough to realise that it from a stoic perspective, it does not particularly matter.

>>24560255 (OP)
Irs just McMindfulness in new coat of paint. Philosophy of self mastery and virtue reduced to "keep it together worker drone".
Virtue aspect falls flat, because these days really don't have a concept of virtue, or maybe masses never did.

i read meditations every once in a while to ground myself and always found it very helpful but if its poo poo and theres something better now what is it?