Being Better: Stoicism for a World Worth Living In is a necessary and essential addition to our modern Stoic discourse. The authors, Kai Whiting and Leonidas Konstantakos, masterfully express the heart of Stoic philosophy; a philosophy that is humane, community focused, and action oriented. The book challenges us to examine our moral principles and to allow that examination to reshape our approach to others and to the world as a whole. I see Being Better as an antidote to a variety of misguided approaches to Stoicism, but to be clear, the book is not written as a polemic against anything. It is a positive presentation of a life philosophy that is concerned with life; your individual life, the life of your community, and the lives of every being that inhabits this earth. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and it is my hope that it becomes one of the first books to which new Stoics are exposed.
I preordered Being Better after watching a talk that Kai Whiting gave during one of the many online Stoicon-X events that happened during 2020. I can't recall the talk in perfect detail, but I remember that the lens through which Kai expressed his thoughts on Stoicism was one that aligns closely with what I also value in the philosophy. I have been concerned about a variety of issues within the modern Stoic movement. First, a focus on Stoic exercises and techniques that obscures the underlying reasons for undertaking such practices. Second, the rise of various caricatures of Stoicism, which either inflate certain aspects of the philosophy without acknowledging the whole, or misinterpret the philosophy in ways that lead to harm. Massimo Pigliucci has a multipart series on these issues titled $toicism, Broicism, and StoicisM, if you're interested. It sounded like Whiting and Konstantakos's book would explicitly address areas of our philosophy that I consider essential, but that are often sidelined in daily discourse. Upon receiving Being Better, I was pleased to find that my hopes for the book were met and exceeded. The authors show us a Stoicism built on guiding principles, not rules and checklists. It is not a how-to guide in the standard sense. The authors present a series of meditations on the Stoic view of life and wrestle with the implications of accepting that view. The chapters are framed around a core principle that is explored through both the life of an ancient Stoic, as well as the example of a contemporary individual who has taken actions that align with the principle in question. The chapters end with some questions to ask ourselves as we engage with what was presented. I read Being Better at a quicker pace than my usual as I hoped to review it as soon as possible. I am looking forward to a second, more leisurely read, so as to allow the book to really challenge my own practice. To quote my favorite admonition from Plotinus, "never stop sculpting your own statue."
I highly recommend Being Better to anyone who is interested in Stoicism. In particular, if you are moving beyond life hacks towards the richness of a philosophy of life, if you are seeking to flourish and to help others flourish as well, Being Better is worth your time and attention.
