(article) Why I am not a Stoic

"So, the problem isn’t that stuff harms you (or others). It’s that you decided it harmed you (or others).

"Obviously, there is a lot of truth to this. But does this mean we should be entirely indifferent to harm? What if someone kills our family member? What if someone is sexually abusing a child? These questions arose in the Stoics’ time and the question of how much we should detach from our external experiences has been up for debate ever since."

From nearly the beginning Stoics believed that all things outside the will were neither good nor evil, but indifferent. We are harmed only by our own bad judgments.

https://markmanson.net/why-i-am-not-a-stoicf

See Epictetus' Enchiridion Ch. 3

http://www.ptypes.com/enchiridion.html/

Why would one want to be mad at the world?

Ten books that will make you angry with the world."

"There are those moments when a new threshold is broken for you. When you realize that the world isn’t as rosy and peachy as you may have thought it was before, and in fact it can be a cruel and dark place at times.

"The books in this list will illustrate this point perfectly, highlighting a way in which the world can be harsh, dangerous and downright cruel. These books will certainly make you feel angry at the world."

Why would one want to feel angry at the world? Instead we could use these books to practice not assenting to impressions that depict externals as being either good or evil.

https://whytoread.com/books-that-will-make-you-angry-with-world/

Stoics strive to eliminate emotions.

Most people want emotion in their lives. Jimmy Porter longs for emotion.

Oh heavens, how I long for a little ordinary human enthusiasm. Just enthusiasm -- that's all. I want to hear a warm, thrilling voice cry out Hallelujah!...Hallelujah! I'm alive!"

Look Back in Anger, 15.

"Jimmy is primarily concerned with a way to live a real, enthusiastic, and emotional life. The desire for emotion expresses itself in his anger towards his wife and their domestic existence. This quote is a reference to black gospel religion which Jimmy associates with things such as jazz music (Jimmy also plays the trumpet, a similar reference). This use of a religious phrase should be compared to Jimmy's antagonism towards traditional English Anglicanism, which Jimmy firmly rejects. It should also be noted that most of the play occurs on a Sunday, suggesting that in Jimmy's righteous anger is a modern attempt to find the kind of real life that traditional religion sought to convey for its believers."

https://www.gradesaver.com/look-back-in-anger/study-guide/quotes

But Stoics try to eliminate emotions