Introduction
Welcome — these are my notes on philosophy.
Stoicism
Founded ~300 BC in Athens by Zeno of Citium. Flourished through the Roman Empire. Key figures: Epictetus, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius. Core ideas: the logos (rational order governing the universe), living "according to nature," the dichotomy of control, four cardinal virtues. Declined as a formal school around 3rd century AD but heavily influenced Christianity and modern cognitive therapy (CBT draws directly from it).
- Marcus Aurelius — Roman Emperor, 121–180 AD
- Epictetus — Greek Stoic, c. 50–135 AD
- Seneca — Roman statesman, c. 4 BC–65 AD
Buddhism
Founded ~5th century BC in northeastern India by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha). Spread across Asia, splitting into major branches — Theravāda (Southeast Asia), Mahāyāna (East Asia), Vajrayāna (Tibet). Key figures beyond the Buddha: Nagarjuna, Bodhidharma, the Dalai Lamas. Core ideas: the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, impermanence, no-self (anatta), karma, and enlightenment. Now a global religion with ~500 million adherents.
- Thich Nhat Hanh — Vietnamese monk, 1926–2022
Existentialism
Emerged in 19th–20th century Europe. Precursor: Søren Kierkegaard (Denmark, 1840s). Fully developed in France and Germany in the 20th century. Key figures: Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, Simone de Beauvoir. Core ideas: radical freedom, anxiety (angst) as the awareness of that freedom, bad faith, absurdity, authentic existence. Peaked mid-20th century; heavily influenced literature, psychology, and postmodern thought.
- Fyodor Dostoevsky — Russian novelist, 1821–1881
- Søren Kierkegaard — Danish philosopher, 1813–1855
- Friedrich Nietzsche — German philosopher, 1844–1900
Journal
Alongside the notes, I keep a Journal. It's private for now. Maybe I'll make public posts someday...